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Intercultural problems, conflicts and misinterpretations“There are not many relevant examples to report. One of the few pertinent observations is that there would be recurring conflicts between American students and the local gardener (an ethnically non-Russian guest worker) when the former would be sitting on the lawns (doing their assignments or simply chatting) and the latter would drive them away.”(by Masha Yesipova) “ My second observation at this food court was popularity of different foods compared to the United States. Naturally, there were Russian chains that are not in the United States, but what was even more astounding was the sheer popularity of Macdonalds. Now, I confess this is where my bias may take hold, but McDonalds on the Eastern Coast is viewed with disdain. Although McDonalds was enormously popular in the past, it has now become the scapegoat of America’s obesity crisis and the target of an obsession with returning to healthier and local food. Currently, one eats at McDonalds only if one has no choice. For example, if you are driving and cannot stop to eat then one must use a drive-thru. Or more tragically, if one doesn’t have enough money to eat elsewhere. The American obesity crisis is disproportionally found in poorer communities, which do not have access to healthier foods and are forced to eat unhealthy fastfood. To me, it was bizarre to see well-dressed people of my age eating at McDonalds and waiting in line to do so. (by Corinne Warren) “One cultural misunderstanding happened when we were at the café and were going to leave it. We had taken off our outer clothing and got our checks. And before exit we had to take our clothes back. We got ours and then there was Molly’s turn. Cloakroom attendant got her check, took out her coat and hold it to help her to put it on. Molly wanted just to take her coat and that was it, she did not expect somebody to help her to dress up. She was so surprised that she did not know what to do, until we explained to her that it is considered to be a good norm.” (from Vasily Sazonov, Molly Smith and Lera Ocheretnaya) “My “application form story” was so long and completely tiresome. God, sometimes I felt like I had been applying to Cambridge! And it was just a student metro card! Last Friday..after all my roving I finally got it…Just 40 minutes in line…Nothing in comparison with my previous ‘experiences’…If I could suggest something to Russia, I would suggest filling the application forms via the Internet, or opening more windows to get it done or just use electronic ticket dispensers… The situation with the underground - the way it is right now- makes you feel like you are in the lower category of people…” (by Christian Roncero) |
On stereotypes “As for vice versa stereotypes, the most salient one is, perhaps, the overwhelming alcoholism of Russians. Although we tried our best to support this stereotype on a daily basis, it would seem that we still did not live up to the expectations of our American colleagues, since throughout the entire experience we did not once drink vodka (cowardly so, because of the heat). Yet, some of the American students would repeatedly gather near the dormitory on Fridays and weekends and drink this traditional Russian beverage. From this one might get an inference that Americans truly believe that drinking vodka in Russia is a must, even if the 40-percent alcohol has to be consumed in the 40-degree heat.” (by Masha Yesipova) “Finally, we asked Philippe to name some of the most widespread stereotypes about Russia and Russians in France. He told us: vodka, high heels, that we are impolite, that there are NO bears walking along the streets of Moscow, mafia and corruption. He also mentioned that the expression “if you go to Siberia” is used to describe the hopeless situations”. (by Jane Timokhina, Maya Ovsyannikova and Phillippe Brian Cavin) «While being in Bulgaria I was sometimes treated according to the stereotypes. For instance, taxi drivers and souvenirs’ sellers thought that I had much money, because I came from Russia and they asked for three times as much money from Russians as they form Germans or Englishmen”. Of course, it was always possible to bargain.” (by Nelya Saitova) “I remember the expressions of great amusement on the faces of my foreign friends when I said: “I don’t like alcohol. As to vodka, I’ve never even tried it, and frankly speaking, have no desire to try.”Like it or not, but the stereotype is still alive and sound. One more example is connected with my classes. One day after the test our teacher of Spanish publicly claimed that we (three Russian students) had a perfect fluency in Spanish in comparison with others. “Though, -he added – that doesn’t come as a great surprise. Russian students are known for their diligence and intelligence” I was pleased to learn that they’ve got such a positive opinion about Russian students”. (by Lena Rumyantseva) “We were lucky enough not to miss the train from Marseiile to Cannes, but when we entered the carriage, we were shocked. There were a lot of men sitting while pregnant women, old ladies and kids were standing. Probably, the stereotype is just a stereotype and men in France are not that gallant after all. The fact might also have something to do Masculine vs. Feminine nature of the society or with time-orientation cultural patterns (e.g. F. Strotdbeck, F. Kluckhohn or M. Mead)” (by Jane Timokhina) “My host mother worked as a manager in a restaurant and she hired me to work there as a hostess. I was surprised to find out that the age of waitresses there varied from 20 to 60. Most of them had been working at the place for almost entire of their life and some of them were complaining about their status. Yet they actually did nothing to change it. So, is it possible that all these stereotypes about “do-it-now”, “every-job-is-a-good-job” and “mobile and energetic people” are just stereotypes? I mean, there are some (like everywhere in the world), but not the whole nation.” (by Dasha Khlebnikova) “One of the most common stereotypes in Italy is that all Russian women are beautiful blue-eyed blonds who are easy to get. At least, I was treated according to the stereotype and I don’t like the last part (I mean, all this “easy-to-get” stuff) and I hope that my behavior raised some doubts in their perception of Russian women”. (by Dasha Krivopusk) “Nobody likes to be treated according to stereotypes other people have about his/her culture. However, that is the way we often treat people around us. One of the stereotypes about Italy, not mentioned above, is the so-called “Italian mammone” – an Italian man highly dependent on his mother and on her opinion…” (by Dasha Zenina) «I have to mention that firstly, American politeness and friendliness seemed to be fake and unnatural to me, but then I discovered that actually Americans are really friendly people, ready to talk on different issues and eager to help you if they can, but not to the prejudice of them. To be frank, I also want to add that I lived in the small city of Newport, that is the very northeast of the country and it is really different from the Big Apple, for instance. In Newport the pace of life is slower and it looks more like countryside for me, a citizen of a Moscow megapolis. I am sure that the description I have given in my work is valid only for the Newport citizens and in other states the situation might be completely different.” (by Vasily Sazonov) |
Names “ For the analysis I’ve chosen the main street of the new resort area of Evpatoria which goes from the railway station to the sea. People call this street Broadway, but the real name is “Frunze Street”. (by Katya Akulenok) “Bulgarian surnames are very similar to the Russian ones. The most popular surname is Ivanov and their first names are Ivan, Georgi, Dimitar, Petar, Maria, Hristo, Todor, Nikolay, Vasil and Stefan”. (by Katya Ivanova) |
NVC “Bulgarians use gestures during their conversation more than Russians do. That might be connected with their national character (they are considered to be more impulsive). There are several specific gestures: “No” is expressed with a sudden downward jerk of the head and a clicking sound made with the mouth (many children use this method; pointing is acceptable, but not with one finger, you should use your hand.” (by Nelya Saitova) “about the Czech Republic “People don’t smile at people they don’t know. People smiling in the streets is an exception to the norm. It’s not a sign of unfriendliness, just something that is not expected. That is one of the points that make them so different from, say, Americans”. (by Alexey Filippov) “(Ukraine) As for the gestures I was surprised that people don’t use their hands much when speaking. It’s only market people who gesticulate a lot. Nodding, shrugging shoulders often substitute hand gesture. They don’t wave their hands at all.” (by Katya Akulenok) “Bulgarians stand close enough when they are talking, moving their hands and heads. During the conversation they don’t touch each other very often if they are not friends” (by Katya Ivanova) “Nevertheless, Molly noticed some patterns that were strange to her. For example, people are always staying in disordered lines and jogging each other. That could never happen in America, she explained. Then we all marked that some of young girls in place were holding hands while strolling around. Molly found it strange and even odd, but we explained to her that those were teenagers and by this sign they probably wanted to show their protest against the rules of social behavior and finally we agreed that it could happen both in Russia and the USA. After that Molly told us that she also found out that in Russia we pay more respect to the women and the old than they do in America, but at the same time from her point of view the way of addressing unfamiliar people is offensive. We suppose, that in Russian culture it is a common thing to sit close to each other. We gesticulate much. “ (by Vasya Sazonov, Molly Smith and Lera Ocheretnaya) “Irena told us that sitting alone in a café is considered strange in Italy. Italians eat with their friends, thus forming big and noisy companies” (by Katya Ivanova, Margarita El’kina and Irene del Conte) “I have noticed that at the food yard people were sitting close to each other. Even at a table designed for four people to sit, were sitting five or six people. While eating they were navigating through the Internet and talking with each other”. “ Both in Russian and German cultures people rarely touch each other” (from Dasha Krivopusk) |
On proxemics “One of the things that can’t pass unnoticed is that the Ukrainians don’t need much personal space even if there is a chance to have it.” (by Katya Akulenok) “I have noticed one similarity between our cultures. Italians and Russians don’t stand very close to each other when they are talking. Both men and women use a lot of gestures but in Russia it is women who gesticulate much”. (by Katya Ivanova) “When waiting for things in Italy, lines rarely form. Instead, people mob around things and squeeze in over time” (by Adelya Alyazhetdinova) |
Language “I realize that the language is one of the most powerful barriers which is able to separate you completely from the outside world and at the same time if you are fluent at it to unite you with the globe and to reveal the secrets of humanity”.(by Lena Rumyantseva) “In the US an accepted conversation starter is “What do you do?” meaning “ What do you do for living?” “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” is also a safe question.”(by Jane Mingazeeva) “ My letter to Professor C:Dear Professor X,I must apologize for sending the assignment to you via e-mail instead instead of handling it in. Unfortunately, I failed to print it out on time (there is no such possibility in the dormitory and the computer classroom at the faculty was locked in the morning). Hopefully, you have received it and it is legible (my friend Nina, who also sent her assignment via e-mail, says that, apparently, there is some problem with hers). I am also sorry that I did not provide any comments in the previous letter (due to the time pressure).My apologies once again.Sincerely,Maria V. Yesipova Response by Professor CHi Maria,No worries – your file came through fine. See you on Wednesday!Best,Y.”(from Masha Yesipova) “Don’t say Ciao to everyone in Italy. You’ll hear “ciao” being said all over Italy. It’s an incredibly common greeting throughout the country. But if you pay closer attention, you’ll see that it’s almost always used among people who have known each other for a while or are in the same peer group”“ When someone offers you something for the first time you should follow the so-called rule of the “fare I complimenti” (the best translation I can think of is to participate in a ceremony, which is still not totally correct)”(by Adelya Alyazhetdinova) “In order to form a tender address Slovaks add the suffix –ka to somebody’s name. So, Irka and Katka mean Ирочка and Катенька. It was difficult for me to get used to it, as in Russian this suffix would rather be used to make the word sound negative.”(by Maya Ovsyannikova) “The most interesting form of address in Spanish is the pronoun “Usted”(“Ustedes” – pl.) It is employed in polite speech to demonstrate respect. It is very similar to Russian «Вы», but it is not used very often (e.g. it’s not uncommon to address your professor with “tu”)”(by Masha Antonyan) Americans tend to address unfamiliar people politely by saying “excuse me, sir/madam”. At least it was a must in my working environment. Staff addressed each other by simple “buddy”, it was the most popular used expression. They could say “hey” instead of “hi”, if it was an informal dialogue. Young people greet you with “what’s up” and say goodbye by “see you (later)” or just “later”. Americans like informal style of communication much more than formal.(by Vasily Sazonov) “We have a lot of close friends in Slovakia and some of them live temporarily in Moscow, so I had the possibility to interview a Slovak woman Suzanna, aged45, who works in the Slovak embassy in Moscow. I think that investigating the peculiarities of the Slovak culture is particularly appealing, though it is one of the countries that usually stay in the background, being not as carefully observed and analyzed from the point of view of intercultural communication as other European nations…Obligation to the family and close friends is a person’s number one priority, which is very similar to Russian traditions. There is an old Slovak proverb, which illustrates this argument: “Jedna lastovicka leto nerobi” (“One swallow doesn’t make summer”).(by Maya Ovsyannikova) |
On the Sapir-Whorth theory “ I have notice that in Italy a variety of dining experiences exists. You can go to a ristorante, trattoria, pizzeria, caffee, tavola calda or a bar. Seems that catering is really important for Italians”(by Adelya Alyazhetdinova) |
On time “As for the idea of urgency – they seem to treat it in a nonchalant manner.. What requires immediate action may take hours with them – they take a relaxed attitude tp life and don’t seem to worry too much. I saw a kid cut his foot with a shell.. He was bleeding and crying bitterly. His parents were not in the least concerned to do something about it. They helped the boy eventually, but in my opinion this was a slow response..” (by Katya Akulenok) “As I have noticed during my observation tour, time for social situations and engagements is fluid and negotiable. It is acceptable for them to be late, because they are not stuck to time. Nevertheless, speaking about business or some ‘urgent matters’, they prefer to be on time and to meet deadlines. Certainly, there are schedules in Bulgaria for buses and trains, but sometimes it is hard to predict what time a bus or a train will arrive.” (by Nelya Saitova) “There were a couple of times where places were just mysteriously closed, with no reason given. Finally, most businesses didn’t post their open and closed hours, as if it really didn’t matter” (by Adelya Alyazhetdinova) |
Making friends We decided to talk to one of the guards of the shopping center , approximately 35 years old: “Excuse me, where is a toilet? - There! - How are you? – No answer. - Don’t you want to talk with us?” The guard turned away and mumbled something we couldn’t understand.” (by Katya Ivanova, Margarita Elkina and Irene del Konte) |
On globalization and ethnicity “Even music in the mall was so international that the girl from America (Caroline Watson) really felt like home, and the German guy (Kamil Cebulla) told that in Russia he heard more Rammstein than even in his own country”. (by Adelya Alyazhetdinova) “We tried to show our guest (Marcus) the way other ethnic groups are represented in Russia. So we decided to visit “ Chaihona #1” designed in Uzbek style. I guess, it was his chance to try some specialties of the Uzbek cuisine.” (from Moscow tour by Dasha Zenina, Dasha Krivopusk and Marcus Vogelgsang) |
Values, artifacts and patterns of behavior: cultural differences “In my country we usually leave after 15- 20 minutes of waiting. That is why, I am not accustomed to lines. One more thing about lines is that in my country it is impossible to leave the line for a while (the way people do it in Russia)… You may only leave it for ever. When you return, people will start criticizing you or even shouting at you..So, you will have to go to the end of the line, even if you have got a valid excuse. In Russia people are allowed to leave the line and then they will just come back in 20 minutes and nobody will tell a word! Once I wanted to practice this Russian tradition, but I got so embarrassed…I didn’t even know whom I was supposed to ask to stay there for me (to be a watchman) – a person in front of me? Or the one who was behind? (by Christian Roncero) “Dating: International students usually enjoy quite active social lives as the Americans just can’t get over our great accents. Etiquette for riding with friends: The cheapest way to get around the city is to become friends with Americans who have cars. But most college students cannot afford to drive all over town to get you where you need to go and you should make it clear from the beginning of the trip that you are willing to contribute to the expenses.” (by Jane Mingazeeva) “We were seeing Molly home and she accidentally stepped into the mud (it was raining) and we advised her to wash her shoes in the nearby puddle not to bring all the mud to her room. She thought it was a joke, because nobody in the USA would do that, though it might be convenient.” (by Vasily Sazonov, Molly Smith and Lera Ocheretnaya) “One of the things mentioned by all members of our group was that people in public places such as that food court could freely drink alcohol. That could never happen in the USA, where it is strongly prohibited. In addition, it is common in the USA to take your trays with you and return the trays to the restaurant and in Russia people mostly leave them on the table and the cleaners have to take it.” (by Vasily Sazonov, Molly Smith and Lera Ocheretnaya) “Among the range of fast-food restaurants people tend to choose well-known and time-tested brands (e.g. McDonalds) and are reluctant about approaching new ones. This might be interpreted in line with high Uncertainty Avoidance index. “ “ People wouldn’t leave their personal belongings behind in fear that they might get stolen. When a group of friends come and occupy a table, they would not just leave their outwear on the seats to mark that the table is occupied, but one person would normally stay behind while others would go and make orders. They would also make an order for the one who has stayed behind. This pattern of behavior gives rise to two inferences: i. the culture under observation embraces the Basically Evil Human Nature belief (Strotdbeck and Kluckhohn); ii. the culture under observation is highly collectivistic (Hall). (by Masha Yesipova) “ Turkish people are very understanding about foreigners’ different customs and they try to communicate to help visitors according to their code of hospitability. The nature of this hospitability is “whatever region you are from and whatever language you speak, you are the “God’s Guest” and you are to be welcomed in the best possible way…” (by Yana Denisova) “As opposed to Moscow, in Rome even strict and serious businessmen drive small Smarts, not Jeeps or huge luxury cars. The reason for that is that almost every street in Italy is narrow. The older the place is, the more narrow the street is. In spite of this physical constraint, drivers drive quite fast which may seem careless, but drivers seem to be pretty confident in themselves.” (by Adelya Alyazhetdinova) |
Asking directions “We discussed the project and then started. The first task was to ask directions. The cultural informants were supposed to be people of different generations. First, we chose a group of young guys. Sarah asked them if they knew how to get to the metro station. Their reaction was a bit strange and impolite. They burst into laughter, said “No” and walked away. Then, Sarah asked the middle-aged couple. These people were really nice, the only problem was that they didn’t know the right direction. After all, Sarah approached an old woman, who appeared to be very friendly and started telling Sarah her life stories. She put her arm around Sarah’s waist and offered Sarah to show her the way to the metro. Sarah was surprised because the woman was talking about some Belarusian writer Sarah had never heard of and about the Soviet Russia and the way she used to live…” (from Dasha Khlebnikova, Polina Smirnova and Sarah La Montain) “ They (Spaniards) are very polite and patient (e.g. they can keep explaining the same thing over and over again without getting angry”. (from Masha Antonyan) «The next part of the project was called “asking directions”. Molly came up to five strangers and asked them what the nearest way to the underground was. The first person was a young man who tried to explain her the direction but he spoke very quickly so that Molly couldn’t really understand him. She asked him to speak slower but he didn’t change the tempo of his speech and explained the direction in an incomprehensible way. The other two strangers were young girls who also spoke very quickly and used a lot of gestures trying to show the exact way to the underground. An elderly woman didn’t even stop to listen to Molly and continued her way ignoring Molly’s request. Finally Molly asked another man who just waved to the left with no exact explanations. At the end of the task Molly complained that none of the people was friendly and helpful. The all seemed to be in a hurry and used too many gestures that confused Molly. As far as other activities on the street are concerned, Molly told us that she found that difficult to cross the street. From her point of view drivers normally don’t give a way to the pedestrians and you have to be very careful.” (by Vasily Sazonov, Molly Smith and Lera Ocheretnaya) “During my visit I had to ask directions several times. Mostly people didn’t use their hands, but just gave me a nod.” (by Alexey Filippov) “All in all, we managed to ask 6 people. In fact, there is a shuttle (free of charge) that circulates from the shopping mall to the underground station..Not that everyone knows about this shuttle…Yet, we have revealed the following tendency: when two of us (Russian girls) asked for directions, people didn’t mention that the shuttle was free of charge, whereas when Philippe asked they kept on emphasizing this fact.” (by Jane Timokhina, Maya Ovsyannikova, Phillip Brian Cavin |
On education “The learning process there (Basque University, Spain) is standard in terms of information which is supported by colorful presentations. The professors comment on the slides looking at their précis from time to time. The students are not used to chatting during the class even in a low voice. On the contrary, they listen to the lecturer attentively and respond by silent pondering over the topic. Discussion is not popular here. As far as the assessment program is concerned, there is a system of grades from 0 to 10. You are entitled to challenge your grade and many students really use the opportunity to get the desired mark” (by Lena Rumyantseva) |
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