A young Papua New Guinea student was about to visit Australia on a cultural exchange program. Two Australians teaching in PNG invited the student to their home for dinner, so that they might tutor her in Australian table manners. They didn’t so much teach her Australian cultural conventions and “rules”, but how to use such rules to her advantage.
During the course of the dinner they explained what to do if, after everyone had been served, there was only one piece of potato or cake, whatever, on a serving plate. Then, assuming she’d like to eat that extra food, she should ask, in as disinterested a voice as possible, if anybody else wanted this last piece. In Australia rules of etiquette make it unlikely that anyone else would say “Yes.” So she was taught to say, when no one else staked a claim for it, “Well, if nobody wants it, I may as well have it.”
The student ate very well in Australia.
1. What stance should a person involved in cross-cultural ministry adopt towards cultural conventions and rules?
2. What principle(s) of cultural behaviour emerge from the above example?
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