<- Aliens!
When we were in Florence, Italy we were rushing for time, as we wanted to visit one of those out-of-town factory outlets and do some shopping in the afternoon, and we had some spare time as the bus only leaves at 1430. So we headed off to Stadio Artemio Franchi, home stadium to Italian Serie A club Fiorentina. (The both of us are soccer fanatics, and we have a common dream to visit all the stadiums in the world =P) Anyway, after taking photos and the likes we headed off to the official merchandise store, looking forward to buying some merchandise, but guess what? On the door a big closed sign and a note underneath it read, "Siesta time, be back at 1430" Imagine the look of disappointment on our faces... It was very disappointing, as the next day was sunday! Shops aren't open on Sunday! Brillant Siesta scuppered our plans! (If you are wondering what in the world is a Siesta, it means afternoon nap time >.<)
<- Even the cats aren't spared when it comes to Siestas....
Another incident was in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Brillant place really, filled with fast cars, high-stakes casinos and expensive hotels! (no hostels there, wonder why =P) So after the usual walk around Monaco, Kelvin remembered that he was to buy a keychain for his mum, not just any keychain, it must contain the flag of Monaco, but guess what it was 1655, and shops close at 1700! Thinking that there's still a chance, he rushed up this departmental store (mind you it's a departmental store!) only to be unceremoniously stopped by the salesperson, who managed a grand total of 3 words in english, "we are closed" it was impossible to argue with them mind you as i'm totally incapable of voicing out my thoughts in French. (Soon I'll though) So poor Kelvin had to leave Monaco without the keychain... My dear friend's attempts to comfort me we rather humourous though so I'll attempt to share it with you, my dear reader.. He was like chill it's not that bad, buy a Singapore flag keychain, and paint the cresent moon and the stars red, or buy an Indonesian flag! Such >.<>
<- Monaco VS Indonesia->
Not easy to tell the difference huh?
What you have shared is very insightful.
ReplyDeleteI remembered when I was in Beijing eariler this year, I encoutered my fair share of cultural barriers. The first time I took the public bus there, I raised my hand in attempt to flag the bus. The bus did stop, along with a taxi and a dozen of eyes staring at me. It was then I realised that the public buses over there stop at all the bus stops, and the raising of hand should only be reserved when I needa cab.
Indeed different culture requires us to adapt differently.
hahaha.. yes, monaco is indonesian inverted flag.. ;p
ReplyDeleteenvy u, how i wish i could travel around european countries for 2 months too as my trip to europe was only for 10 days. enjoyed it so much and how i wish i could go back there, such a historical country.
sigh i m not financially capable to travel so much. i wish i can have the privilege to travel around too.. got to be very fun... i think everytime u travel u will suffer from culture shock. If one will to go Africa to experience their life, a Singaporean will never adapt to the environment in a few months. Perhaps years are needed. I want travel down to Old Trafford and watch how Manchester United get thrashed by Liverpool 4-1 =X oops haha
ReplyDeletei don't really travel much. Different country do have different culture and one have to blend into it when they are in the country. Like what you say, like singapore we have shop that close very late while for other after 6 or 7 they are all closed.
ReplyDeleteI believe if you stay at a certain country long enough you will slowly adapt to the culture there. I believe everyone have their way to adapt to the different culture some are fast while others are much slowly
oh... rem poland flag? hehe... if u buy a keychain or collar pin or whatsoever... u cant tell which country's flag. inverting it, you get another.. might even be more than 1 country. =D anyway, you can't really tell if it should be looked this way or the other anyway.
ReplyDeleteculture is one whole big topic... but i think it is always gd to know others' culture to communicate better. besides, it can be interesting to know. like some ppl shake their heads in agreement and nod their heads in disagreement... but for some other ppl, u can nv tell.. they do both ways to acknowledge sometimes =p
Travelling around the world is the dream of many people, including myself. It is an eye-opening experience where one learns many things.
ReplyDeleteI myself was travelling in a tri-shaw around Beijing a couple of months back and what i saw was humbling indeed. Thousands of people living in conditions that is a stark contrast to Singapore. One learns to appreciate what he has been given in life through experiences like this.
yeah, i also get culture shocks... :) hehe... but not that much. im more shocked because sometimes when i go abroad, it's so orderly... unlike in our country. hehe...
ReplyDeletei also love travelling, observing people, seeing places... what's the most fun part in travelling? it's not the shopping... it's meeting people, and connecting with them... oh, i love food tripping as well!!! especially those cheap street foods... :) i so love china for that!
Strangely, even though cultures are so different, they do have common elements. For examples, Dragons exists in many different cultural myths. Most races believe in at least 1 form of God and some idea of afterlife. Did representatives from every race come together and tie these things down in days long gone? Highly unlikely considering the language barrier.
ReplyDeleteImport your keychain ! With globalisation, you can now buy it off ebay or amazon.
ReplyDeleteI guess different cultures have different values. Asians value hard work (and money) and thus the shops run by Asians don't close so early.
I remember that when I went to Australia the shops closed at 5 or 6pm. Only the restaurants and pubs were open after that.
And in Japan, foreigners are explicitly called aliens. Egocentricism exists in most cultures. Singaporeans are guilty of this too - when we travel overseas, we sometimes complain that the conditions in other countries are worse than in ours.
it really is similar, unless one has a discerning eye. Do not fret, you shall get other opportunities to get a monaco keychain. on a sidenote, i realise that I have indeed been to countries that do not have a Mcdonalds. I believe you have too, given your purportedly wide repertoire of countries visited. It is interesting to note though, that no two countries that have macdonalds in them, have ever gone to war! believe it!
ReplyDeletethis post really invokes some degree of thought in me. is cultural imperialism a bane or boon to the world? i personally believe it isnt too bad, so long as the country knows how to retain the core of the heritage. however, this is rarely seen in singapore, as our heritage continues to be effaced in place of western consumerist values. i might sound exaggerated, but how many of our youth today really know about our country's history and culture, and more importantly, how many are interested?
ReplyDeleteA few weeks back, I was trying to persuade a friend of mine to fly to Sydney this May. However, he won't budge. So, I asked myself. What can I say to entice that person to book a ticket? What are the possible reasons one would want to travel?
ReplyDeleteSo when I tried to answer that myself, I came up with this(besides having fun with friends): I love to visit different museums.
It's been my habit that before I visit a certain place, I try to read about it first. Although I can't completely say that I do it because I want to be culturally aware.
I think I do it mainly because I want to know their way of life and how I can adjust to that. However, some information on the net is too generalized. And more often than not, the information on the net is not enough.
For sure, the more places you visit, the more you'd come to realize how diverse society is. Most of our trips serve as an eye-opener, in one way or the other. And that makes the experience more worth it. :)
Go to a museum in Macau with me, ok? :)
Most definitely! If Singapore does well in Macau (*hint hint* anonymous =D) alright jokes aside, I feel that doing research is most definitely not sufficient, as more often than not, these articles are put up by people who know nuts about a particular country's culture! Think about it, if I'm not from the particular country, regardless of how hard I scrutinize the population there, and how many interviews I actually conduct to find out about culture, I can't give you 100% of the country's culture can I? Even if I'm from the country itself, there are definitely parts, even regions which do not conform to the norms in the entire country, I would not be able to list the differences unless I'm from those regions yea?
ReplyDeleteI refuse to buy my monaco keychain via ebay, or amazon! As it defeats the purpose of the keychain! What I'd rather do.... Will be to save up some $$ and revist Monaco =D Contuary to Shaun's belief, there's a Macdonalds in Pakistan, and Palestine even for that matter =P hahahaha Surprised?