Jonathan Sebastian Cross Cultural Thinking

              It can be very strange how even the simplest of actions can be rendered incomprehensible in a different culture. Language barriers and differences in tradition can conceal details we very frequently take for granted. One of my experiences early on in my trip to Taiwan was almost comical in how trivially mundane it was while still presenting a challenge I simply did not know how to approach.

              On one of my first trips to go get food on my own, I decided to go to a local fast food restaurant to dip my toes into some unfamiliar cuisine without diving directly into completely uncharted territory. The process seemed about as easy as I could hope for. Everyone ahead of me in line got their food only a couple minutes after it was ordered. There was even a menu on the counter with large pictures to point to so I could clearly order without having to speak Mandarin. I placed my order and was given a tray, not with food like everyone else’s, before or after me in line, but a number.

              I figured this order number was nothing too out of the ordinary, and waited patiently for an employee to replace the numbered plastic placard with my food. And I waited. And waited and waited. After about twenty minutes I began to wonder what had gone wrong. It may seem silly, but I was hungry and confused as to when the food I had already payed for would be brought to me. I tried to ask an employee for help, but without a common language gestures only go so far.

              To solve this issue I did something I wound up doing many, many times over the course of my trip. I asked a stranger for help. It felt more than a little embarrassing, but after a couple tries I found another customer who spoke English well enough. She spoke with the employees in Mandarin for a moment, and my number was replaced with my food. Problem solved.

              Even now I am not entirely sure what exactly happened at that restaurant. I think if I spoke Mandarin I would have been able to identify and address the problem immediately, but as it stood something simple as a moment’s confusion over a fast food order became an unapproachable mystery. It definitely made me respect the language barrier and the complications it could present in a way I had not before.  

              The most valuable thing I learned from that experience was in its solution. There is no shame in asking a stranger for help in a moment of confusion. It can be surprising how much something with just slightly more familiarity with your surroundings can help. It feels very awkward fumbling through a language barrier. It certainly made me feel very self-conscious almost constantly. Simply asking for help, though, was the answer to so many problems. People are very frequently willing to help where they can. It feels very good knowing that even so far out of my element, I could come to rely on assistance when I felt lost. 


---Jonathan Sebastian