When in China...

During the recent holidays I vacationed in China, and was struck by their different cultural norms. In Singapore, it is often normal to hear people address a female stranger as ‘xiao jie’, by which we mean ‘miss’. In fact, we hear it everywhere - in food courts, markets, shops, basically anywhere having salesgirls. When we were in Shanghai, my family was ordering food in a restaurant. My aunt wanted a menu and addressed the waitress as ‘xiao jie’, as we are used to in Singapore. This brought the waitress over but she seemed very unhappy and her demeanor, sulky. We did not know what to make of it and just wrote it off as poor service.

Later on in the tour bus, the tour guide informed us that while it is common to call service personnel in Singapore ‘xiao jie’, it is considered rude in China to call not only their service personnel but anyone ‘xiao jie’ as it means prostitute. If we needed to address the service personnel, it was more appropriate to say ‘fu wu ren yuan’, which means service staff. After hearing what the tour guide said, we had to watch our tongue whenever we called for service staff and tried not to lapse back into our habit of saying ‘xiao jie’.

This situation could potentially have been a larger conflict which fortunately did not escalate. This situation ended up very different from the one reported in The New Paper, which ended up in a brawl with the police having to be called in (for more information please see: http://forums.sgclub.com/singapore/excuse_me_xiao_157317.html).

I think there are a few things we could learn from the above situations.

1. It takes two hands to clap: both parties should be understanding and not bear grudges if a certain ‘rude’ action or word is used. The offended party should not be too quick to anger, whereas the offending party should take a step back and try to understand where the offended party is coming from. I believe both parties have to listen to both sides of the story before proceeding with a judgment.

2. When in Rome, do as the Romans do: even though it is such a cliché, I believe that when people are placed in different cultures, we should learn to adapt and not cling on desperately to our own customs. By doing so, we would seem less stand-offish, and it would cheer the natives that we are making an effort to integrate with them and assimilate their culture. When unsure of what to do and what the norms are, asking and clarification is the best way to go.

3. Never assume: Most gestures or phrases do not have the same meaning worldwide. Most of the time we assume that what is acceptable to us would be acceptable to others, and gestures and words are universally understood throughout the world. However, we should remember that the world is made up of people from all walks of life, and everyone sees things differently. Never assume, it makes an ‘ASS out of U and ME’ :)

Position Application Letter Draft #3

Blk 12 Pizza Street

#12-34

Singapore 567890

3rd February 2010

Singapore Zoo

80 Mandai Rd,

Singapore729826
Tel: + 65 6269 3411

Dear Sir/ Madam,

Junior Animal Management Officer

I am enclosing my resume in response to your advertisement for the above post which appeared on the Singapore Zoo website on 1st December 2009.

I have recently graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Life Science (Specialization in Biology). I consider that the study of Biology appropriate for the above post, particularly the course on Life form and function which explores the development of animals and plants. This module has allowed me to understand the various types of plants and animals and their various functions, which I believe is vital for this job. Moreover, I have handling animal experience as I have carried out research on animal behaviour. In addition, I am trained in writing scientific reports, which I consider essential for the job. Besides my academic studies for the past three years, I have also worked part time as a music teacher and a private tuition teacher. I feel that this demonstrates my ability to maintain dedication, motivation and enthusiasm for a project over a long period of time.

Studying at NUS gave me the opportunity to go to Toronto for a summer program, and being alone overseas has taught me to adapt to different circumstances and it has built my confidence in networking with people. Furthermore, being vice-director for an event organized by the Outdoor Activities Club in NUS, I had to liaise with various companies for sponsorship and recruit members into the event. This has helped me work on and improve my interpersonal communication skills as well as leadership skills. In addition, working as both piano teacher and tuition teacher has taught me responsibility in terms of taking charge of my students’ studies and finding the initiative to develop new ways of teaching to interest them. All these I trust would be very valuable for the job.

From reading your press releases I am assured that your work with wildlife, as well as conservation efforts is highly regarded in the community. I understand that the zoo is moving towards an open educational concept aimed to effectively convey facts about the animals and messages about wildlife conservation. Which I have a passion for conservation and hope that I would be able to make a difference in society together with your company. I am willing to go out of my way to widen my knowledge in conservation as well as animal management. I believe that the post of junior animal management officer would be worthwhile and challenging and am eager to learn valuable skills to make a difference in your company. I hope that you will look favourably at my application.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Tiffany Seow

Position Application Letter Draft #2

Blk 12 Pizza Street
#12-34
Singapore 567890

3rd February 2010

Singapore Zoo
80 Mandai Lake Rd,
Singapore 729826
Tel: 65 6269 3411

Dear Sir/ Madam,

Junior Animal Management Officer

I am enclosing my resume in response to your advertisement for the above post which appeared on the Singapore Zoo website on 1st December 2009.

I have recently graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Life Science (Specialization in Biology). Besides my academic studies for the past three years, I have also worked part time as a music teacher and a private tuition teacher. I feel that this demonstrates my ability to maintain dedication, motivation and enthusiasm for a project over a long period of time. I consider that the study of Biology appropriate for the above post, particularly the course on Life form and function which explores the development of animals and plants. This module has allowed me to understand the various types of plants and animals and their various functions, which I believe is vital for this job, as prior knowledge of animals and plants would give me an edge in the job. Being a Life Science student, I am trained in writing scientific reports, which I consider essential for the job.

Studying at NUS gave me the opportunity to go to Toronto for a summer program, and being alone overseas has taught me to adapt to different circumstances and it has built my confidence in networking with people. Furthermore, being vice-director for an event organized by the Outdoor Activities Club in NUS, I had to liaise with various companies for sponsorship and recruit members into the event. This I believe has helped me work on and improve my interpersonal communication skills as well as leadership skills. In addition, working as both piano teacher and tuition teacher has taught me responsibility in terms of taking charge of my students’ studies and finding the initiative to develop new ways of teaching to interest them. All these I trust would be very valuable for the job.

From reading your press releases I am assured that your work with wildlife, as well as conservation efforts is highly regarded in the community. Furthermore, I believe that the zoo is moving towards an open educational concept aimed to effectively convey facts about the animals and messages about wildlife conservation. I have a passion for conservation and hope that I would be able to make a difference in society together with your company. I believe that the post of junior animal management officer would be worthwhile and challenging and am eager to learn valuable skills to make a difference in your company. I hope that you will look favourably at my application.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Tiffany Seow

Position Application Letter Draft #1

Blk 123 Pizza Street
#12-34
Singapore 567890

3rd February 2010

Singapore Zoo
80 Mandai Lake Rd,
Singapore 729826
Tel: 65 6269 3411

To whom it may concern:

Junior Animal Management Officer

I am enclosing my resume in response to your advertisement for the above post which appeared in the Singapore Zoo website on 1st December 2009.

As you will see, I have recently graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Life Science (Specialization in Biology). I have been studying for the past three years, as well as working part time as a music teacher and a private tuition teacher. I feel that this demonstrates my ability to maintain dedication, motivation and enthusiasm for a project over a long period of time. In addition, balancing both work and studies have honed my time-management and organizational skills. I consider that the study of Biology appropriate for the above post, particularly the course on Life form and function which explores the development of animals. I was vice-director for an event organized by the Outdoor Activities Club in NUS. This allowed me to develop skills such as being able to develop leadership skills and oversee the whole event.

Studying at NUS gave me the opportunity to go to Toronto for a summer program, and I learnt to find ways to adapt to different circumstances and it has built my confidence in networking with people. Which I believe to be essential for the job as there needs to be good interpersonal and communication skills.

From reading your press releases I am assured that your work with wildlife, as well as conservation efforts is highly regarded in the community. I would find post of junior animal management officer would be worthwhile and challenging and I do hope that you will look favourably at my application. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Tiffany Seow

Is this meat?

Yesterday I was having lunch at a north indian restaurant. Scanning through the menu, I did not know what to order as all the food names were all not familiar and my friends and I did not recognize any at all. This then led to us asking the waiter what each column of food in the menu was. He then explained that there were starters and vegetable dishes. I went on to ask if a certain column meant meat dishes. The waiter looked down at me with a frown and did not say anything. A split second later, I realized my error that northern indian cuisine is strictly vegetarian. And I felt so embarrassed and apologized.

However, I wondered if the situation could be avoided. It is true that we need a certain amount of information to navigate through the different cultures and be culturally sensitive especially in a place like Singapore, where we are a multicultural society. But I am sure there are times where there would be laspe of judgement, as in this case, or ignorance. How then are we to know about every different culture in the world? Does this mean that we should be more widely read?