Growing up I was taught "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". And more than that, if someone started discussing some negative aspect of themselves you don't agree; in fact at times you go to great lengths to disagree even though it could be true. And you don't point out obvious flaws in someone. You talk about those flaws behind their back with your friends. Ha Ha. You all know you do it.
Apparently this is not the same in other cultures. I've been at my company headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA this week for some meetings (sorry Linda; we had dinner plans each night while here!). One of my co-workers is a lady from Shanghai. She is only a couple years older than me and really super sweet. We were at lunch yesterday and chatting and here is a portion of our conversation... I will call her C and me E...
C: "you have sun damage on your face"
E: "yep"
C: "aren't you too young to have that?"
E: "yep"
C: "have you looked into getting laser treatment?"
E: "i have looked into it but am worried it would damage my skin more"
C: "why don't you wear make-up to cover it up"
E: "Not sure"
C: "Americans wear a lot of make-up"
I prefer the culture where we don't point out the obvious flaws...
2 comments:
HAHA! That's funny! We need to get together when you get back! Do a girls night or something!
I laughed so hard reading this post. In fact, it is the funniest one I have read in a long time. It so brings back memories of me in Korea. They definitely point out every flaw and problem. And,since it was in Korean, they would sign it too, in case I wasn't exactly sure what they were saying. Yes, I much perfer our culture where we don't point out obvious flaws. Thanks for a good laugh!
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