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Re: Aspire2Inspire
I'm actually from Indonesia (South East Asia) and as I replied to sam444's comment, even in Indonesia, I often have to take a step back when listening to people talking.. You're right, Asian people tend to get carried away in facial expressions (and somethings arms too) when talking excitedly, so that they look like they are arguing.. In most Asian cultures (in the old time, mostly), open disagreement tend to be considered impolite, so really, it's when one person stays silent after another person's comment is what should be watched for, because most likely, the silent person is trying to subtly/politely express a disagreement ..
It's nice to learn a little bit more about other cultures.. I'd like to write next about my time in Sana'a, Yemen.. Even though Yemen is nowhere near Indonesia, but the two cultures have been bonded for decades.. A lot of Yemenis (mostly tradesmen) have long settled down in Indonesia, forming a great Arab society here, and a lot of Indonesian people have been studying (mostly Islamic studies) in Yemen.. I would be honoured and grateful if you would come and visit my blog and comment on my posts again in the future..
posted by
orcalion
on August 31, 2009 at 7:58 PM
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I'm from Kuwait, a little bit North of Oman - also a Middle Eastern country and from the Gulf region too. We share very similar cultures and traditions, albeit not exactly the same. We are very friendly people (both Kuwait and Oman) so don't worry
About the tone, yes, I don't blame you because to you Americans and westerners we do sound like arguing while we're not. Every time I go to the States or Europe we get that - they always ask us "why are you so angry?" or say "when you talk to each other you sound like arguing or fighting" when we're actually just talking or even kidding and joking around. It's funny coz we Arabs always feel that the people further East (Japan, China, Korea, etc) sound like arguing when they're talking... now I know perhaps they're not...
Anyways, glad I fell upon your blog and if you need any help or info regarding anything to do with Arabs or the Middle East, I'll be glad to help
posted by
Aspire2Inspire
on August 30, 2009 at 7:00 PM
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Re: sam444
Even in Indonesia, I often have to take a step back to understand what someone is trying to say behind the tones and gestures.. That's probably I enjoy writing much more than talking.. it feels safer
.. I'm really glad I did, sam.. that incident reminded me that people were generally good..
posted by
orcalion
on August 29, 2009 at 8:29 PM
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It is amazing how gestures and tones can be so different and misunderstood! Glad to see you getting out, though! You will be happy you did in the long run! sam
posted by
sam444
on August 29, 2009 at 2:40 PM
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