|
 The
Way It's Done in Our Countries
In
each country we find some specific customs or
traditions.
Greece
Taking
a Nap
Each
country has several unwritten rules, and
each member has to follow them. One of
these unwritten laws in Greece is to take
a nap from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Every business
or office is closed during this time.
Streets are deserted and silent. Even if
you do not like to sleep, you have to obey
and be at home. You can not make any noise
that can disturb your neighbors.
If
you are a foreign businessman, you can not
order your staff to work at this time, and
it is better for your nerves to also go
home or to your hotel and take a nap.
Probably, you will find it very helpful.
Then, in time, you might become a real
Greek!
Sergey
Funygin is from Russia, but is Greek in
origin.
|
Colombia
Dating
a Person
It
is very interesting to see how some rules
that are not written anywhere control our
behavior in some situations and some
places. These rules are not the same in
all countries, and even between cities in
the same country there are some
differences. In Bogota, Colombia, we can
find some unwritten rules in some specific
situations such as when you are dating
someone.
At
the beginning of the date, whether they
know each other very well or not, the man
has to pick her up at her place and on
time. Sometimes before they go out, her
parents will invite him to come on in for
a few minutes, just to be sure that she
will be all right.
It
happens first of all, when you are
starting dating and your parents want to
know who you are dating. When they go to
the car, he usually goes ahead and opens
the door of the car for her.
When
they get to the place, which could be a
restaurant, discotheque, etc., he must
move the chair for her before she sits
down. When it is time to pay (This is the
best part!), he will pay for both. Coming
back home, he will go with her as far as
the door, and wait with her until the door
is opened.
Macho
man culture? Some could call it that.
Personally, I think that men are very
gentlemanly acting like this, and I find
it more romantic than in other countries
in which dating customs are just
old-fashioned.
Olga
Lucia Botero from Colombia
|
China
How
to Behave
In
China, there are certain rules people
follow everyday. When you get on a bus and
you sit down, if an old person or a woman
who is holding a baby or a little kid
comes, you should give your seat to those
people because they need the seat more
than you.
When
you are in line to get on a bus, you
cannot get on the bus as soon as the door
opens. You need to wait until the people
get off the bus first, then you have to
let ladies or old people or kids get on
the bus first.
In
China, when you talk to another person,
you need to look her/him in the eyes while
you're talking. When a person talks to
you, you should look at her/him in the
eyes, too. If you look somewhere else,
that's impolite.
When
you have dinner or any other meal, young
people and kids should let the elderly
members of the family have a seat
first.
These
kinds of rules are everywhere in China.
Even though they are not laws, people
still follow them everyday, everywhere. If
you don't follow them, fine. You won't
break any laws, but you will be considered
rude and impolite.
Yi Xie from China
|
Russia
Treating
guests correctly
Many
unwritten rules are related to how to
treat guests. For instance, in Russia when
you have guests at home, you have to feed
them well. If you don't invite your guests
to the table, they can consider you very
disrespectful and greedy.
Usually
hosts serve typical Russian food such as
borsch, chi, and
pelmany (looks like very big
ravioli). Also, you have to put a bottle
of cold vodka and mild-cured cucumbers on
the table. Usually, this finishes with all
the guests and hosts singing old Russian
songs.
Sergeo
Funygin is Greek in origin, but he is from
Russia.
|
Colombia
Standing
apart and avoiding eye contact
In
Colombia, there are some unwritten rules
that people are used to. These rules are
not officially established, but people do
respect them. For instance, in a bus, a
person has to keep a distance from another
person. I would say less than a meter.
Most people are used to going to their
jobs late because they prefer to wait for
another bus if the first one is too
crowded. They don't want to have to stand
very close to another person, or maybe
they are afraid of starting a
conversation.
A
friend in Colombia once said his mom got
angry because he came home late, so he
asked his mother this question: "Mom, why
do you think most people arrive to their
jobs so late." That gave her the answer to
her question because everyone knows no one
wants to get on a bus when it is too
crowded. His mom realized at that moment
that customs have a big influence on a
person's life.
Sometimes
people don't like to make any kind of
conversation or make eye contact with
others. For example, when they are in line
to go into a bank, they prefer to look up
or down than to look at the other people.
Moreover,
people usually look down when they are in
an elevator. Not only in a bus, in line at
a bank, and in an elevator do people
usually avoid talking to other people, but
also in the streets when they are walking,
they prefer to look down.
An
anonymous student from
Colombia
|
Return
to:
It's
International
|
Home
Page
TOPICS
Online Magazine
- ©1997-2007 -
Sandy and Thomas
Peters
- topics.mag@gmail.com
|
