Seeing that we have an hour to spare, we decided to get ourselves a gelato each to enjoy under the scorching sun. We then headed back to the meeting point at the Colosseum 15 minutes earlier so that we don't have to keep the rest of the tour waiting.
However, after 20 minutes passed the meeting time, the tour guide has yet to arrive although a group of 14 tourists have already gathered at the meeting point. Some of the Americans in the tour group as well as the impatient Singaporeans (which was us) started to get annoyed. The hot summer heat exacerbated the situation.
Finally, the tour guide, dressed in a loose fit tee-shirt, bermudas and slippers greeted us with a relaxed and cheerful disposition. He was extremely charismatic and quickly charmed the group. The initial unhappiness was quickly dispelled. He did a quick introduction of himself as well as briefly interviewed each of us to find out where we came from. What was interesting was, when he brief us on what we will be expecting from the tour he added a comment, "This one hour tour will take approximately 40 minutes, 45 minutes or maybe even less. *pause* Oh come on! This is Italy! Not Singapore. I know in Singapore a 1 hour tour will end exactly in an hour, no more no less. By the way, have the rest of you been to Singapore?"
The rest of the tour group then expressed that they have never been to Singapore. The guide then continued, "When I first stepped into Singapore, I've got a great shock! I've never seen so many signs in my life! No eating and drinking, no smoking, no chewing gums and many more!"
All of us laughed at his exclamation. His remark made me realised the differences in culture between Singapore and Italy (or Europe in general). In Singapore, we have a culture of being "law by law." This means that most of us tend to follow strictly to set of laws and is afraid or unwilling to deviate from it. This may be due to the fact that many of us are afraid to challenge the laws or afraid to suffer from any punishment as a result of deviation. This punishment may be a legal punishment or an informal punishment such like not receiving the maximum benefit out of any activities.
In countries like Italy, however, there is a more relaxed culture whereby Italians generally greatly value life's enjoyment such like good food and music. Most of them are more flexible in the schedule and tend not to follow to a rigid routine. They strongly believe in living life to the fullest. This explains why our tour guide appeared late for the session but felt that it was completely acceptable with no need to apologize. It also explains why his vivid impression of his visit to Singapore was that Singapore was an extremely clean country with lots of laws. This is because he was unfamiliar with such a culture and had to make effort to fit into it.
Such differences in culture between countries have to be made known to tourists. This is because some tourists may encounter a "culture shock" and ultimately result in an unhappy travel experience. However, if we were to understand the differences in culture between the place we are visiting and where we come from, we will be able to rationalise why and try to adjust our mindset to accept the culture of the place we are in. This way, we will be able to fully enjoy our vacation!
The charming Italian tour guide then ended the session by shaking each one of our hands and hugging a few of the Europeans in the tour group. By the way, he was really good looking too. ^.^
So although the session started off badly with me feeling frustrated with the lack of responsibility on the part of the tour guide, I felt better after understanding that the tour guide's late-coming was not due to his poor work etiquette but it stems from the culture that he is submerged in. Not only did I enjoy my tour at the Colosseum, my entire stay in Rome was one of the best holiday I've ever had.
In fact, I think I fell in love with Rome, from the architecture, the art, the food, the gelatos and the extremely friendly Italians. :)
Will be back there again in the future, for sure!
