Intercultural Communication Presentation

The semester is coming to a close, and it's sad to think that most of the other 留学生 will be heading to their home countries this summer!  But, I'll save that for another time.  Today I had a presentation in my Intercultural Communication class on my "culture shock" experience as an American in Japan.  I think it went well...I was quite impressed with the devotion of my group to producing an in depth analysis and well-rounded presentation  Their insights from a Japanese perspective were fascinating!  I won't bore you with the details; I'll just say that this was probably one of - if not the - best presentation groups with which I've ever had the pleasure of working.

Because it's relevant to my general theme of Stuff I Find Interesting, I'll let you in on a few of the cross-cultural quandries that piqued my interest.

Culture Shock!
The standard textbook model summarizes culture shock as the process through which one becomes adjusted to a new, generally alien host culture.  It's a bit more involved than the popular culture version.  There is actually a definable series of behaviors/attitudes that the shock-ee will likely experience in phases, not unlike the process of grieving.  Well, that was a depressing analogy.  Anyway, it goes something like
   1. euphoria/excitement <-- everything is new and awesome
   2. disorientation/confusion  <-- things seem strange and even "wrong"
   3. rejection/unhappiness <-- shutdown mode; everything sucks
   4. getting your sea legs <-- figuring how to work past the differences
   5. successful integration <--functional independence
Followed by:
   6. Reentry shock <-- sometimes worse than the initial culture shock because it's unexpected!
If you're interested, I recommend wiki-ing it!

The Japanese Concept of "KY".  An abbreviation of the phrase.  Anyone who's spent significant time in Japan can attest to the significance of this phenomenon.  It literally translates to "reading the air", or as used in context, usually "you're not reading the air!"  You see, subtlty is a prevailing mode of communication in Japanese culture.  It's manifested in everyday life EVERYWHERE.  No one will come out and tell you they disagree with you or disapprove of something.  Ever.  You really have to pay close attention to their nonverbal cues to figure out what's really going on.  If we had a western equivalent, it would be something along the lines of "take a hint", or "read between the lines."  Though Japanese understand that many foreigners come from much more direct, or low context, cultures, sometimes asking for an explaination will get you nowhere.  I have been lucky enough in my travels though that most people are willing to explain my own social gaffes if I just asked politely and ignorantly as possible.  For example: "I'm sorry, can you explain to me what just happened?  I'm a foreigner so I really don't understand, but I want to so it doesn't happen again!"  Yes, I've actually said that.  In many different situations! 

Curriculum vitae
Most of us are painfully familiar with the process of drafting a professional, engaging, visually appealing and yet not over the top c.v.  It must be technical, but not too cut and dry.  It has to stand out, but not look ridiculous.  And so on.  Well, in Japan they fill out a standard form with predetermined fields for required info.  It takes out all of the guesswork!!  Also, you MUST include a recent personal photo.  Here's another thing that might make the activist in each of us gawk: they admit to judging your "fit" for the job based on the conformity of your appearance - hair must be black and pulled back (girls), suit must be black, blouse must be white, face must usually be Japanese (!), no odd piercings and such, no showing your teeth!  I'm not making this up.  It's directly from other Japanese students and professors!

There was more but I'm boring myself.  On to the next entry!!