Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

A year ago, my family and I went to Perth, Western Australia for a vacation and to visit some relatives there. Often when we travel to a foreign country, we experience different cultural behaviors. These differences could be due to different cultural values and beliefs.

Upon arriving in Perth, my family and I disembark from the plane and joined the queue at the customs. When it reached our turn, my younger brother went ahead first. Immediately, the customs officer asked him if we were his family and called us forward. The officer then told us that we should stay together as a family everywhere we go. This surprised me as back home in Singapore or neighboring Malaysia, we usually proceed individually to the counters unless of course you are accompanying a young child. Even so, a family of five would not be allowed to clear customs together. I guess in countries like Australia, the culture is much more relaxed and family orientated whereas Asian countries like Singapore are more rigid.

The second experience that I would like to share is about my journey on public buses. Upon boarding the bus, most of the locals would greet the bus driver. Likewise upon alighting, passengers would thank the driver before disembarking. Initially I thought that these were regular passengers and the bus driver had built a special relationship with them. However, as days passed and with more trips on public buses, this seemed to be the norm. I felt that this was expected of me and I soon found myself practicing it too. Later, I asked my one of my relatives if this was the norm. He explained to me that the locals are quite vocal and they appreciate the service and sacrifices bus drivers give. In contrast, in Singapore we perceive that it is the bus drivers job to provide the service and bus drivers should be the one greeting passengers. I wish in Singapore, we could have such a culture. From time to time I have observed more bus driver greeting commuters in Singapore. Yet very few will return their greeting or even acknowledge it. I hope that we could at least smile back or return their greeting. Maybe we Singaporeans are just shy.