I found the excerpts from Figuring Foreigners Out to be quite interesting, and particularly liked the way the author presented the contrasts between the different types of cultures. In many of the categories, the US and India seem to be at opposite poles. This is very true about Polychronic versus Monochronic time, for example. The US is definitely a monochronic culture; time is very valuable and there is never enough of it. As a student in the US, I often feel the truth in the author's statement that, "Time in the given and people are the variable; the needs of people are adjusted to suit the demands of time (schedules, deadlines, etc.)" In India, however, time is much more flexible, reflective of the polychronic nature of the culture. In Hindi, the word for "tomorrow," कल, is the same as the word for "yesterday." I once waited for six hours by myself to buy a last minute train ticket while in India. This included the one person working taking an hour long lunch break much to my (monochronic) disbelief. When my number was finally called, the man working didn't seem to understand why I jumped out of my chair and hurdled myself towards the counter. What I had thought would take about half an hour had turned into a half day endeavor.
Many items in the non-verbal chart were also pertinent in India. There, boys who are good friends are the people most commonly seen holding hands. Also, the use of the left hand is considered taboo; students who were left handed were told they needed to learn how to eat with their right hand when with their host families. Another form of verbal communication the chart mentions is pointing one's feet at another person. India is a country where this is considered extremely disrespectful and a sign of boredom when in a lecture. Whistling, too, is considered rude. These forms of non-verbal communication were not difficult to adjust to, but an awareness of them was extremely important to ensure interactions were culturally appropriate and polite.
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