Cultural Differences: Misunderstandings & International Issues

[Tsu]

I once had a friend who was an older Scotsman. He had come to the U.S. when he was considerably younger. He had only been here a short time when he asked a young (American) woman out on a dinner date. They talked and laughed throughout dinner - seemingly had a very nice time. As dinner ended and as he was feeling very good about the way the evening had progressed, he blurted out "You know, you're a keen b*tch". As you can imagine, she was extremely insulted and ended up leaving him at the table and stomping out of the restaurant. Bewildered, he also left and went home. He called an American friend and told him the events of the evening, whereupon his friend tactfully explained to him the cause of the problem (use of the word 'b*tch'), telling him that, in this country we just don't refer to nice ladies in that fashion. Still somewhat confused, he said "But I said she was a KEEN b*tch" - and that made it quite a compliment!

Any comments or other 'stories' of cultural differences? Do you feel (as I do) that these differences are probably a large cause of problems in international relations?

 

[kyleb]

sure, you can insult a European chef by laying your silverware down on your plate in the shape of an x. granted if the chef understands that you do not know the custom then no offence will be taken, but people often have a hard time seeing things from anything but their own perspective.

 

[Tsu]

Originally posted by kyleb
sure, you can insult a European chef by laying your silverware down on your plate in the shape of an x. granted if the chef understands that you do not know the custom then no offence will be taken, but people often have a hard time seeing things from anything but their own perspective.

Very interesting. Thanks for the tip! Is there a similar way to send the chef a compliment?

 

[kyleb]

ya the utensils should be placed parallel to each other on opposite sides of the plate.

 

[Andy]

The scotish are a good laugh, especially when they try to talk it mite be english but you can't understand it.

 

[Tsu]

Originally posted by Andy
The scotish are a good laugh, especially when they try to talk it mite be english but you can't understand it.

My friend was pretty hysterical, all right! He and his twin brother used to get in the BIGGEST fist fights out in the barn over some slight disagreement - and this was when they were in their mid-60's!
They'd both come back into the house looking like Zero! But they would have their arms slung over each others shoulder and laughing it up big time. Guess that was just the way they worked things out!