Today's post I want to talk about Differences in Manners. We all come from different ways of living. In a previous post I mentioned that my son Chase went on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He lived in Kiribati for two years teaching the people about Jesus Christ. One cultural mannerism the people have is to never walk between two people who are having a conversation. It's rude. Anyone driving by on a church on a motorcycle, while service is going on, needs to get off and walk it past. They don't want to disturb the service.
Culture according to wikipedia is... A cultural norm codifies acceptable conduct in society; it serves as a guideline for behavior, dress, language, and demeanor in a situation, which serves as a template for expectations in a social group.How do we know what is acceptable behavior in a new place we visit? We watch what's going on around us. We need to be observant. The first time I ate at my husband's house, after the prayer was said everyone waited. I noticed that they waited for their mother to take a bite before they all started eating. I was glad that I watched to see before I dug in. My point is... Everyone has different mannerism, be loving and kind while you learn and watch. Be respectful. Hopefully they will do the same for you.
Comments
I love that the people of Kiribati get off and walk their cycles past a church service! I have come to love some of the cultural manners we have learned about this week. I am going to be changing some of mine :) Great post.
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