Respect for the teachers.

Today, one of my tutors was dressing a little... sexily. Bareback dress that was rather body hugging. While she was a little older than us and is fairly nice looking, that dress was something I did not expect from her.

What did surprise me, was a random guy who asked her out during class after he answered a question. While Aussies are a pretty responsive bunch (with us being the more quiet bunch), saying "will you go out with me tonight" back in Singapore will earn you an instant dismal from class.

But in Aussie, the teacher actually laughed and continued the class.

And that's not all.

Remember the days when the teachers who use the visualisers in their lectures zoomed into something (specifically some random Z value), and forgot to zoom out? Groaning or going "Oi oi!" will net you a scolding.

Down here, some dude whistled to the lecturer, who actually laughed and apologised.

O_o

Different cultures, I guess. Coming from one which you are taught from young to bow to the teachers when you meet them, and to greet the teachers before the class start etc had instilled some discipline and respect for the teachers. While I'm not saying everyone here has no respect, sometimes, even I find it weird when people start calling the tutors/lecturers by their names.

However, it's not like the lecturers are annoyed by it. Some don't mind, and some actually encourage calling them by their names. I must admit I still feel weird calling teachers by their names, but hey, when in Rome, do what Romans do.

Respect. One word, different meanings across the world.