miscommunication the ASEAN way

Thais celebrated our Mother's Day yesterday and it was one of the special days for us dee jung na ka!

I was in Indonesia to share my thought on internationalization of higher education and ASEAN with some points to share but for now, I have another on my mind ka!

It was quite late when I arrived at the hotel so by the time I started to charge my cellphone battery, I found that the only socket that was the same type as mine didn't work. Immediately, I called the reception and operator to ask for an adaptor but no one answered after several tries so I decided to call the room service instead.

The guy on the line was so nice and helpful but I was surprised when he called back, asking me to be at the lobby as there is a 'cart' there. I didn't understand why a cart was needed and so I repeated the request with the hope that they had a spare one and that someone could bring it up for me to my room. What he said made me even more confused as he put it, 'We have a manager here and will give you a solution.' I was then wondering why asking for an adaptor needed a 'solution'.

I was really surprised several minutes after that when I was visited by the hotel manager and a staff. The manager said to me, 'Mam, I heard your husband is sick!' Oh! My goodness! My goodness!

I then thought of the key word 'adaptor', which must have been mistaken as 'a doctor'. I apologized for the misunderstanding as I felt bad right away that it had caused some issues for the hotel. I also felt bad when looking at the staff who turned pale knowing it was a mistake, I could only apologize and show my appreciation for their caring.

Now, it makes me think if the reactions on both ends could be different if either of them is a westerner. Would we see similar ways of handling this miscommunication? Interesting mak ka!

Any comment mai ka?

Circus

The other day, I went to see a ‘circus’ with my friend and her mother. It was said to be ‘World Best’ and I got some good thinking from it ka.

The image I always have on my mind was the circus from my childhood years when my father took me to several. My attention was on the funny clowns, amazing trained animals, and exciting performances of acrobats. All seemed to be real colorful and magical.

This time, it wasn’t like what I expected. It was more sophisticated, I think, to come up with a story from the beginning to the end. While I was watching the circus, I couldn’t help thinking of the human skills especially the acrobats! Yet, I also came up with these questions/comments ka:

·         Most of the performances were dark and dim. The music didn’t sound cheerful! Where were all the colors gone and what about the lively sound of music?

·         The slower pace of most of the shows may not respond well to our current world of changes.

·         As I didn’t hear kids’ laughing that much, what happened to the clowns who used to be the life of the circus? ‘Circus’ must have changed its definition and it may not be for kids anymore. Or I must have been amazed by the show of trained animals then!

·         Technology has brought excitement to our eyes through various channels and ‘live’ shows might have decreased their charms?!?

·         I must definitely be trapped in the hi-speed world!

·         The circus could eventually disappear?!?

Even with all the above, I deeply admire human physical strengths, individual persistence, and team efforts to push to the limits of their potentials ka!