OSF11 Textbook

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OSF11 Textbook

11 Interacting with Strangers

One Step Further ACTIVITIES

Here are some more responses from the Ibunka Survey on the topic of interacting with strangers. Let’s examine them for underlying cultural trends. We can see that the language in many responses hints at two basic patterns.

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LOOKING FOR PATTERNS

CULTURAL PATTERN A: Interact with strangers ΖQ VRPH FXOWXUHV ZKHQ SHRSOH ȴQG WKHPVHOYHV ZLWK VWUDQJHUV LQ D SXEOLF VSDFH WKH\ WHQG WR VPLOH DQG PDNH VPDOO WDON WR IHHO PRUH FRPIRUWDEOH 7KLV XVXDOO\ IHHOV TXLWH ȊIULHQGO\ȋ HVSHFLDOO\ WR SHRSOH ZKR DUH QRW IDPLOLDU ZLWK WKDW FXOWXUH +RZHYHU VLPSO\ VPLOLQJ RU FKDWWLQJ ZLWK VRPHRQH GRHV QRW PHDQ WKDW D UHODWLRQVKLS KDV VWDUWHG

CULTURAL PATTERN B: Ignore strangers ΖQ RWKHU FXOWXUHV ZKHQ SHRSOH ȴQG WKHPVHOYHV ZLWK VWUDQJHUV LQ D SXEOLF VSDFH WKH\ WHQG WR LJQRUH WKHP QR VPLOH QR VPDOO WDON ΖQ WKLV ZD\ HYHU\RQH IHHOV PRUH FRPIRUWDEOH 3HRSOH GRQȇW FRPPXQLFDWH ZLWK VWUDQJHUV ZKHQ WKHUH LV QR VSHFLȴF UHDVRQ EHFDXVH IRU WKHP FRPPXQLFDWLRQ PHDQV WKH ȴUVW VWHS WRZDUGV D UHODWLRQVKLS 7KLV FDQ IHHO ȊFROGȋ WR SHRSOH ZKR DUH QRW IDPLOLDU ZLWK WKDW FXOWXUH

Read through the Ibunka Survey responses below. Highlight in one color the words and phrases that hint at Cultural Pattern A: Interact with strangers DQG LQ DQRWKHU FRORU WKH SDUWV WKDW UHȵHFW Cultural Pattern B: Ignore strangers. You can work and discuss this in pairs or small groups.

In the U.K, it is fairly common to acknowledge others, and you might even say it’s a social expectation. This can be done with a smile, a nod, or even by saying hello when you enter an elevator, or if you join a queue and you make eye contact with someone. In supermarkets or shops, it is very common for the checkout assistant to start talking to you and it rarely feels contrived. This is something I sometimes miss about the UK. In Japan, I have found that a lot of people avoid both eye contact and small talk, unless you're somewhere where alcohol is being served. %ULWLVK PDOH WUDQVODWRU OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 1 Usually, on the street I would not address people I didn't know. So I wouldn't mind not talking to someone even if we were in the same space for a longish amount of time. But if XTRJTSJ FIIWJXXJI RJ ƳWXY YMJS . \TZQI WJUQ^ YT YMJR PNSIQ^ %HOJLDQ IHPDOH UHVHDUFKHU OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 2 Let’s say .ƍR NS FS JQJ[FYTW \NYM F XYWFSLJW FSI \JƍWJ GTYM MJFIJI YT YMJ YM ƴTTW If I am in a good mood and the person looks receptive, I would probably make a brief general comment on the way up. That is quite a long time to be in the same space as someone and not acknowledge them. I might at least smile or make brief eye contact to say, "yes, here we are, you and me, we are in the same space going to the same place." $PHULFDQ PDOH IUHHODQFH MRXUQDOLVW KDV OLYHG LQ -DSDQ 3

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4 When I meet complete strangers, I am rather neutral, but I smile and say a greeting when I meet a familiar face in my neighborhood or at work, even if I don't know the person. )UHQFK IHPDOH WHDFKHU DUWLVW OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 4

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5 If someone smiled at me in the street in France, I would be like, "Do we know each other?" )UHQFK -DSDQHVH IHPDOH VWXGHQW OLYHV LQ )UDQFH 5

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In certain situations I smile at strangers, like cashiers or moms who are with children who are having a tantrum. But otherwise I generally ignore them. Smiling is a way of communicating without words. If I don't feel the need to communicate, I keep a neutral expression on my face. ΖWDOLDQ IHPDOH HQJLQHHU KDV OLYHG LQ -DSDQ 6 I don't understand why anyone would smile at strangers in the street for no reason, so I don't. But I feel quite comfortable talking and smiling, or even joking lightly if there's a reason for contact, for example when completing a transaction with a shop clerk or asking someone for directions in the street. When I’m back in France, I have also noticed that it’s actually not uncommon for people to offer help to a complete stranger if that person seems to be in trouble. )UHQFK PDOH DUWLVW OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 7 I feel that Japanese people exchange very few casual conversations with strangers. The fact that you use formal language as soon as you speak to a stranger might explain this. It creates a kind of barrier. This is not the case in the States, because people are often TS ƳWXY SFRJ YJWRX from the outset, with people they meet in a casual situation, like at a party, or on campus. It makes it possible to feel "equal". $PHULFDQ PDOH DUFKLWHFW KDV OLYHG LQ -DSDQ 8 Before living in Japan, I lived in Paris for three years. I thought French people were so cold at the beginning! I didn’t get a single nod, smile, or word from anyone. But in Japan it’s even worse. I feel that people here don’t even look at each other. $PHULFDQ PDOH WHDFKHU OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 9

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Write a paragraph on the topic of interaction with strangers. Include your opinions and reactions to the cultural patterns you found in these survey responses.

EXPRESSION

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