What’s the difference? Illustrations by Yang Liu from “East meets West” book – West vs. East

Punctuality

Noise levels in a Restaurant

Way of Life

Connections

Ego / Perception of Self

Partying

Relations of Boss to Staff

Expressing an Opinion

Handling Problems

West (US / Europe)*East (China / East Asia)* LogicLinear (direct associations)Spiral (roundabout) CommunicationDirect, verbalIndirect, implied IdentityIndividual, independentGroup orientated Agree/DisagreementArgumentative, verbalHard to say no, non-verbal PunctualityStart and end on timeAppointments flexible RespectSuccess, achievementSeniority, wisdom Business RelationshipEconomics come firstRelationship comes first Decision MakingDistributed, proactiveManager has final say Time HorizonShort term (per quarter)Long term (years ahead) Risk / SpendingRisk-takers, spendRisk-avoiders, save * but of course there are obvious exceptions

Thank you 谢谢大家

Language Music ART Traditions Laws Literature Science Buildings Belief s SPORT Clothing FOOD Commerce Agriculture TRANSPORT Government DAnCING What is culture?

The problem of how to see our own culture Happily living life inside our own little bubble...

foreign languagenative language kangaroo boomerang emu platypus Aborigine Yarra Indigenous ?

(God is NESB/ESL/EAL!!) Pentecost as God’s affirmation of diversity Language as a gift, to keep us fully human “How is it that we are hearing each other in our own mother-tongue?” Pentecost: Acts “Come, let us go down, and confuse/mix their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” Babel: Genesis

The 3-tiered Cosmos 1. Waters above the firmament 2. Storehouses of snows 3. Storehouses for hail 4. Chambers of winds 5. Firmament 6. Sluice / windows of heaven 7. Pillars of the sky 8. Pillars of the earth 9. Fountain of the deep 10. Navel of the earth 11. Waters under the earth 12. Rivers of the nether world The Biblical Conception of the World An ‘emic’ or insider view

An ‘etic’ or outsider view

Another ‘etic’ or outsider view — from a long way away... far away from our little ‘fishbowl’.

West vs. East Cultural values punctuality order privacy thrift hard work Cultural values handshake respect elders keep face spending eat then talk Cultural(?) values love (agape) faith(fulness) hope joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

West vs. East Galatians 3:28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

West vs. East Rev. 7:9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

West vs. East Phil. 2:1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind/thinking be in you that was in Christ Jesus...