#4

Basically I have seen a number of intercultural incidents. I will briefly talk about 3 of them. The first one is an incident between my Chinese friend and an American tourist. We were in town and was approached by this tourist who need some directions. He has some sort of slang that is so hard to understand what he was trying to ask. My friend ended having to apologies and repeatedly ask more about what he was trying to get to. This tourist was patient enough to repeat his question ample times and each time trying his best to make it clear and concise so that my friend could understand
I went to watch this movie titled "mad about English". This movie was about people in Beijing trying to learn English as they anticipated a large of foreign visitors during the Olympics games. The taxi company employed teacher to teach the taxi drivers how to communicate with foreigners using English. The movie show how one of the main character who is a taxi driver making use of what he has learned to greet and chat with his passengers in English. Every time when he doesn’t understand what the foreigner is trying to put across to him, he will reply, “Okay okay”.
Last summer holidays I was in Jakarta, Indonesia on a holiday’s trip to visit my friend. I planned to have a haircut at a hair salon in the hotel shopping center. I saw the pricelist which was in English so I assume that they will understand English. I walked into the hair salon and asked for a haircut and hair treatment to come along. I ended up having to use hands sign to let them know that I wanted a haircut and I wanted a hair treatment as well but they do not understand. I ended bringing that hair dresser to the pricelist and pointing to the hair treatment words and prices.
In most of this cases, I think we need to be more patient and empathetic so that peolpe can understand more easily.

#3

Recently there is a spat about how disgraceful public toilets are in Singapore. An article on this issue was also published in the Strait Times. Cleaners were complaining about how toilets are being ‘abused’ by the public. It is a common but unfortunate sight in public toilets to see porcelain bowls plastered with wet toilet paper. Floors and toilet seats were spattered with urine, and used sanitary towels sat atop the lidded bins provided precisely to keep them out of sight. Soiled floors around the urinals could be seen in the toilets for ‘gents’. Smoking in the toilets is banned, but it still happens. Aside from leaving behind the odour of smoke, culprits also stub out their cigarettes on toilet roll dispensers, leaving them pocked with scorch marks and ash-littered. People here clearly have lack of toilet etiquette. They feel that it's not their toilet, so they don't feel like the onus is on them to keep it clean.
The Restroom Association of Singapore has declared its target of making seven in 10 public toilets here clean by 2010 through public education. Its president Tan Puay Hoon said that though well-designed and decorated toilets have definitely become cleaner but toilet habits here need an attitude overhaul.
How can we keep our toilets clean and green? Discuss about whether charging a minimal fee for toilet usage will deter people from keeping it clean. Often people feel that they pay for the usage of the toilet, so it is not their responsibility to keep it clean. Or maybe public education is needed to emphasis on good toilet habits. A survey would be necessary to find out more about whether the people feel that it is their responsibility to keep the toilet clean. And also will they minimal fee deter them from keeping the toilet clean.