‘Don’t call us ajumma!’

By James Pearson and Raphael Rashid

Moving to a new country, it often takes time to adjust to a few cultural habits, regardless of how au fait you might be with traveling or living overseas. Whether it be strange foods or unfamiliar sights, no one is immune from perceived difference. For many Westerners, for example, calling waiters in restaurants with the awkward “over here” when giving food orders can take some getting used to. Some of us who are still a bit uncomfortable with the idea of calling loudly for waiters might go to great pains to just subtly (and probably very awkwardly) make eye contact