CULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS

(Photo credit: www.telegraph.co.uk)

Cam reports that she is learning a lot about cross-cultural communication by living with the Li family. Her instinct was to be very polite and respectful in both demeanor and language, lots of "please" and "thank you" and "may I?"


Turns out, they felt such formal courtesy was putting a distance between them, as if she didn't feel at home or want to be part of the family. (There is a Chinese word for this style of distant etiquette, but I can't pronounce it!) So she has been encouraged to be more familiar, which she is trying to do.


Some of the communication issues are rooted in the basic language divide. The adults speak no English and the host sister, Jianing, is reluctant to show her limited range.


Cameron's Mandarin is conversational but she lacks the vocabulary for more complex concepts, which can easily lead to misunderstanding. But they are all trying to work it out, and by the time she leaves, I'm sure Cameron will have taken her Mandarin skills and cultural understanding to a new level.

~ Posted by Pam Hughes