Words words words !

Assalamualaikum and hey bumble bees! :D

p.s that’s what we decided to call you guys, ain’t it cute?!

So anyway, today we wanna share about this quote right here

“People often don’t say what they mean and
they often don’t mean what they say”

Interesting, but quite confusing right? Don’t worry, we had to read it a few times while doing our thinking face to understand it too.

When I think I finally understand this quote, the first thing that pops into my mind is how society these days, tends to blurt out things without thinking it through while some don’t say what’s in their heart for maybe afraid of being judged.

The easiest example I can give is something that I realised are happening more frequently not just in my culture but others as well:

“I love you”

How many times have you seen new couples who just started seeing each other a few times but already blurting out the L word?

Barely knowing each other, both threw the love word around without really meant it and when things start to go south, hearts are broken and suddenly you don’t believe in love anymore.

Now how about people who don’t express their feelings to their love ones? Now I’m not talking about “secretly been in love with your best friend for 8 years, but too scared to tell him (cue Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me”)

No, I’m talking about anyone who doesn’t tell their family or friends how much they care about them because they think that actions speak louder than words.

Well sometimes, expressing your love for someone could help them to be a little bit stronger to face the challenges in life. It may mean nothing to you, but it could mean the world to that person :)

Oh I think I might have rambled a bit too much today hahaha, but anyway what I’m trying to say is that, think before you say something. Don’t just blurt it out cause once it’s out, the damage is done and you can’t do anything to take it back.

On the other hand, if you have been holding in something for a while, just say it. Don’t think about what might happen, just say it. Even if things don’t turn out how you wanted it to be, at least you’ve tried right? And trust me, you will feel a huge box being lifted from your chest.

Okay, that's all we have for now. Hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for more! :D

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The story of an iPhone 6

Assalamualaikum and Hi everyone! 

Today, we like to share with you guys something about P.E.R.C.E.P.T.I.O.N. 

But first, let’s take a walk down memory lane shall we~

*Flashback*

Rich friend: *takes out new, shiny, space gray iPhone 6*

Me: Woahhh, is that the new iPhone 6? How much is it?

Rich friend: Around RM3000 (completely poker face)

Me: RM3000?!!

Friend: Yeah, why?

Me: Umm…nothing

(Inner demon monologue: Hmph! Snobby, arrogant, spoil brat…murmurmurmur)

*End of flashback*

So, what do you think about my little flashback just now? Does it sound like my friend there was showing off or was I just being too judgemental? Here boys and girls, is what we called PERCEPTIONS.

Perception shapes our behaviour, acceptance and tolerance to those who are different from us and according to Pillegrino Riccarrdi (funny guy / amazing cross-cultural expert), misperception happens when we jump into negative conclusions when we don’t understand people from other culture.

Rewind to what happen between me and my friend:

My friend doesn’t see the big deal about how expensive her phone was thus I immediately think she is a spoil rich girl. However, after getting to know her, I found out her family was well off thus these luxuries (to some people) is very common in her family. Turns out, she’s very humble and down to earth!

Based on this situation, we can conclude that

“We must never criticize something we don’t understand”

        - Riccarrdi

Instead, we must try to apprehend different cultures and backgrounds in order to build a positive perception.

Well, that’s all we have to share for now and we hope to see you guys in our next post!

Thanks for reading!

If you’re interested to know more, check out this link below

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMyofREc5Jk

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The Ladybirds

Assalamualaikum and hi everyone!

Welcome to

Bitten by the Culture Bug 

Co-written by Zaty and Tasha, two awesomely fabulous young adults who look like they still belong in high school, but instead are currently pursuing a degree at International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM). 

We’re both 21 years old and are majoring in English for International Communication. Most of our classes revolved around the relationship between language and culture, thus we began to become deeply fascinated with the diversity in culture and how interesting it is to discover the world through the perspective of people from different background.

Diversity in culture is meant to be celebrated not rejected because that’s what make the world a whole lot more interesting to explore! It is different qualities that make you special, not similarities!

We are very excited to share with you guys our journey of discovery and we hope you are too! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section and we hope to see you at our next post!

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