Catching the travel bug
Robin Young // March 8, 2013
I will apologetically profess to be a vehement advocate for traveling to new countries and cultures while you’re young and, if you’re Canadian – get out of North America. The experience will … well, change your life. As a budding PR professional, it has given me a new outlook on communication, culture and people, and has made me better informed on common practices around the world.
Since coming to France this past January, I’ve witnessed many small differences between Canadian and French culture. As a PR student I can’t help but be fascinated by how differently Europeans communicate. Apart from the obvious fact that the French speak a different language than the majority of Canadians, there are a multitude of other ingredients that make their communication wonderfully non-Canadian.
For example, in Canada, common greetings and farewells can range from a handshake, to a hug, to a verbal salutation, depending on the time of day, situation, and relationship between those involved. One of the first and most astonishing realities of European communication is their use of “les petites bisous”, a physical greeting and farewell in which the participants brush cheeks and kiss (kind of) the cheeks of the other on both sides. Though most Canadians are aware of these “small kisses”, taking part in the ritual is quite another matter. Kissing, even when aimed at the cheek, is quite a personal act to most Canadians and is reserved for good friends, family and romantic partners. So, receiving les petites bisous from someone who you’ve never met before can take a little getting used to (okay, a lot of getting used to).
It also begs an interesting question: what does the common use of les petites bisous say about European and French culture? Probably, it demonstrates a level of comfort with intimacy and affection not commonly found in Canada. The French seem to be more open to PDA (personal displays of affection) in general and seem less worried about staying inside their own personal bubbles.
It’s observations like this that can change the way you see communication. Canadian norms are not universal. It’s something that most of us think we know, but we don’t, not really. Until you’ve seen and experienced the culture and communication in a new country, you might as well be trying to taste an apple through a photograph.
The point I’m driving at is this: go travel. Do it now or do it soon. It will make you a better person and a better PR person. Most of all, it will change the way you see and treat communication by taking things that you thought were accepted everywhere and rejecting them. Sometimes it takes something as small as les petites bisous to give you a whole new perspective on how people communicate – and it’ll make you a better communicator in the future as a result.
