Differences between two cultures

"Many people who have traveled or lived outside their home country have a sense that people in other cultures possess values different from their own. In some way, these values could be taken as defining culture itself"

                                                      Matsumoto, David Ricky, ed. Handbook of Culture and Psychology.


The awareness of the differences in culture become stronger while being in places other that is not familiar with. Since I am a Malaysian living in England, I thought I could start with compare the differences between Malaysia and England. I am interested in the lifestyle we are living in, which I think has the most obvious sense of culture, what people wear, what they do, what people say, etc.
I try to present any thing I am unfamiliar with, and fit it into the environment I came from. This is what I think a people do when they first step into a foreign place, feel the culture of the place while they are still carry their culture with them.

Afternoon tea in Malaysia (left) England (right)

Scene of afternoon tea in Malaysia

Scene of afternoon tea in England

Due to the advance of telecommunication today, foreign culture can be learned from television or internet without travel to the place. The traditional culture of the place are always the priority to share or promote and result in the knowledge towards the place is limited to the information available and will cause a false impression on the place, like saying how the place should be look like. For example, the 'scene of afternoon tea in England' and 'scene of afternoon tea in Malaysia' is the traditional culture of high tea, and that's what people thought how the afternoon tea time should be look like in those places. This tradition is still retain until now but it is no longer a fashion. Coffee shops are more welcome nowadays.

In coffee shop

I also find the characteristic which I think being very 'English' and happen in everyday life.

The way of make up seems like have a conformity and I think it maybe is their definition of beauty, bold eyebrows, eyeliner around the eyes, etc. 

Ever since I live in England, the so called three magic words: 'Sorry' 'Thank You' 'Please' are always used. Then I think it is a politeness to them and have to learn to use them in order to live with the culture.