Part 1: Reflections
During my previous semester, I had a Chinese roommate. As we were good friends, she took me to meet her father in a restaurant for lunch. I am an American, so the cultural difference presented a challenge that made the encounter a bit stressful.
In Chinese Culture, maintaining eye contact with the elderly is considered rude and disrespectful. Also, touching with strangers, in any way is considered overly intimate and wrong. Pointing towards a Chinese is also viewed as a rude behavior, which is why they nod to show acknowledgement. On the contrary, the American culture views the same as a sign of respect and attentiveness. In this culture, touching with strangers is not considered disrespectful in any way, just as pointing is not considered a rude behavior. The American culture does not give much meaning to actions as the Chinese Culture does.
As we ate our lunch, I chatted freely, laughing and maintaining eye contact with her father. Instead of being impressed with me, I noticed he was slowly getting angry and even becoming sterner towards his daughter. What I thought was being respectful and friendly was actually disrespectful and rude to him. The next semester, my roommate moved to China, as her father thought American friends were a bad influence to her.
Part 2: Cultural Conversation
In Chinese, maintaining eye contact at all times is considered rude, especially when it is with the elderly (Hulea 204). This is because it shows that one thinks he or she is an equal to the elderly. This is an example of the form identified as eye contact is meant to pass on a message. Its role is to show respect, by not looking directly into the eyes of the elderly.
Gestures
Work Cited
Hulea, Lavinia. "Communication - Organizations' Work Device." Annals Of The University Of Petrosani Economics 10.3 (2010): 197-206. Business Source Complete. Web. 6 June 2016.
