Fostering Intercultural Communication

Every region stands out from the rest in various cultural aspects be it language, use of technology, values etc. 

Before I moved to Singapore I assumed it would be very similar to Dubai (which was where I was then staying) in terms of the technology used, architecture or even the global feel about the place. Although I was right about a couple of things, as I settled into Singapore I noticed various oddities between the two places; some were good while some were rather strange as compared to my own culture.

My first impression about Singapore, apart from the cleanliness was the wide use of technology. It has amazingly Hi-Tech parking systems, which make public parking a breeze. All one needs to do is wait for the card reader to automatically read your parking card and assesses your balance. There are also displays, which indicate the number of vacancies in the different parking floors. Granted – this isn’t rocket science – but the fact that you can use it absolutely everywhere is genius!

Although there are a couple of things in Singapore that amaze me, I found certain traditions, habits dissimilar to those back home.  

Singapore is much more open when it comes to interaction between men and women,  dressing or interaction between the expats and locals. Dubai on the other hand has a more conservative culture where interaction between people is limited especially between men and women. Despite the large number of expats in Dubai one doesn't get to mingle a lot with them due to the different societies people from different cultures stay in. Imagine extending Little India in Singapore for each cultural group. Though this system is partly followed in Singapore too, the level of interaction here is much more. 

Aside the obvious cultural differences I noticed a few dissimilarities in the lifestyles of the two places. 

I remember on my first day here, I went out for dinner around 10 30pm, only to find everything shut down. Coming from Dubai where most shops close by 12/1 am, I found it strange to see no shops open after 10 here.

One of the stranger things that I became accustomed to was that most Singaporeans place the word ‘la’ at the end of a sentence – similar to ‘ya’ back home. I recall clarifying its meaning to ensure I was interpreting the local language correctly.

Although Singapore is similar to Dubai in many ways, various cultural traits differentiate the two places. 

Intercultural communication’s objective is to establish and understand how people from different cultures behave, think or do. If we overcome these differences we can learn to appreciate different cultures and make for a better environment.