Today in Myanmar » culture shock

Culture Shock – Beware of your Feet

Bamarlay — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:08:15 +0000

I met many foreigners (mostly westerners) who do not feel anything to put their feet on the table while sitting on the chair. This seems a normal habit to them. They don’t feel like it is a strange or rude thing to do it. And I know they don’t mean to be rude. However, in the eyes of a Burmese (Myanmar) man, it is a strange behavior. Indeed, in the eyes of a Burmese, it is really a very rude thing. For Burmese (Myanmar), head is the most sacred part of the human body while feet are the most inferior part. Being the lowest part, they are not only under every part of the body but also the dirtiest part. They touch ground, dirt, mud, garbage, feces; just think of all the dirty things lying on the ground. Invariably, feet become the most dirty and smelly part of your body. Just try to sniff your feet at the end of the day. For Burmese, dirty part should only be in the lower place. When you put that dirty part of yours onto somebody’s clean table, it is like an insult to that person; I mean if that person is a [...]

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Culture Shock – When a Myanmar do not say NO

Bamarlay — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:58:28 +0000

Many a time, foreigners (especially western foreign expats working in Myanmar) will notice that things they ask from Myanmar friends are met with affirmative answers but never materialized. For example, a westerner expat might invite his friend to a dinner party. The Myanmar friend is not free on that day. Normally, a westerner will simply decline to the invitation and tell his friend that he cannot come because he is not free. In case of Myanmar friend, he would probably say yes, even though he knows he cannot come. On the day of the dinner, he is not appearing. He would not also call his foreigner friend that he cannot come. The next day, he will apologize his friend for not being able to come, blah, blah, blah. The foreigner might think that his friend is not trust worthy and not consistent. Here lies that difference between western culture and Myanmar culture. Myanmar people are usually reluctant to say no, especially to foreigners. (Forget about those annoying taxi drivers and shop keepers. They are the exceptions.) The closer he is to you, the more he may be reluctant to say no. Thus, instead of saying “No”, he will simply choose [...]

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Culture Shock – The Story of “YES”

Bamarlay — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:26:52 +0000

I worked for a French Company for over 10 years. When I talked with my boss and other French friends, I used to prompt the conversation with YES, not with “ah ha”, “I see”, “really” etc. like in western way. After some times they came back and asked me if I have done their requests. I was puzzled. “I have never promised to do that thing for you”, I told them. But you said, “YES a few days ago” they countered. This kind of incident happened not only to me but also to my other Myanmar friends. The root of the problem lies in “YES”. Myanmar (Burmese) use the prompting word “YES” when conversing, westerners don’t. For Myanmar (Burmese), YES is not a promise or acceptance. It is simply a way of acknowledging the conversation: a simple way of saying “I hear what you say”. So when we speak in English, our habit of saying YES in Myanmar (Burmese) is literally translated into English word YES. We have our own special word when we accept something. It is a cultural difference. Later we had to explain it to our French friends to take our “YES” as a meaningless word. At [...]

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Today in Myanmar » culture shock

Culture Shock – Beware of your Feet

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Culture Shock – When a Myanmar do not say NO

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Culture Shock – The Story of “YES”

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