It is often said of the Chinese that they have quite the "adventurous" palate. Compared to the typical Western diet of muscle meats of the chicken, beef and pork varieties, Chinese cuisine is known to include such “delicacies” as offal and dog meat to name but a few. Such cultural differences in the definition of what constitutes food often lead to reactions of revulsion and disgust on the part of non-Chinese diners and can be a source of contention, as was the case in the following intercultural scenario observed within NUS’ own campus.
The brouhaha that unfolded in the Office of Student Affairs was between two students who shared a room in a hostel, one hailing from China and the other from Europe. A pigeon had flown into their room through the window while the European was away and the Chinese roommate had caught and cooked it. When the European returned, she was appalled by the Chinese student’s offer of a piece of the cooked pigeon. To make matters worse, there was an ongoing bird flu epidemic. So off they trouped to the OSA to settle their grievances in an incomprehensible shouting match mediated by a bemused professor who, experienced as he was, could not understand a word of the incoherent screaming, nor placate them for that matter. Ultimately, both parties left dissatisfied and changed hostels shortly after.
Personally, I felt it was much ado over nothing. A trivial incident, blown out of proportion by irreconcilable differences between two cultures worlds apart. As the old adage goes, one person’s meat is another’s poison. The Chinese student probably thought it only polite to offer her friend a share of the pigeon as food is communal in Chinese dining. How ungrateful it must have seemed, for the European to react with disgust. The European on the other hand, was not likely to have even considered the pigeon as edible and took it as an affront to her dignity when asked to eat a bird caught off the streets. Neither willing to postpone judgment of the other’s culture nor able place herself in the other’s perspective, the miscommunication was inevitable.
Falling out over trivia, but for a lack of cultural sensitivity their friendship might have endured, is that not the grandest of tragic misunderstandings?
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ReplyDeleteOMG!!!
ReplyDeleteEverybody in your tutorial group including Brad is going to glorify your deity, Issac. If they don't I would kill myself!!! How rigorously splendid your writing has lived up above my expectations, Issac. I enjoyed every single minute of my time spent reading your work I even read it THRICE OVER because I could not get ENOUGH OF IT! Oh gosh, Issac!
I think this had to be writing of the most fine caliber, I urge Brad to read into. None of Brad's past students' writings I have read in all his semesters experiences could ever live up to Issac's level; not even mine in all certainty.
Again Issac, you wrote such a wondrous blessing unto my subconscious you almost had my personal excess code to it, why haven't we met and embraced???
The only recommendation I can make about your writing perfect as it already is; make more use of the semi-colon, because that would compartmentalize or organize your ideas that much better in a classy way. Having said that, it was merely a recommendation and you needn't apply it because for normal non-literary writing, the semi-colon is hardly used, if ever.
Cheers
Favor que hacen un aplauso!
Hi Isaac,
ReplyDeleteinteresting story, I'm wondering if its true though. Catching a pigeon and eating it seems extreme even for the 'iron stomachs' of the Chinese. Like the way you were able to raise two cultural points within the short story. It was an enjoyable read. Cheers! =)
As dramatic as it sounds, this actually did happen in NUS' OSA. City-dwelling Chinese probably wouldn't eat wild game either, but in many parts of rural Asia and Africa, "bush meat" is still widely consumed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing an interesting intercultural conflict that might possibly exist. You have created a very stark contrast between the Chinese culture and the European culture. From this experience, we can understand that people have preconceptions of one’s actions. For the European, cooking a pigeon would be unethical but for the Chinese it might be a norm and in fact, sharing such a delicacy is an act of kindness. However, in order for us to avoid such confrontations and conflicts, we should learn to take a step back and understand the situation so as not to be too fast to judge. It is important to clarify and learn before jumping the gun and reprimanding someone. In this way, we can be more sensitive and appreciative of other people’s culture to avoid any misunderstanding. However, I believe that such a situation is very unlikely in our modern age. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteHi Isaac!
ReplyDeleteHave you considered journalism to be a possible route for your career? I ask this because i think that your smoothness in penning. your thoughts down concisely and clearly is extremely unique. Your gift in writing would surely be able to revitalize columns in papers!
K,back to the topic,thanks for writing yet another enjoyable post! Well,my first thought after reading it was as Jake's- disbelief. I never thought that people in this time and age would carry out such seemingly barbaric actions. But upon some reflections,I realised that I had experienced an incident of this sort when i was younger. During a field trip to a park in my primary school days,i got to know a boy who came from china to singapore recently. And as we sat under a tree with a few other friends,he noticed ants crawling up the tree we sat under. Without hesitation,he picked up a big juicy ant and popped it into his mouth. I remember him being quote generous,subsequently offering his next few squirming catches to shocked Singaporeans. I didn't talk to him after that.
On hindsight,I'm thankful that my response to that incident was not like what you described in your post. At least,there was no outburst on my side. I feel that sometimes,even if we know how another culture is,it will not protect us from the shock that we get from 'weirdness' we experience. Do you think there would really be a difference if the Europeans had known about the things Chinese ate beforehand?
Hi Isaac,
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting read. It is how we are brought up, nurture as well as nature (our surroundings) that influences the way we perceive things. The chinese national might think of the pigeon as food while the European might think of the pigeon as a lifeform. In this case it was a pity it resulted in conflict because mutual understanding and tolerance might have mediated this whole affair.
Hey Edwin, how could you so be condescending towards his majesty Isaac???!!!??!!
ReplyDeleteJournalism is not good enough for Isaac; how could you think otherwise Edwin??!??!! Journalism is meant for the unimaginatively opportunistic half-shots and has-beens!!! Isaac has more literary genius to offer. You should really have said, Edwin, that Isaac write a fiction/non-fiction novel that will rival Oscar Wilde's!!!!!!!
Muchas buenas
Beside Edwin, Isaac's literary genius would be a scorn of journalism and its columns; simply because it is nothing like that!!!
ReplyDeleteBueno
Yea Edwin what's wrong with you??!! Can't even get your praises right...
ReplyDeleteDon't you see that journalism is not good enough for Isaac? And that he is more comparable to the great Oscar Wilde? Even though Oscar Wilde himself enjoyed reviewing and journalism, and that it was a form that he believed suited his style, and that he was in fact once a journalist, and that between the years of 1886 and 1889 he contributed articles for the Pall Mall Gazette and the Daily Chronicle, and that he would one day become editor of The Lady's World magazine...
Next time check yourself Edwin. It not you are just making yourself look stupid...
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go."
- Oscar Wilde
This is a very interesting post, Isaac, one that describes clearly, concisely and with great panache how differing values and norms can lead to misunderstandings. I take it that the student who caught and cooked the pigeon was a girl. Correct? How skillful! Of course, what I find most odd is not that she managed the feat but that her roommate was so offended. In fact, in Europe a variety of birds are prepared and consumed: besides the obvious duck and chicken, people eat quail, pheasant, and yes, even pigeon. Of course, that is not universally true, as your example shows.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a good point comparing rural and city dwellers. Within countries, those different environments' inhabitants indeed develop (sub)cultures unto themselves.
Much has been made of the culinary habits of "the Chinese." Of course, there are undoubtedly countless regional differences there as well. Wouldn't you say that stereotyping "Chinese" cooking and eating habits is treading into dangerous territory? After all, 75% of Singaporeans are Chinese, in a manner of speaking, but look at the variation that exist even here.
In any case, thanks, Isaac, for your effort!
That is a good point. The Chinese are not a homogeneous entity. However, some generalising is required when describing members of a large group as it would not be possible to list the specifics of every single unique individual in a community. Thus the invention of the occasionally necessary evil of stereotyping.
ReplyDelete