Comments on: Lum’s trip to Korea http://psychochild.org/?p=158 A developer's musings on game development and writing. Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:16:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Psychochild's Blog http://psychochild.org/?p=158#comment-38088 Psychochild's Blog Sun, 07 Jan 2007 12:57:32 +0000 http://www.psychochild.org/?p=158#comment-38088 <strong>Weekend Design Challenge: Cultural differences...</strong> Sometime it's easy for us Americans to get bogged down in our own little world and forget that there are other countries outside our borders besides Canada and Mexico. I've written before about cultural confusion when you're in a country that is ve... Weekend Design Challenge: Cultural differences...

Sometime it's easy for us Americans to get bogged down in our own little world and forget that there are other countries outside our borders besides Canada and Mexico. I've written before about cultural confusion when you're in a country that is ve...

]]> By: Psychochild http://psychochild.org/?p=158#comment-8898 Psychochild Thu, 25 May 2006 00:21:20 +0000 http://www.psychochild.org/?p=158#comment-8898 You are right, Al, it's the cultural differences in addition to the language differences. But, there's an additional element of feeling like an alien if you can't even ask a question from a random passer-by because you don't speak the language. The first few times we went to Germany, our licensee was in a small town where there were less people that spoke English. There were also less places that catered to an international crowd. The first hotel we stayed at was very confusing in the customs. And, yes, I should have tried to learn more German, but I'm American and knowing Spanish and English should be enough! ;) Of course, when I was with someone I knew I could get information. When our licensee moved to a larger city, there were less cultural issues. The hotel was more like we expected, the waitress in the restaurant area actually spoke English, and there was a Walmart nearby that was still strange, but had that air of tacky American familiarity. ;) There was a better chance that someone on the street spoke at least a bit of English to help us out. But, the experience of being in the small German town and being totally separated in terms of culture and language was an experience. It's different than going to a country where you at least partially know the language. It really makes you understand how different our cultural assumptions really are, especially when you can't just ask someone for a bit of help. I think many people, especially Americans, don't really grasp this concept. Most either stick to the highly tourist parts or don't wander far from friends. That's why Scott's travelogue was really interesting for me, because he went a bit off the beaten path and had a truly alien experience. You are right, Al, it's the cultural differences in addition to the language differences. But, there's an additional element of feeling like an alien if you can't even ask a question from a random passer-by because you don't speak the language.

The first few times we went to Germany, our licensee was in a small town where there were less people that spoke English. There were also less places that catered to an international crowd. The first hotel we stayed at was very confusing in the customs. And, yes, I should have tried to learn more German, but I'm American and knowing Spanish and English should be enough! ;) Of course, when I was with someone I knew I could get information.

When our licensee moved to a larger city, there were less cultural issues. The hotel was more like we expected, the waitress in the restaurant area actually spoke English, and there was a Walmart nearby that was still strange, but had that air of tacky American familiarity. ;) There was a better chance that someone on the street spoke at least a bit of English to help us out.

But, the experience of being in the small German town and being totally separated in terms of culture and language was an experience. It's different than going to a country where you at least partially know the language. It really makes you understand how different our cultural assumptions really are, especially when you can't just ask someone for a bit of help. I think many people, especially Americans, don't really grasp this concept. Most either stick to the highly tourist parts or don't wander far from friends. That's why Scott's travelogue was really interesting for me, because he went a bit off the beaten path and had a truly alien experience.

]]> By: Alistair Riddoch http://psychochild.org/?p=158#comment-8885 Alistair Riddoch Wed, 24 May 2006 18:43:04 +0000 http://www.psychochild.org/?p=158#comment-8885 In the course of my game related activities I travel to a few countries around the place, but Germany and the USA are the most common. Typically I travel to both once or twice a year. My initial raction to your assertion that Germany left your feeling alien was puzzlement, but then realised that this probably has more to do with culture and less to do with language than you think. In my experience the vast majority of Germans speak at least some english, but to a large extent their willingness to use it depends alot on how you approach. I often find that if I make a sincere but grossly incompetant attempt to speak german, people will respond in english, but starting in english is seen as rude, and will often be ignored. I am pretty sure I would be a lot more lost in a far eastern country. There are cultural differences I have to deal with in Germany, but I suspect they are less pronounced than they are for you. By contrast, I initially found the USA quite a difficult place to adjust to culturally, despite it being a country that primarily speaks my native language. Its been quite a while now since my first visit, but I can remember finding that many basic subconcious cultural assumptions just weren't true. After 15 years, and 10 trips, I still get caught out by things like not being able to drink alcohol on the street, cars that will wait for me to cross the street, and working out when I should tip. I haven't been busted for jaywalking yet, but it can only be a matter of time. In the course of my game related activities I travel to a few countries around the place, but Germany and the USA are the most common. Typically I travel to both once or twice a year. My initial raction to your assertion that Germany left your feeling alien was puzzlement, but then realised that this probably has more to do with culture and less to do with language than you think. In my experience the vast majority of Germans speak at least some english, but to a large extent their willingness to use it depends alot on how you approach. I often find that if I make a sincere but grossly incompetant attempt to speak german, people will respond in english, but starting in english is seen as rude, and will often be ignored. I am pretty sure I would be a lot more lost in a far eastern country. There are cultural differences I have to deal with in Germany, but I suspect they are less pronounced than they are for you.

By contrast, I initially found the USA quite a difficult place to adjust to culturally, despite it being a country that primarily speaks my native language. Its been quite a while now since my first visit, but I can remember finding that many basic subconcious cultural assumptions just weren't true. After 15 years, and 10 trips, I still get caught out by things like not being able to drink alcohol on the street, cars that will wait for me to cross the street, and working out when I should tip. I haven't been busted for jaywalking yet, but it can only be a matter of time.

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