It was the first lecture of an elective module that I took during year 2. I was sitting by myself and two seats away from me was a girl who doesn’t look local to me. Belonging to the group of sleep-deprived students, I dozed off soon after lesson started and missed out on some important information about the module as a result. Since she was seated nearest to me, I seek her help regarding the module information that I missed and she was kind to answer all my queries.
After the lesson, I approached her to introduce myself and to thank her for the help. I extended my hand to initiate a handshake in the midst of introducing myself. Surprisingly, she declined the handshake offer, leaving me feeling rather awkward with my right hand extended and interacting with air. Before leaving, I asked about her nationality and she gladly replied, “Sri Lanka.”
From my understanding, handshake is also common in their culture but it usually occurs between the same sexes. Many Sri Lankan women avoid physical contact with the opposite sex unless he is from the same family. In fact, this conservative practice also applies in many countries of the Middle East which are largely conservative societies.
Thinking back, I guessed the above account was the first intercultural situation I have encountered in NUS so far. It was definitely a unique experience and I was lucky that it was not a hug that I offer or else she will scream!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Business Email: Reply to a request
Subject: Re: Enquiry on permission to photo-taking in IKEA playground
To: johnyz86@hotmail.com
From: karen_chua@ikeastore.com.sg
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:27:19 +0800
Dear Johnny,
My apologies that this is not possible as we have strict operations guidelines to adhere to. What I can do is to send you some images tomorrow and of course, you are more than welcome to drop by for a visit but we will not be able to allow adults to enter Smaland (the play area).
Thank you & kind regards,
Karen Chua
IKEA Singapore IKANO Private Limited
60 Tampines North Drive 2Singapore 528764
Tel: +65 6379 1982 (DID)
+65 6786 6868 (Main)
HP: +65 8299 4345
Fax: +65 6786 6888
E-mail: karen_chua@ikeastore.com.sghttp://www.IKEA.com.sg
The above business email was a reply with regards to a request to enter the play area to observe and take a few photos of children playing. The email was certainly courteous because efforts were made to extend their apologies when they could not adhere to our request.
In terms of clarity, correctness and conciseness, I feel that the sentence “What I can do…enter Smaland (the play area)” could be shortened to improve on the sentence structure. Shorter sentences would increase the extent of clarity and conciseness, conveying accurate intentions to the readers. The coherence of the email was acceptable because conjunctions such as “and, but, as” were used to achieve smooth transitions between phrases.
The email could be more concrete in terms of listing out the images of the specific areas of the play area that will be sent to me. Also, if possible, they could elaborate more on why the request was denied instead of a generic phrase, “strict operations guidelines”. With that, the completeness of the email would then be enhanced.
In my opinion, the email was less formal but nevertheless well-written because my request were looked into and addressed appropriately. They were quick to offer apologies for the constraints they faced but yet, offer other alternatives to fulfil our request.
To: johnyz86@hotmail.com
From: karen_chua@ikeastore.com.sg
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:27:19 +0800
Dear Johnny,
My apologies that this is not possible as we have strict operations guidelines to adhere to. What I can do is to send you some images tomorrow and of course, you are more than welcome to drop by for a visit but we will not be able to allow adults to enter Smaland (the play area).
Thank you & kind regards,
Karen Chua
IKEA Singapore IKANO Private Limited
60 Tampines North Drive 2Singapore 528764
Tel: +65 6379 1982 (DID)
+65 6786 6868 (Main)
HP: +65 8299 4345
Fax: +65 6786 6888
E-mail: karen_chua@ikeastore.com.sghttp://www.IKEA.com.sg
The above business email was a reply with regards to a request to enter the play area to observe and take a few photos of children playing. The email was certainly courteous because efforts were made to extend their apologies when they could not adhere to our request.
In terms of clarity, correctness and conciseness, I feel that the sentence “What I can do…enter Smaland (the play area)” could be shortened to improve on the sentence structure. Shorter sentences would increase the extent of clarity and conciseness, conveying accurate intentions to the readers. The coherence of the email was acceptable because conjunctions such as “and, but, as” were used to achieve smooth transitions between phrases.
The email could be more concrete in terms of listing out the images of the specific areas of the play area that will be sent to me. Also, if possible, they could elaborate more on why the request was denied instead of a generic phrase, “strict operations guidelines”. With that, the completeness of the email would then be enhanced.
In my opinion, the email was less formal but nevertheless well-written because my request were looked into and addressed appropriately. They were quick to offer apologies for the constraints they faced but yet, offer other alternatives to fulfil our request.
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