bridge gaps between strangers (including foreigners) and themselves. It is natural for them to be smiling and friendly when they came across strangers. But in eastern Asian countries like Japan, smiles are used differently. Japanese do not readily show emotions, especially to strangers. They are conditioned to use the face to conceal rather than reveal their feelings. In Japan, people do not usually smile at a stranger.
Case 26
Chinese people seldom hug each other, particularly in public places. If they do, a romantic message is usually conveyed. Go to any airport or train station in China, and you will see senses of greeting and good-bye with all the feelings expressed in the eyes and the face, but it is unlikely people will hug, with only younger ones as an exception. In contrast, people of Latin American cultures touch each other in communication much more than people of some other cultures, especially Eastern Asian cultures. At a time of meeting a friend or upon departing, hugging each other is very natural for Latin American people. On such occasions, hugging has no romantic connotation; it is just like a handshake in China, but warmer and more enthusiastic. Women tend to hug each other than men hug women, but both are common. One’s discomfort at hugging in such situations may be interpreted by Latin Americans as unfriendliness.
Case 27
As with smiling, laughing does not always serve the same function in different cultures. Interestingly, for us Chinese, laughing often has a special function during tense social occasions. People may laugh to release the tension or embarrassment, to express their concern for you, their intention to put you at ease or to help you shrug off embarrassment. In this case, the people there actually wished to laugh him. Their laughing seemed to convey a number of messages: - don’t take it so seriously;
- laugh it off;
- it’s nothing: such things can happen to any of us, etc.
Unfortunately, the American was unaware of this. He thought they were laughing at him, which made him feel more embarrassed and angry, for in his culture laughing on such an occasion would be interpreted as an insulting response, humiliating and negative.
Case 37
The US salesman in this case was acting according to ideas about dress that seemed appropriate to him in his culture. He may have considered the informality of his dress as signaling a willingness to put aside rigid rules of behavior and be friendly. He may have been cold and enjoyed the warmth of a large sweater. He may have spent the previous 20hours on plane and, without a chance to change his clothes, may have gone straight to the trade show, because, to him, being there was more important than being dressed a certain way. But in the Japanese culture, this kind of dress is considered very inappropriate for such a formal business occasion.
Case 38
In a country where there are very strict cultural taboos on nudity, such packaging would be considered a form of obscenity. The US firm had to pay a high price for not understanding the culture of their customers. Religion usually plays an important role in influencing customs,
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