Is self more important than society? In regards to intercultural studies amidst the age of globalization, this is perhaps the most commonly addressed question. Last summer, I traveled to the United States, having the opportunity to work at a popular amusement park in Vallejo, just outside of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area in Northern California. The pace and style of life over there was all new to me, much different to what I was used to in Bangkok. During this brief yet enlightening experience living and working overseas, I gained valuable insights about not only American culture, but my own Thai background in comparison. Here I present a narrative of my experience, highlighting the manifestation of the cultural values of individualism apparent in the US, contrasted with collectivism in Thailand, respectfully.

            The first week working overseas was terrifying and full of culture shock. As an employee at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom assigned to operate rides, I was bestowed the important task to greet park guests with a welcoming spech. It was hard enough adapting and orientating myself as it was, now I was ever nervous to have all eyes and ears on me right from the start.  Considering the fact that English is my second language, I was quite intimidated and insecure about public speaking to a bunch of strangers. Despite expressing doubts and concerns to my co-workers and supervisor, I received no encouragement or support. “Just don’t complain and do it!” they would say. Everyone was so occupied with their own individual tasks, they couldn’t be bothered assisting me.

If anything, my American co-workers were openly critical of me. On the job and at day’s end meeting, I received negative feedback from my supervisor. These comments were often overt, humiliating, and embarrassing as they were said to me in front of other co-workers and even guests waiting in line. “Miss Pornpetcharee, could you speed up your pace and be more energetic while you are working? Even little kids can work faster than you!” my superior would scold as frowning and giggling faces looked on.

As time moved on, adapting to American society didn’t get easier. USA was not all I expected it to be. I found myself making false assumptions about people and situations, which led to frequent missed expectations and constant frustration. One night after work, for example, I joined some colleagues to go downtown for ice cream. At the ice cream parlor, I was hesitant to order when my friends asked me what I wanted. My friends were all eager to order, but I suddenly had an incoming call from Thailand. I deferred my choice, excusing myself so I could briefly catch up with my mother.

By the time I got off the phone, everyone was seated, enjoying their ice cream. Sitting next to one of my friends, I grabbed a spoon and helped myself to a bite of her strawberry sherbet delight. Suddenly, my friend became enraged, yelling at me in front of everyone, “I already asked you if you wanted anything, which you chose not to order, and now you’re eating my ice cream!” Again, I was embarrassed and ever frustrated; I slowly exited the silenced parlor, nostalgic and homesick.

The shock, embarrassment and humiliation I felt that tough summer coerced me to reflect and contrast my previous experiences in my own culture. Particularly, an internship I did for an advertising firm in Thailand comes to mind. Similar to the US, everyone in the company had specific tasks they were individually responsible for. However, in Thailand, team work and collective cooperation was emphasized more as the status quo. If by the end of the day, for example, an individual struggled to complete his/her tasks, coworkers were more willing to assist and contribute, collectively supportive so that work was always finished as a team. If one of us ever lagged, the whole group was affected and thus was apt to pick up slack when/where needed. No matter what their individual responsibilities, co workers were approachable and willing to assist even if it wasn’t convenient for them.

During my internship at the Thai advertising firm, I observed that management style also differed from the explicit standard I experienced in the US. For instance, there was one time which I made a mistake by sending the wrong document to a client. Rather than call me out in the open like the American boss, my Thai supervisor pulled me aside to address the issue in private. Any time there was an issue, the Thai boss and colleagues preferred to handle it covertly, avoiding open confrontations which might lead to loss of face. 

Finally, in Thailand sharing food with friends and family is the norm, compared to the US where I had to learn the hard way. Whether eating out or at home, eating from another’s plate or bowl would not raise any frowns in Thailand—in fact is more common to order communal dishes where everyone shares, as opposed to US where everyone typically orders only for themselves. I have observed this phenomenon one recent occasion in Thailand in which two American friends joined my Thai friends and I for dinner.

As is the norm when eating out in Thailand, we ordered several dishes to share, but noticed our American friends were reluctant to eat communally, instead ordering separate dishes. When it was time to pay the check, we were surprised that they’d been keeping exact count of the bottles of beer they’d each drunken, requesting two separate bills, which confused matters with the waiter who’d been keeping everything on one bill. The matter complicated even further when the Americans refused to let my Thai friend treat and settle a single bill, insisting that the waiter bring three bills. Eventually, the bills were separated and settled with my Thai friends and waiter left scratching their heads.

  Arising from these experiences, observations, and reflections are several questions. First, why were my American colleagues and supervisor unsympathetic to my language disparity, unwilling to offer assistance or support, considering any adverse consequences of an inefficient job would ultimately affect the entire firm? Second, why was I so sensitive to the criticism I received from my American supervisor, colleagues and friends, even though I had received criticism many times in the past. Finally, why did my American friend become so angry when I took a bite of her ice cream?

Being that the United States is considered the most individualistic county, we can broadly assume that the cultural values there give strong preference to “self goals” over that of “group goals.” This assumption would explain particular behavior I observed in my American colleges and peers at the amusement park, ice cream parlor and restaurant. While Americans are concerned with ‘standing out,’ being ‘self sufficient,’ and ‘independent, Thais like myself raised in a predominately collectivist culture are taught to ‘blend in,’ live in ‘social harmony,’ and be ‘interdependent.’

The frustration I experienced when my colleagues wouldn’t assist me in my struggling first week can be traced to my own missed expectations. According to Hall (1976, p. 98), “…people in high-context systems expect more of others than do the participants in low-context systems.” From my background of high-context Thai culture, indeed my orientation was/is of a collectivist nature, giving recipe for culture shock upon interaction with the individualistic orientation of Americans. I initially assumed and expected that my American colleagues should and would assist me for the sake of the entire staff and firm, while their expectations of me were that I should be able to adapt on my own, reflecting the individualistic orientation towards independence and self-sufficiency.

When my American supervisor overtly criticized me in front of others, it is clear that he was coming from an individualist, low-context orientation, where it is not acceptable to ‘beat around the bush,’ (Levine 1985 p 28) but rather ‘get to the point,’ being direct and clear as possible, whatever the consequences e.g. my humility. In comparison, my Thai supervisor, from a collective, high-context orientation was covert and discrete in approaching me, sensitive to humility and thus avoiding an open confrontation and maintaining social harmony.

Finally, keeping in mind orientation of the individual versus the group, it is now easier to make sense of my observations of Americans in regards to the ice cream incident in the US and dining out in Thailand. Reasoning that individualists strive towards self awareness (e.g. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) through self-serving behavior, we must assume that there is less concern for communal worth as is valued by collectivists. Perhaps ecological factors play role. With the US being overall more an affluent and industrial society than predominately agricultural Thailand, communal behavior patterns are more common in the latter, less the norm in the former.

In conclusion, let us refer back to the opening question in the first paragraph: Is self more important than society? Obviously, for collectivist cultures, society is more important while for individualist cultures, it is self. As we have seen, however, there is no clear cut line to divide all individuals, groups, cultures, and societies absolutely one way or the other. As society becomes more and more global, the boundaries of culture continue to blur, blending various values and norms into a dynamic bowl of diversity. It is essential to study and internalize the various ingredients of the intercultural recipe so we can eliminate ignorance and avoid unnecessary miscommunications and misunderstandings. And thus, both self and society are equally important. Depending on the context, the challenge then lies in finding and maintaining an appropriate equilibrium.

As local unemployment rates continue to surge, a window of opportunity is glowing just beyond the horizon. What next, how to get there and grasp it? First, you’ll have to decide which country is right for you. Unless you’re equipped with all the legitimate credentials (continue reading for specifics), you will likely be required to travel on your own expenses before you can guarantee employment, meaning you’ll need an initial savings base to cover your plane ticket and living until you receive that first salary. Depending where you’ll venture to, the initial necessary sum will vary. In Thailand, for example, 1000 USD is more than enough to live like a king-queen for a month, or like a local for six months.

The most demanding choices for ESL/EFL teachers are part-time and full-time gigs at public & private schools and institutes across Asia & the Middle East, Eastern & Southern Europe, and Central America, e.g. Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Dubai, Vietnam, Mexico, and Spain will be where the mass of ESL-EFL jobs are.

If you haven’t got a clue where you’d like to go, the best starting point would be to browse global job announcements on one of the links below to get an idea of what the current demand entails. Personalized research of the preferred countries should accompany this preliminary stage. You shouldn’t focus on the raw salaries alone, but take into account other critical lifestyle and quality of life factors.

Do you want to earn more in a cold or desolate country like Korea or Dubai, only to spend all your savings on frequent sanity seeking Southeast Asian holidays? Some of the second and third world options in China, Thailand and Vietnam for example, may pay less, but offer more in terms of living standard.

Once you’ve narrowed your choice to a particular country, it would be wise to establish a practical plan to obtain legit credentials that will satisfy employers and officials abroad. Aside from the basic secondary level diploma, most employment opportunities for language teachers require a standard minimal of a university degree and teaching certificate, particularly for legal paperwork & processes.

Basically, this means that if you can’t provide both a verifiable legit degree and teaching certificate, you won’t likely work legally (at least not without extraordinary perseverance), bringing those that apply into an under-the-table world of visa runs and border hopping. As the demand for your teaching hand is grand, it is possible to get a sufficing teaching job abroad without one or the other fundamental credentials. Short term is seemingly not so bad, but the long haul is something one must consider if they plan on being a permanent teacher.

Previous relevant experience proves advantageous, but not necessarily an impermeable barrier initially. For newcomers, it is recommended that you consider fundamental teaching accreditation, e.g. TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) TOESL (Teaching others English as a Second Language) TOEFL (Teaching Others English as Foreign Language), and CELTA (Certification of English Language Teaching to Adults).

The differences in variations of these legitimate English language transferor credentials are marginal at best. If anything, they will give you ample preparation of what you will be doing once you land a paid gig. In choosing the course, one has to use personal discretion taking into account their personal short and long term goals. The typical routes are either to save up enough to do a course locally, before traveling abroad e.g. at the local community college or university, or to choose a more affordable alternative course in their target destination. If it’s the latter, be sure to check whether the destination country’s respective ministry of education accepts and approves of the certifiers’ accreditation.

The good news is this field of specialization offers many channels and alternatives, allowing one to obtain teaching certification intensively i.e. two weeks to a month, or spread out over evenings and weekends, allowing diligent subjects to work and gain experience all the while advancing their future career prospects. The benefit of being abroad is having access to first world services e.g. medical, leisure, and education at third world costs. With the manifestation of ICT globally, remotely obtaining accreditation is yet another convenient route, making a Post Secondary Degree abroad definitely a viable option for many.

Once you’ve sorted out your strategy and plan, it’s finally time to get working on your Cover Email-Introduction complete with CRV and professional-presentable picture, which should aim at establishing the initial interview with several potential employees. Simply, you’ve got to do your homework before you can give it.