Admittedly, when we were talking about the cultural differences between the United States and Portugal, I kind of zoned out, because I thought that the differences wouldn’t be that significant and that what we were talking about was an exaggerated version of reality. However, after actually being immersed in the culture of Portugal, I found that was not at all the case. I personally never directly experienced major culture shock, it was more like a lot of little things, such as being charged for everything that is normally free when eating out (in America) such as water and bread or chips and salsa for the table. I did hear from one of my peers though that often times waiters were shocked and very grateful when they were offered tips. For me this was a huge cultural difference, because I used to be a server at Uncle Julio’s last summer, and I learned the importance of tipping, and how it is a courtesy that is an obligation, primarily because servers make nearly all of their money off of tips. I’m sure that the restaurants in Portugal pay higher wages to make up for this, but it was still crazy for me to hear that tipping was uncommon. Ever since waiting tables, I have never not tipped someone, its become engrained in me.
As for the differences about how business was conducted, I feel that I haven’t had much experience in the business world to give a very insightful answer. I will say though, when we were visiting IMPETUS, a textile company, we were encouraged to ask in depth questions about the company by our professor. Some of the questions were things such as what is your main source of revenue, how they are working to be a green company, and what makes them stand out from competitors. The reason we were to do so was because our final exam is based on this company, so obviously everyone wanted to be very thorough in their questioning. As an American, I feel like these were pretty standard questions. However, I could sense that our tour guide was getting a little irritated with the questions, it appeared that she was slightly offended at these questions, I can only assume that she thought we were trying to pick apart the company that she loved so much, which was not at all the case. I don’t think that it was anything major, but it did seem that the difference in culture played a role in our questioning seeming like disrespect, when in reality it was curiosity about the company and how it operates. Maybe this wasn’t actually the case and that it was all in my head, but it was really the only thing that stood out to me about how Portugal conducts business differently from America.
Getting to go on this trip was such an incredible and unique experience, I got to visit a plethora of different businesses and see how they operate, something that I most likely would have never been able to experience had I visited Portugal with family or friends. This trip has certainly broadened my world view which will certainly pay dividends when I get into my business career and start to meet all kinds of different people from different backgrounds. It is one thing to try and see someone else’s perspective who is different from you, but it is totally different immersing yourself in a foreign land and taking in everything you experience. I can confidently say that this trip has prepared me to truly understand and connect with people from varying backgrounds, this is a skill that cannot be taught. Learning a skill such as this can only be done by experience, and this program has given me the opportunity to develop this truly useful skill, something I am very blessed for. I can’t wait to travel abroad with A&M again, and develop that skill of understanding even further.
