Respect for local customs

[kkbaby]

Just a warning to all new teachers heading abroad!

Try to respect the cutlure you are submerged in. Often I have come across foreigners teaching abroad, and all they do is complain and complain and complain about how things aren't right. If you feel things aren't right and are a complainer, then leave and go back home.

The beauty of teaching overseas is seeing things in a different light. Seeing and experiencing a different culture is one of the best things of teaching overseas.

Don't be a complainer. Be an appreciator.

[Hypiereon]

How true, how true, how true!! Being a foreigner we sometimes forget that things are NOT supposed to be the same here as they are back home. I can almost hear people saying it already "I know; I understand" but you really don't. Not until you live it day in and day out. That's the point of experiencing a new culture. So, when you do complain - and most of you will eventually if you stay long enough - try to make sure you're not taking it out on the locals. Running into the different cultures is very stressful and will play havoc with your sensibilties instilled in you from your home country.

Understanding that there is another perspective of the world out there can be very interesting and eye-opening. You'll not only learn to see the whole world in a different way, you'll actually start to see your own country in a way that people back home, who have never lived abroad for any length of time, will ever understand. If you let it, learning the differences in cultures can even make you a little more tolerable of the world around you - or just make the world a more tolerable place to live. It's all in the perspective.

[10cents]

Amen and amen to both! When we live in a foreign country, we not only do so for our own interest. We are also unofficial ambassadors of our country. It's always best to leave a good impression on our hosts.

It's nice to hear comments like "Oh,you're from Japan?!? We had a Japanese visitor last month and he was the most polite person I've ever had the priviledge of meeting."

[reviewer]

If you don't enjoy differences in culture, why teach abroad? Research the area and customs before you go. You may not get everything right, but most people will appreciate the effort.

[exported_kiwi]

I concur completely. I hear so many times, of foreigners who teach illegally in various countries. I wonder if those same people are aware that they're disrespecting the very country, and culture they claim to respect/love so much. Yes, as I've said here many times, we're ambassadors for our own country, and as such, are also a window, and insight into other ways of life for the folks here. Most of the folks we teach here( in China anyway) are poor and will never escape their drab lives, so we give them a chance to see the world, and their own country, through different eyes.

When we make the decision to teach/travel abroad, we need to know exactly why we're doing so. If we leave our own country's without being fully aware of why, what and where we're going, then we're gonna possibly have a real bitter pill to swallow when we get there. We all have to remember that we're guests in a country, not a citizen, so it behooves us to act accordingly. Those ignorant assholes that do nothing but complain give not only themselves, but us too, a bad name. Why? Because as foreigners, we're generally all lumped together in the same category rather than by country etc. If you're not accepting of differences, why go abroad when you know that there are gonna be a helluva lot of differences that you have to adjust to. Sadly, I've heard of too many teachers expecting the hosts/employers to adjust to their every whim. Newsflash to those pillocks: get over yourselves! Yes, we're here to help, yes, we like a certain level of comfort etc, but what gives us the right to expect things to be just like home, and make some poor FAQ's life miserable just because you aren't happy with say; the TV! Wake up folks, it's not our country we live in when we're teaching abroad and if you haven't figured out yet, we're guests, so it's best to be gracious, accepting of those little things that annoy, and be genuinely interested in where you're gonna be going before you get there.

Remember that life is about choices and experiences. Make the right choice and your experience should be a mighty one, maybe even a life changing one. Make the wrong choice and accept the consequences for your ignorance... simple really. Attitude is what counts, acceptance is what allows us to make the most of each experience we have, and being gracious and unpretentious is what allows us to make friends wherever we are.

These are just things I've learned along the path I'm treading now, hope it helps!
Take care y'all and remember that one mans trash is another mans treasure!

[Tutor]

Teachers tend to have attitude many times. I have come across situation when people go abroad and have superiority complex about their native country. They tend to make statements abouot supermacy which is not totally acceptable.

This way a person is trying to insult the host country. Once has to accept that the host country is different from one's own country.

[exported_kiwi]

Yeah, I've seen so many foreigners here in China who swagger about as if they own the place and expect the locals to give way to them as they walk briskly through the crowded malls and shopping streets, barging their way through the crowds and earning the ire of the locals, and folks like me. I've seen it and have asked the offenders why their attitude is like it is. Their response..."They're only Chinese, who cares". To be fair, some of them are tourists and not long term residents, but still, they're foreigners.

Now call me a moron if you think the cap fits, but aren't all people, whatever colour or race etc, still people? Who the hell are we, or anybody else for that matter, to expect deference in a country that is not our own? Do we have the right to expect such even while at home?

The answer is simple... if you think you're superior, guess again. Whose cultures are older than ours? Whose civilisations were evolved while we still living in caves etc. Get a grip folks, those of you who can't see your way clear to respecting the host country, and the citizens of said country, might actually be better for you lot to get out rather than get a grip! We're guests and as such, we can overstay our welcome, and that day may approach early for those who think they're superior. Sadly, we'll all get lumped together as ignorant foreigners in the minds of the locals.... and that's the true travesty here because there are those of us who truly love where we are, the locals and the lifestyle we live because these very same locals allow us to do so, yep, the same ones that some ignorant pillocks think are inferior!

Nuff said!

[skydolphin]

Perhaps the greatest complaint is English teachers bringing 'western attitudes' with them and live the 'college lifestyle'. I guess it depends what country you go to.

The most extreme I heard was of a teacher getting drunk in Thailand. He had to pay his fare before the the trip. He threw the driver out of the cab and drove the cab home. He got 4 1/2 months in jail. He is lucky it could have been worse. The thought of spending time in foreign jail is pretty chilling.....The culture may be warm and welcoming but humourless when its laws are broken...

[Brisbanian]

I would have thought for most foreign teachers the immersion in other and different cultures would be the genesis for their wanting to go overseas and teach?

The challenge, the new experiences and new people would motivate them to want to go and teach there?

I suppose having that mentality and maintaining when you are overseas are two different kettles of fish, but as the saying goes "When in Rome". Keep your identity, but don't expect others to treat your different because you are from another country/culture.

Cheers