There is an old saying that says when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I learned the meaning of this when I stayed in Russia as a visiting scholar(学者).
One day I invited some of my Chinese friends to a famous local restaurant in Moscow. My guests and I were excited about our meeting. We had a lively talk until the waiter told me that we were too loud. We lowered (降低) our voices. The waiter came over to us two more times with the same message.
How bad an impression(印象) we must have left on the local people ! In China, it's natural and important for a host to make a lively atmosphere (气氛). However, in Russia and Western countries, having a meal in a public place means you must keep your voice low. You need to be polite to others.
I felt bad about this.
My Russian friend Andrey always looks around and thinks for a while before leaving home. I asked him why he did this. "Aha," Andrey said, "in Russia, people always spend about a minute going over things and plans in their minds before leaving home."
Finding the differences between cultures is so much fun. I like to keep my eyes and mind open.
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A. But this didn't last long. B. Russians have their own special habits, too. C. So they won't leave anything necessary behind. D. Even though we tried our best, it was very difficult to fight against habits. |
