Culture Difference

I gave a lecture today at Jinan’s Architecture University. The exact context of this lecture has been shrouded in mystery and, despite only being advertised on Monday, about 150 people turned up. I had been told that the audience would mostly consist of lecturers and postgrad’s but, in reality, I think most were undergraduates. I was expecting a translator but, instead, found myself alone on the stage with instructions to carry on. I confidently talked through the first three slides to what I thought was an attentive and focused audience. Mid flow Meng stood up, stopping me, turned to the audience and asked something in Mandarin. The murmured response revealed that no one in the audience could understand a word I was saying. Meng hastily suggested that she translate for me and we conducted the rest of the lecture as a double act as I falteringly moved through the presentation giving Meng space to desperately try to translate words like ‘Augmented Reality’, ‘Topological Connectivity’ and ‘Spatial Syntax and Semantics’. When I’d finished the audience politely applauded and filed out of the room while a couple of students came up to ask Meng questions. Yes – to ask Meng questions not to ask Meng to translate questions for me. I was an irrelevant bystander and the pressure was on Meng. I was left wondering if the lecture had been any use to anyone but, as with much in China, the content was much less important than the appearance that the event had happened. Jinan Architectural University can now say that it invites international speakers and Meng’s uncle can enjoy the kudos which comes to the one doing the inviting.

When I reflect on the culture differences between us – they are marked and many but we have been somewhat insulated by a bubble of mutual incomprehension created by the language gap and Meng’s valiant efforts to negotiate the social norms of both nations. This process has just begun and isn’t going to be easy but we’ve had our minds and hearts expanded significantly over the last few days and life will certainly never be the same again.