Once upon a
time in Spain there was a team mix of Asian and European persons attending the
so called OJT as per Serendipity’s definition.
The asian
persons had some habbits that even in Eastern Europe are considered to be
impolite especially when done in public, such as scratching their asses,
sticking their fingers inside their noses, burping and some times silently (but
might I add smellingly) farting.
I (the
undersigned Arrogant bitch) tried to explain to their - also asian - managers
that these habbits (I of course left out the farting part, as I was to
embarassed to comment on it) are very impolite and that they should take it
with their team members and explain to them that they should stop doing it.
Next day one of
the asian team members tries to get on my good side and starts a conversation
that led me to believe the obvious – that being that I brought their
undesirable behaviours to their managers attention.
And here it
goes…
Arrogant bitch
(trying to be nice): You know “asian team member whose name shall not be told”
in Europe, there are certain habbits that are considered to be impolite
especially when performed in public.
“Asian team
member whose name shall not be told”: Yes, my manager told me about it last
night. I think you should have told me about it and I would have listened to
your advise.
Arrogant bitch:
I am sorry “asian team member whose name shall not be told”, but I was feeling
awkward discussing these matters with you, given the fact that I know you for 1
week only. I considered that your managers, being closer to you, would be able
to explain that to you without you feeling offended.
“Asian team
member whose name shall not be told”: Yes, he actually discussed that with us.
Arrogant bitch:
I don’t know if the habbit of burping in your country is considered to be
impolite. I did not want to offend you. I know in some countries burping after
eating for example means that you enjoyed the meal. I don’t know if this is
applicable in your asian country as well, but in Spain it is not.
“Asian team
member whose name shall not be told”: You know, Arrogant bitch, I actually
wanted to ask you something.
Arrogant bitch:
Please, go ahead.
“Asian team
member whose name shall not be told”: What does burping mean?
Arrogant bitch:
But “asian team member whose name shall not be told”, didn’t your manager
explain you this when you had the discussion.
“Asian team
member whose name shall not be told”: Actually, he did not know that either.
Arrogant bitch:
?!?!?!?!?!
“Asian team
member whose name shall not be told”: I asked him and he did not know.
Arrogant bitch
started imagining the converstaion between the “asian team member whose name
shall not be told” and his manager:
Manager of “asian team member whose name shall not be told”:
Stop burping in public.
“Asian team member whose name shall not be told”: Yes, Sir. But
what does burping mean?
Manager of “asian team member whose name shall not be told”: I
don’t know, but stop doing it!!!
Arrogant bitch:
Ummmmmmmm. Burping is when you have gas in your stomach and you take it out. I
wanted to stop, but I felt that I might confuse him even more so I added:
THROUGH YOUR MOUTH
“Asian team
member whose name shall not be told”: Yes, but you know, this is normal, cause
when I skip a meal because I am so busy writing SOPs (see Serendipity’s
explanation) I get gas in my stomach.
Arrogant bitch:
I don’t care. You should not do this in public. It’s impolite! If you cannot
hold it, you excuse yourself and you go and burp somewhere private.
“Asian team
member whose name shall not be told”: Ok.
Few days later,
the manager of the “asian team member whose name shall not be told” came for a
visit. Given the fact that he did not know what burping means and that it is considered
to be impolite in most European countries, he allowed the Arrogan bitch to
observe in more than one occasions that he also had this wonderful habbit of
repeatedly burping in public. Yuppy!!!
Few more days
later the Arrogant bitch was informed by one of her educated Asian peers that
she should not generalize and that the habbit of burping is considered to be
impolite in that Asian country as well.
