Cultural differences abound in every society today due to the presence of a myriad of people from different countries, experiences and backgrounds.
I experienced the following cultural difference when I was on exchange in the U.S. In certain small classes where interaction between the professor and students was high, I was surprised to hear the students address the professor by her first name. I observed this with almost all the students in the class, all of whom were Americans except me. They addressed her as such with much ease but I was very hesitant. I stuck to my usual way of addressing her as ‘Professer’ or ‘Prof’ which she usually did not hear the first time and I had to repeat myself to get her attention as she was not accustomed to hearing it. I felt uneasy every time someone addressed her by her first name and even after hearing it repeatedly over a period of time, I was not comfortable with it.
This difference in behaviour observed in Asian and Western society can be attributed to differing emphasis; respect for individual liberties in Western society but respect for the parents, elderly and teachers in the former. The importance of respect given to elders in Asian culture is evident by the way Asians change their entire way of speaking and addressing an elder, by using a more formalized language. This, however, is not the case in Western culture where elders are not treated likewise. Therefore, a mutual understanding of cross cultural traditions, beliefs and practices is essential to ensure conflicts do not arise due to misinterpretation and misunderstandings, for instance, if a student from the West attends a class in an Asian country where respect for the teacher is paramount.
The following link gives an interesting visual comparison of Western and Asian culture:
http://www.vincentchow.net/2004/western-asian-culture-comparison
