It is no surprise to meet people of different culture and ethnicity today. Globalization has brought the world closer and nowadays, either at work, school or even during a shopping retreat, we can meet all sorts of people from different places. Misunderstandings are bound to occur if we do not understand how to react or behave accordingly to different cultures.
A recent incident taught me to always learn about different culture to avoid any misunderstandings. Last semester, a Japanese girl, Haruno Sakura (not her real name) joined my sports. I had trouble remembering her name and of course, chose to remember the easiest part, her first name.
Everytime I spot her in school, I would try to be friendly and call out her first name. But most of the time, she didn't react to it and I find it rather peculiar. Finally during one of our group wassap conversation, I knew why.
Me: How about Haruno? Can you make it?
Sakura: Call me Sakura!!!
The rest of the junior team reprimanded me, and from then on, I know that calling Japanese by their first name is considered rude.
Different cultures have different practices, even in calling their names. It is important that if you want to start interacting with cultures that you're unsure of, start with the simplest which is to ask them how to pronounce their name and how they prefer you to call them ((:
