Bafa ba bafa fa. Faba? and CPQ

Let's do this synchronic time-style. This week at work I noticed something that made me think about the rehashing session we had at the end of our Bafabafa simulation. In our whiteboard list of "things we noticed about the other culture," there were distinct categorizations of the attributes: observation, interpretation, and evaluation. Many of the attributes that we intuitively brainstormed as observations were, in fact, interpretations or evaluations. The thing I noticed at work that triggered this flashback is a woman who works for one of the companies that occupies the other side of my building. The extent of our interaction has been occupying the same common room for a few seconds at a time. She looks like she was born earlier in the same decade as I. Out of culturally ingrained habit, I usually greet people at work with a nod, smile, or verbal acknowledgement. The last few weeks I have noticed that this woman never returns my greeting. I don't know if it's always been this way, but I have definitely recently noticed that any eye contact is quickly disestablished, my smiles ignored, and my "Hi"s unanswered. Up till today, I assumed it was because she was just cold and unfriendly. Today it dawned on me that ah ha! An interpretive evaluation where there should be only observation!! Then I started to hypothesize as to why, in both our industries where there are scarce few women, a fellow Double-exer wouldn't take advantage of what, to me, is a clear opportunity of camaraderie (i.e. I'm a girl, you're a girl, hey let's giggle or talk about shoes or something :P). What I hypothesize is this: from her manner of traditional dress, she is clearly very culturally connected to the motherland, and it's possible that women of this culture are not encouraged to make friends of un-vetted foreigners, no matter how friendly or similar in age they may be. This hypothesis was inspired by my role as an Alphan woman in the Bafabafa simulation, where it was unacceptable to speak to anyone not pre-approved by the community patriarch. It could be that I simply have not had the opportunity to earn this woman's trust. At the very least, I sure just hope she doesn't talk to me because of something stupid I did unawares.

CPQ highlights

Relation to Environment: I know I already have some mixed views about harmony vs mastery because I view it was mastering nature & environment to create harmony. What I mean is mastering nature enough to provide us what we need, but optimizing it so that it has as little effect on nature as possible. This requires conscientiousness of the impact of our actions and active remediation when the balance tips too far and the mastery becomes overwhelming. Creating this balance necessitates control over nature, and so my scores lean towards mastery.

Relationships Among People: well, I'm the high score for Individual. This is completely unsurprising because I have a strong, mama-bear loyal streak that covers close friends & family. I think that it's one's responsibility to look out for oneself and one's immediate family's interests because if one doesn't, who will? I believe in the generally good intentions of people, but I recognize that self preservation (inherent selfishness) is necessary on a basic level, i.e. the continuation of one's genes. Or maybe I watch too much House! But back on a serious note, I believe that if you've got some degree of a hold on your own drama/issues, you're better equipped to help with other people's. It's not a theory I've tested to any reliable degree, however, and may be one of those opinions that'll evolve as I gather more data & experience. I also think it's a culturally Chinese thing to save face and present a united family front.