straddling the line

Cultural Norms.

14 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment

by straddletheline in daily trials & tribulations Tags: a day in the life, who am i

I knew that when I moved back to the southern United States from Canada I was going to experience a bit of culture shock. “Obamacare” and gay marriage aside, there are still a lot of cultural nuances that exist within that 1,341 mile/2,158 km stretch. One of the things we learned at Pre-Service Orientation was that we have to be aware of cultural differences. I think it is important, however, to understand cultural differences can occur at many different levels. Yes, there is an American culture. But there is also a Southern Culture, an Industry Culture, a Bureaucratic Culture, the list goes on. Southern Culture (among other things) to me is the “yes, ma’am–no ma’am” replies and the “Miss Lady” or “Miss FirstName” greeting that I have adopted within the last week. Coming from the bank culture I had to adjust a lot of my approaches. Previously it was Mrs./Dr./Drs. LastName, I had to dress differently, meetings were less personal and more finance based, forms were the norm and you just had to push, push, push through the red tape and dance through fiery hoops so that people could get accounts opened, money transferred, stocks bought. But things are different now. Forms are less important; forms can be changed! Meetings are more about the people, their personal lives, goals, dreams, wants and needs. I think that this will really take me a long time to adjust to, because it is just so wonderfully different. I worked at an investment firm for ~7 years. I am hardly going to change overnight. But at least I know what changes I need to make and I am working on them. To be honest, I think I will be a lot more comfortable in this new culture. I’d much rather dress comfortably and have idle chit chat with an individual in their home home than be surrounded by $1,000 suits and have emotions depend on the Dow-Jones Industrial Average.

Things also proceed slower here, and that is something else I am having a hard time getting used to. Why didn’t my email get a reply within 15 minutes? Do I have the client sign the contract now? What do you mean keep meeting with them and get to know them, what if I scare them off? My week changed considerably from my Monday morning. A woman who had previously not shown a lot of interest in the program nor meeting with me was available Tuesday. We met and she completed a few forms for me by Thursday. We met again today and I took the advice of my colleague, I asked her about her schooling…she finished high school, did she like it? What clubs was she in? What does she like about her Church? Speaking of which, Church is a huge part of Southern Culture. God is spoken about freely here. Growing up, God was always something we talked about only at home, when saying grace, or at Church. So it still takes me by surprise when someone mentions God or Jesus in a professional environment, but it is never done in an effort to save anyone, or convert them. To many people here God is just another person in their lives. Mentioning God in the everyday is akin to them telling me about their neighbor or child. He is just a part of their day. So, during our meeting I tried to adopt this new industry culture. I took the advice and asked those personal questions, sat in her living room and participated in idle chit chat while wearing a pair of flip flops and jeans. On my walk back to the office as a small child rode by on her tricycle I realized (physically and mentally) I am a long way from Bay Street.