I can tell you, if you saw me when I just arrived to Korea a couple of years ago, you would of seen me offending people left and right. True, I have a 'foreigner advantage' whereas most people just disregard when I do something 'wrong', but sometimes, they still get offended. Even if I act as a perfect person would in America, I would still be offending lots of people in this Asian country.
When I write to people on Postcrossing, I always say that I love Korea and I feel like I learn something new everyday. It really is a completely different culture and the customs here are quite different (and often opposite) than the way we do things back home.
I can definitely say I've adjusted quite well to the differences here, but there are still a few things that don't come quite so easily to me. There is one in particular that I can't quite grab ahold of. Let's imagine a situation...two people see each other walking on the street...Person 1 says, "Oh, hello Person 2, how are you today?" Person 2 responds, "Hi, Person 1, I'm wonderful! Nice to see you!" ... And so on...
Well, in American culture, we would say the other person's name (if we remember, of course!). When people see me, I would expect them so call me things like Sara, Miss Allbritton, or Miss Sara ...something along those lines. I feel like when you say someone's name, it makes things more personal.
In Korea, it's not that way. If you address someone that is older than you by their name, it is considered rude. You should instead call them by their title, i.e. Teacher, Owner (as in restaurant, academy, etc.), Principal, etc. So instead of saying to my co-teachers, "Hello, Minie!", it's proper to actually say, "Hello, Teacher!"
For me, this is really hard. In a land of names that aren't easy for me to learn, when I actually do learn a name, I feel like I should use it as often as possible. Well, not so much! Pretty much, I shouldn't learn anyone's name that is older than me because I should just call them my their title. Another thing is that it feels really impersonal to me. If my students only called me 'Teacher', I think I would feel like they didn't distinguish me from any other teachers in their life. (American teachers, think about how much it irks you with your students only call you 'Miss' or 'Mister'!) I'm really big on giving people personal attention and not just having a 'form letter' for the things I say to people.
The reason this is so heavily on my mind today is because one of my students told me that their teacher was 'angry' because I called her by her given name, and not 'Teacher'. First of all, I always say her full name when I talk to her, and second of all, why would she tell my students?? Isn't that a little strange??! Anyways, my co-teachers imagine that teacher was just 'joking', but either way, I don't understand the situation!
All of this being said...It's just another cultural difference to write home about. I know that by living in a foreign country, I have to deal with these differences and adapt to them as I go. So here's to not offending people in this way anymore and to not learning anymore people's names (that are older than me)! I can save my brain space for something more useful!!
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