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ontoit
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 99
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 Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:20 am Post subject: |
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| MO39 wrote: |
| sweeney66 wrote: |
I'm sure that I've unknowingly offended some of my friends with my directness. "No, sorry, I can't. I have other plans." Or students! "Well, what mark did you expect, when you've missed half the classes?"
Ha!
Well, they put up with me. |
I think that often Mexicans who have friends from non-Latin cultures realize that we do have different ways of reacting to invitations and are more direct in many ways. Some Mexican friends have told me that they like this and wish Mexicans could be a bit less indirect about things, though maybe they were just being "nice". |
I think one of the major problems in language teaching/learning is the expectation that the (in this case) native English speaking teacher conform to the cultural environment of the learners. That is, language is more than words, isn't it? It's gestures, attitudes and a whole bag of other factors that fit best in their own context rather than being forced into the contect of another language annd the culture that informs it. |
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El Gallo
Joined: 05 Feb 2007
Posts: 318
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:13 pm Post subject: |
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Just when I think my "culture shock" is over after four years, a new situation arises.
In the poor, rural colonia where I live, the custom when a neighbor dies is to take something and candles to the house. I usually take candles and a large stack of Styrofoam plates and cups so the family can serve their visitors. This is usually very much appreciated with a return gift of tamales a few days later.
Last week when one of my rich student had his mother die, I took flowers and candles to a fancy funeral home in the city. I was puzzled to find no other candles there. Later another well to do client told me I was corriente for taking candles to a funeral home as this is not the custom.
Oh, well. |
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Milenka
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 113
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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| El Gallo wrote: |
Later another well to do client told me I was corriente for taking candles to a funeral home as this is not the custom.
Oh, well. |
I'm sorry you had this awkard experience, El Gallo. "Corriente" is one of the most classist words in Mexican dialect, �gu�cala!
On the other hand, one of the aspects shared by all societies arranged in social classes is that what may be considered a gesture of politeness/solidarity/sympathy or even rudeness/ignorance/lack of manners among the members of a certain class could be quite the opposite in another. Not to think of dress codes, hairdos, cuisine and eating habits, favorite music and a long etcetera.
There are many examples of social codes in Mexican culture that vary according to social class. One that comes to mind is when you're invited to a wedding: if the couple is poor or "clase media baja" you may bring a gift directly to the party; if they are "clase media alta" or "clase alta" you should never show up with a gift, you're expected to follow the social code of checking their gift list at the department store of their choice and have the gift delivered to whatever place they indicated when "registering" the wedding (usually his or her home, or that of their parents'). |
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El Gallo
Joined: 05 Feb 2007
Posts: 318
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the insight.
So that is why I was the only one to show up with a gift at the wedding of my rich student's niece.  |
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