10 simple ways to improve cross culture understanding in a new country

10 simple ways to improve cross culture understanding in a new country

1. Adapt to the local language: Don’t isolate yourself from the local language and the local way of speaking – the slang, the style, …. the whole nine yards. The article ‘Self-help guide to lose your accent’ goes into the details on this subject.

2. Participate in the community functions: Be a part of the local community. The social interactions help with understanding the local culture and appreciating the differences.

3. Volunteer at a local school or library: Being a volunteer at local school or library is not only a noble thing to do, but it help you equally. You learn a lot about the local way of life, the local education system and it opens many doors to the local activities.

4. Don’t be over conscious of being different: We are all different, one way or another. The world would be a boring place if we were all very similar. So don’t be self-conscious about being a minority in a local culture.

5. Improve communication skills: The best way to improve local interaction is by improving your communication skills. The article linked here is quite helpful in this area: How to improve your communication skills.

6. Understand and overcome the culture shock: When we go to a new place, we all go through this phase of culture shock – some more than others. You can take a look at this article on ‘How to overcome your culture shock abroad’ for more information on this topic.

7. Socialize outside your own culture: Again, avoid self isolation by limiting your social interactions within your own community. Go explore the other culture; there are always so many interesting and intriguing facts and things about the other culture waiting to be discovered.

8. Share your own culture and customs: To improve cross-cultural understanding, share the knowledge of your own culture with the local communities and with local circle of friends. This is the best way to bridge the gap between two cultures – learning about the local customers and sharing your own culture and norms.

9. Don’t be judgmental: Every culture has its own way of doing things, its own customs, its own rituals. Don’t be quick to judge a culture based on partial observation. We all do many things that look strange to people from other culture. The idea is to adapt, not to criticize. So, listen to your local friends, observe their cultural habits. This will help you in understanding their way of thinking and how they deal with different social situations.

10. Time is a great equalizer: it takes time to adapt to a new place, to learn a new way of life, to understand a new culture. Do not rush yourself to form an opinion about another culture. Take some time to know the local society, make some friends and have some fun. With time, you will find yourself more and more at home.

A multi-cultural society is a way of life now-a-days. So enjoy the diversity and relish your cross-culture journey.

If a Saudi man holds another man's hand in public it's a sign of mutual respect. But don't do it in Australia, Texas or Liverpool, England

Greeting Differences

Handshaking differences can make for some embarrassing and humorous cultural encounters. British, Australian, New Zealander, German and American colleagues will usually shake hands on meeting, and again on departure. Most European cultures will shake hands with each other several times a day, and some French have been noted to shake hands for up to 30 minutes a day. Indian, Asian and Arabic cultures may continue to hold your hand when the handshake has ended. Germans and French give one or two firm pumps followed by a short hold, whereas Brits give three to five pumps compared with an American's five to seven pumps. This is hilarious to observe at international conferences where a range of different handshake pumping takes place between surprised delegates. To the Americans, the Germans, with their single pump, seem distant. To the Germans however, the Americans pump hands as if they are blowing up an airbed.

When it comes to greeting with a cheek kiss, the Scandinavians are happy with a single kiss, the French mostly prefer a double, while the Dutch, Belgians and Arabs go for a triple kiss. The Australians, New Zealanders and Americans are continually confused about greeting kisses and bump noses as they fumble their way through a single peck. The Brits either avoid kissing by standing back or will surprise you with a European double kiss. In his book A View from the Summit, Sir Edmund Hillary recounts that on reaching the peak of Everest, he faced Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and offered a proper, British, congratulatory handshake. But Norgay leaped forward and hugged and kissed him - the proper congratulations of Tibetans.