Witnessing Culture Shock

The other night I met a fellow Australian here in Santiago. Not in an expat bar, not doing anything touristy, but at a small birthday celebration in the suburb of Macul. Everyone apart from myself and this guy were Chileans, and I was intrigued as to how he fit into the scene.

Over the course of the evening I got to know him and his story intrigued me.

This guy, we’ll call him Pablo, was born in New Zealand and moved to Australia when he was a one year old. His parents were Chilean and this was his first trip to Chile at the age of 30. He was a mechanic by trade, lived in Adelaide and other than New Zealand he had never been outside Australia.

Compared to most other expats Pablo was completely fresh to his current situation: being away from home, traveling, mixing with people of another culture, etc. I found his observations and opinions, along with his level of enthusiasm when he was talking, priceless.

They included:

• People are so different here. Everything is different.
• People are super sensitive about gift giving in Chile. “One time I was wearing a hat and someone gave me another hat but I didn’t put it on because I already had one on. Then they got mad. I didn’t know I had done anything wrong but people told me later I should have swapped the hats.”
• Alcohol is really cheap in Chile.
• It’s frustrating and tiring having to speak something other than your mother tongue all the time. “Its so nice to speak English with you guys!”
• He missed home a lot.
• People are constantly offering him food and help with things. It’s too much. 
• Portion sizes are bigger than Australia.
• People are so touchy here.
• Property is really cheap here.

Kiss or a Handshake (awkward)

Pablo was a typical aussie bloke. His slurred mumbling accent was perfect! It made me smile just listening to him talk about his rugby union team in Adelaide. (btw he thought Canberrans were super tough rugby-wise :) )

But the thing that was impressive about meeting this guy was realising that this experience was blowing his mind! He was going to remember every part of this trip. He’ll be telling his friends about it and how crazy it was for years to come.

Maybe coming to Chile could open his mind to other traveling opportunities, spark his curiosity about the world outside of Australia. How great would that be! Maybe he’ll be more open to engaging with the multicultural mix of people that live in Australia. More open to new Australians coming from other countries, because he has had a glimpse of what its like to be away from what you know and have to learn and adapt to a whole new way of life.

I am of the opinion (and I hope its not too far from the truth) that his experience outside of Australia will have a positive impact on his life in one way or another. He didn’t take the path of joining a tour group and seeing museums or backpacking and climbing mountains, he came with his mum to get to know where she came from by living in her old suburb, buying empanadas from the shop she used to and hanging out with his grandpa. Respect.

Entrepreneurial Spirit in China, Chile and Australia

I find it fascinating to travel and learn about different cultures because it helps me to understand the world better. Conceptualising theories in from a textbook is not useful until you know that it is real somewhere. I have learnt so much from living outside of my own culture and I recommend it to everyone who has the opportunity. 

Entrepreneurship

The vibe that I have felt when in developing countries like China and Chile is one of movement, motivation and opportunities. It rubs of after a while and you feel excited just to be part of it. So many people are finding new ways to be prosperous, to improve their living standards, to connect with the rest of the globe and think outside the box. 

When I lived in China I found that working hard and business networking was a part of life, a vital part. People were open to ideas and opportunities coming their way and they set aside a significant amount of their personal time and energy for pursuing those opportunities. Apart from cultural tendencies for making contacts and helping people with favours, the fact that the economy was growing rapidly seemed to influence their view of their potential in that environment and motivated them to take advantage of the available opportunities. 

I also met many foreign expats in China who were thinking of how to open their own businesses so they could connect with the opportunities of the Chinese market. Some of them were also from developing countries. I really admire all of their views and motivation for creating something from nothing. At the the same time they are willing to take risks for the chance to succeed, and they aren’t afraid to fail and learn from mistakes.

In Chile I have found a similar phenomenon. Young Chileans are very open to meeting new contacts, to network and talk about their ideas. Many people have their own small businesses and are working out the issues along the way with the support of their families and friends. But the point is they are willing to work hard to be their own boss and make something for themselves. When networking, the way Chileans and Chinese people explain their ideas is with passion, with authority and with a little bit of “fake it til you make it”. This skill is very useful in life, not only in business but socially too. Having confidence in your thoughts and projects shows your motivation and planning, the time you have put into something and how far you are willing to go to succeed, your commitment. It also helps you develop your powers of persuasion and diplomacy: essential skills to have to get what you want. As a non native speaker of both Mandarin and Spanish, I have coined this “whoever talks the longest wins”. The more you can talk about a topic, the more information you can impart on the other person in the conversation, the more you you know, the smarter and more well informed you are. This positions you better to gain and use contacts. It is definitely a skill I need to master.

However Australian culture is different. We have tall poppy syndrome, we don’t want to hear someone go on and on about how much they know. Instead of being impressed we might be hesitant to cooperate with them, we might interpret the noise as compensation for lack of actual knowledge or credibility. Moreover from my experience in Australia so far I see less entrepreneurial spirit in young people. Most people are interested in securing a well paying job by studying at a advanced level and working their way up the chain (while paying off their Uni loans). In Australia this is achievable and is very secure, so in reality this plan is a smart one, however the environment discourages new businesses being created and level of competition in the market. In general the population is risk adverse and would rather take the safe pathway to financial security. Now, I don’t pretend to be an expert of economics, so I would be very interested if anyone has other comments on this.

I’m sure that government policy, laws, media, culture, location and many other factorrs also influence the amount of business growth and entrepreneurial spirit in a country. As Prahni from Seachange says “Everything is connected to everything else”.