 |
| Sorry, your iPad is broken... |
This smiling girl has
just dropped your precious iPad. Her smile is getting wider and wider. Why?
a)
because
she enjoys at your display of your extremely negative feelings
b)
because
she believes she saved you from being a slave to one of your e(vil)-devices
c)
because
she is an undercover Apple salesperson and wants to sell you a new iPad 3
d)
because
she wants to lessen your aggravation with her smile
Answer d sounds crazy
enough to be the correct one.
Maybe it has something
to do with a cultural difference...?
Imagine I step on your
sore toe by accident. Pain and frustration will turn your face into an ugly
mask.
I will try to mimic
your expression and utter words such as »Terribly sorry, it must really
hurt...«
We will both work hard
to bring the feeling of your pain and your aggravation to maximum.
When you will feel bad
enough for being stepped on and I will feel miserable enough for my clumsiness,
we will both be satisfied.
If something like this
happens in Bali , the one causing the offence
knows he or she can not undo it.
Therefore what he /
she can do is to shorten the time of your pain, frustration, aggravation...
Hopefully, a gentle,
apologizing, warm smile could slow down your train of thoughts which is already
speeding towards destination aaargh.
And a Westerner not
used to this pattern of interaction will think “And now you even enjoy at the
misery you caused!!!”
And more he goes
ballistic, wider the smile of a Balinese is :)
These are situations
when we can submerge into different culture, different perception, different world...
And if we successfully
absorb a little of this in our hearts, this is all what visiting Bali is about.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteSuch reaction is very calming, I agree. But I wonder: didn´t globalisation came to Bali? I mean, will Balinese take over from tourists the ugliest behavior?
Karin
Globalization is rather old and present practically everywhere.
ReplyDeleteCultures and behaviors started to mix in the very early days.
When our ancestors learned how to cross the stream without drowning themselves and swing a strong branch at the head of neighboring tribesman…, we can say humankind started to learn to exchange different values and establish new kinds of relationships :)
In sophisticated world today, spreading different ideas and convictions is more efficient. With battle ships and missiles people can make much stronger point.
And the effects of this mixing of cultures are mildly put interesting…:)