In most cases what you grow up with is normality and very soon you know how to behave in most regularly occurring circumstances. When you move to a different culture, all that know-how is not necessarily valid and suddenly the daily, weekly, monthly and annual rythms aren’t automatic anymore. Instead there are a whole array of new high days and holidays whose meanings completely escape the newcomer. What’s worse, the newcomer has no idea how to behave and what is expected on these special occasions. I could hear that reaction in my co-host Laurent Borgmann, currently on a three month sabbatical in Australia at the University of the Sunshine Coast, whose normal weekly class is suddenly cancelled for January 26 because as everybody knows, that is Australia Day.
The latest show in our Absolutely Intercultural podcast is mainly an exploration of what Australia Day is, what it means, whether it unifies or polarises and most importantly, what on earth are you expected to do on that day. I don’t think I would make much money if I asked you to place bets on that last question since the answer is, not surprisingly, to have a barbecue.
Which is of course…. wonderful. Laurent also talks with John Kaethier from Canada about the etiquette of criticism. The advice here is that it is not the visitor’s place to criticise and that when invited to comment, the invitation is really one to compliment rather than to criticise. This is something which we instinctively know but it is very difficult to resist the temptation when asked your opinion.
The show also includes a discussion about the idea of borrowed identities, a phrase which became the title of a European project which brought university students from Lithuania, the UK, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Hungary together once a year over three years. During these project meetings the students tried out various exercises in intercultural teams exploring to what extent it is possible to assume a different identity.
So I can only assume that Laurent will assume an Australian identity next Tuesday and that the only question remaining is will it be steak or a sausage on the barbie?