COMMUNICATION： NO PROBLEM？
Yesterday, another student and I, representing our university's student association, went to the Capital International Airport to meet this year's international students. They were coming to study at Beijing University. We would take them first to their dormitories and then to the student canteen. After half an hour of waiting for their flight to arrive, I saw several young people enter the waiting area looking around curiously. I stood for a minute watching them and then went to greet them.
The first person to arrive was Tony Garcia from Colombia, closely followed by Julia Smith from Britain. After I met them and then introduced them to each other. I was very surprised. Tony approached Julia, touched her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek! She stepped back appearing surprised and put up her hands, as if in defence. I guessed that there was probably a major misunderstanding. Then Akira Nagata from Japan came in smiling, together with George Cook from Canada. As they were introduced, George reached his hand out to the Japanese student. Just at that moment, however, Akira bowed so his nose touched George's moving hand. They both apologized - another cultural mistake!
Ahmed Aziz, another international student, was from Jordan. When we met yesterday, he moved very close to me as I introduced myself. I moved back a bit, but he came closer to ask a question and then shook my hand. When Darlene Coulon from France came dashing through the door, she recognized Tony Garcia's smiling face. They shook hands and then kissed each other twice on each cheek, since that is the French custom when adults meet people they know. Ahmed Aziz, on the contrary, simply nodded at the girls. Men from Middle Eastern and other Muslim countries will often stand quite close to other men to talk but will usually not touch women.
As I get to know more international friends, I learn more about this cultural "body language". Not all cultures greet each other the same way, nor are they comfortable in the same way with touching or distance between people. In the same way that people communicate with spoken language, they also express their feelings using unspoken "language" through physical distance, actions or posture. English people, for example, do not usually stand very close to others or touch strangers as soon as they meet. However, people from places like Spain, Italy or South American countries approach others closely and are more likely to touch them. Mostpeople around the world now greet each other by shaking hands, but some cultures use other greetings as well, such as the Japanese, who prefer to bow.
These actions are not good or bad, but are simply ways in which cultures have developed. I have seen, however, that cultural customs for body language are very general - not all members of a culture behave in the same way. In general, though, studying international customs can certainly help avoid difficulties in today's world of cultural crossroads!
交际：没有问题了吗？
昨天，我和另一个学生代表我们学校的学生会，到首都国际机场迎接今年的留学生。他们来北京大学学习。我们会首先把他们带到宿舍，然后去学生食堂。在等了半个小时之后，我看见几个年轻人走进了等候区，好奇地向四周张望。站着观察了他们一分钟后，我便走过去跟他们打招呼。
第一个到达的是从哥伦比亚来的托尼加西亚，随后紧跟着的是英国的'朱莉娅史密斯。在与他们碰面并介绍他们彼此认识之后，我（对看到的情景）感到很吃惊。托尼走进朱莉娅，摸了摸她的肩，亲了亲她的脸！她后退了几步，看上去有些吃惊，并举起了手，好像是在自卫。我猜想这里可能有个很大的误会。随后，来自日本的永田明微笑着走了进来，同时进来的还有加拿大的乔治库克。当我为他们做介绍时，乔治把手伸向了这位日本学生。然而，就在那时，永田明正在鞠躬，所以他的鼻子碰到了乔治伸过来的手。两个人都互相道了歉——这又是一个文化差错！
另一位留学生艾哈迈德阿齐兹是约旦人。我们昨天见面，我进行自我介绍时，他靠我很近。我往后退了一点儿，但是他又上前问了我一个问题，然后同我握手。当来自法国的达琳库隆匆忙走进门的时候，她认出了托尼加西亚微笑的面孔。两个人握了握手，并且在对方的面颊上吻了两下。因为，法国成年人见到熟人通常就是这么做的。而艾哈迈德阿齐兹却只是朝女孩们点了点头。来自中东和一些穆斯林的男士在谈话时通常站得离其他男士很近，但一般不会与女士接触。
随着认识的国际朋友越来越多，我也了解到更多不同文化背景下的“身体语言”。各种文化背景下的人互致问候的方式不尽相同，身体接触和相互间距离的程度也并不一样。用口头语言交流的同时，人们还使用不出声的语言——身体间的距离、动作或姿态等，来表达情感。比如，英国人通常不会站得离别人太近，也不会一见面就（用身体）接触陌生人。不过，来自西班牙、意大利或南美等国的人会站在离别人很近的地方，而且很可能（用身体）接触对方。现在世界上大多数人见面都要握手相互问候，但有些文化（背景下的人）会采取另外一些寒暄方式。比如说，日本人就更愿意鞠躬。
这些行为都无所谓好与坏，只不过是文化发展的不同方式而已。然而，我发现身体语言的文化习俗是多元的——同一个（民族）文化中也并非所有成员的行为都一样。但总的来说，在当今文化交融的世界，学习不同国家的习俗肯定能帮助我们避免交往中的困难。
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