When I was in America last summer, I worked in an amusement park with a group of kind people. Most of them were locals and Europeans. They held a party every Monday and they invited me every time, but most of the time, I refused. Gradually, I felt they seemed not to like me. Maybe they felt I was a person that did not want to get along with others.
Now, in Singapore, I have two European housemates. They have a party every Saturday night. Typically, thirty or forty people gathered right outside our house, chatting and playing some games. That is really noisy to me, a person who does not like these parties.
These minor conflicts are due to the huge difference between western and eastern party cultures. Firstly, on our eastern parties, if I could call them parties, we typically have a dinner in a famous restaurant with all of us seated around one big table, and then go to KTV to sing some songs together after dinner. Therefore, most of us would feel bored on the parties of western style, with everyone standing, holding a drink, walking around to chat and playing some games. That was the reason why I refused my crew members’ invitation to their parties. However, they did not know that, so they thought I did not want to get along well with them. Secondly, eastern people do not hold parties so frequently. We have a party only when we have something to celebrate or we have a re-union with old friends. Thus, I cannot bear my housemates holding parties right outside our house every week.
