Culture Shocks

Culture Shock I - Where are note cards

On Friday I was saddened to learn that the young son of a colleague at North Carolina State had lost his long and courageous battle with cancer. Sending an e-mail seemed too cold, and all I have is lined notebook paper. The shops near campus had lots of Ramandham and Deepavali (the local spelling) cards and the unusually schmaltzy assortment of greeting cards. So I headed for the nearest mall sure that I could easily find note cards or blank cards - no luck. On the way back I stopped at Tesco and found cards labeled "blank cards." Alas, the outside had messages like "happy birthday" and "congratulations."

Culture Shock II - Paid to talk to students

The students in my class have limited exposure to the actual practice of public administration or policy analysis. In July I made inquiries about having someone local (the state government is here) speak to my class about how policy analysis is used in Malaysia. Last week I received an e-mail from my potential middle man asking who was going to pay the guest speaker. Apparently, there isn't a culture of civil servants (and I assume NGO staff) of talking about their work to students. Colleagues confirmed that speakers routinely expected to be receive some financial remuneration and transportation - both out of my league. On the surface it seems like a missed opportunity for all, but from my limited pointed of view there seems to be a wide gulf between the universities and civil service.

Culture Shock III - When do people sleep?

I resisted a student suggestion that I hold class between 8 - 10 p.m. during Ramandham. I can't imagine teaching beyond 9. Yesterday I received an e-mail from a NGO staff member suggesting that I meet with them at 10 p.m. I am not sure if it is Malaysian or tropical for how late things start. I assumed that the after 8:30 p.m. dinner invitations were scheduled for after prayers, but then there were the Independence Day fireworks at midnight. I guess that I am not cut out for this part of Malaysian life.