Understanding Culture
on Clarifel Rodrigo (Tanzania), 29/Aug/2011 19:16, 34 days ago
Prelude Notes: I wrote this post yesterday but I was too lazy to upload it. This afternoon, we had a meeting with our Executive Director and he mentioned things that are related to the culture of Tanzania that maybe not acceptable to foreigners (like me). I wonder if he can read minds. LOL. And I was embarrassed when he said that he reads my blog. Now, I should be careful ;-)<joke>.It is imperative that living in a place not in your own country is to blend with the culture of its people. It’s interesting to learn new culture (including the language but not applicable to me) but there are times that I get frustrated. These are some that I have experience and observed:·        Being laid back is synonymous to“no sense of urgency”. Even the meeting is sets at 9:00 A.M., expect that no one arrives on time. They always presume that everyone understands this– being late is a “culture thing.”·        It’s very common here to hearhabari(how are you),asante(thank you),karibu(welcome) andpole(sorry) from locals but there are some that when they bump on you or step on your foot accidentally, you can’t hear anything – an apology or sorry. For them, this is acceptable because maybe it is accidental or unintentional. Or maybe they are too shy to apologize.·        ShoutingDada(sister) orKaka(brother) at the waitresses or waiters in a restaurant when getting their attention is not rude even without saying“Excuse me”. ·         When you order a food at a restaurant; if the server says that you have to wait for 10-15 minutes, that will be an hour.with fellow volunteers - finally, we got out first batch of pizza<we had 3 or 4 :-)>at a fancy restaurant while waiting patiently for my order (I have to save at least 2 days of my allowance so that I can eat here)·        When you ask for a direction (on foot), if they sayIko Karibu(just nearby) maybe that’s still 5 or 10 km away.·        Shouting at each other or arguing in loud voices at public places is just normal. They don’t care if they are getting attention from others (or it could be that I am the only one that is distracted from this).The good thing is that, I have learned to assimilate all of these. Besides, I realized that I should be the one to adjust. Not them– it’s their country anyway.“Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.”       Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quotes (German Playwright, Poet, Novelist and Dramatist. 1749-1832)