Try imagining yourself living in a world where everything is the same—from the way people dress to the way they express themselves. It isn’t that interesting, is it? Our cultural differences are one of the things that make life so much more interesting. When you visit another place, you get to see sights that you haven’t seen or experience things you haven’t experienced before. While cultural differences sometimes cause conflicts, they indeed make Earth and much livelier and fascinating place to live in.
Asia is the biggest continent in the world. It is home to billions of people and it has some of the most interesting cultures and beliefs you may ever find. Let’s take a look at how it differs from the rest of the world.
Asia and UK
There are so many cultural differences between Asia and the UK, or Europe in general, it would take you forever to list them all down. For starters, individualism is very important for the British and other Europeans. To succeed, they use their own personal goals and objectives to motivate themselves. Asians, on the other hand, tend to be more collective. They often seek the approval of other people because it shows that they are part of a group or community.
As a result, they tend to voice their opinions in a more roundabout way or use passive-aggressiveness to avoid clashing with others. Europeans, meanwhile, say what they think in a straighter and more candid way, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
Asia and US
Americans are more upfront about their feelings and they put strong emphasis on individuality and autonomy, like the British and other Europeans. As such, when they succeed, they are not shy about telling others about it. Asians, on the other hand, are expected to show humility when discussing successes. In fact, they would not rather discuss how successful they are at all to avoid offending others or appearing a braggart.
Asians and Americans, however, do have one thing in common: their high regard for education. But while they may share the same view in this regard, most Asian families require and expect their children to be the best in school, whereas American families simply encourage their children to do well.
Asia and Australia
Australians are generally known for being laid-back and easy-going. When they make mistakes, they just roll with it. Like the Americans, they believe that it is just part of the learning process. Asians are quite the opposite as they tend to take things more seriously and personally. Because they have strong self-awareness, they hate losing face and being seen as a fool.
When it comes to authority, Australians have greater fluidity between parents and their children or managers and their employees. Asians, on the other hand, values hierarchy because it is what dictates authority. The person in the highest position in an organisation or the oldest in the family is usually the one who has the final say in decision making.
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