Archive for July, 2006
Irish English and American English
Language is of course one of the most common obstacles to communication across cultures. It often surprises us, though, when these obstacles crop up even among individuals who speak the same language, albeit in different countries. There is a popular quote attributed to George Bernard Shaw about England and America being “two countries separated by the same language.”
Along [...]
Video games and culture
Since culture influences the very way we perceive the world, it’s natural that it should also affect the way in which video games are designed and constructed in different countries. Aleks Krotoski of gamesblog (via Cross Cultural News) examines this topic on her site and looks at some of the differences between Western and Asian video games.
One [...]
Honor and tribalism in the Middle East
Anyone who is interested in knowing how culture influences the conflicts in the Middle East would enjoy an op-ed piece by John Tierney in yesterday’s New York Times . Tierney describes the importance of honor in that region of the world and how it can affect everything from tribal and family loyalties to communication styles.
In the West [...]
Mysticism and politics in Indonesia
When I was in Bali a few years ago, I had an opportunity to see firsthand the role that spirituality plays in the everyday life of Indonesians. For many people, this spirituality goes beyond mere organized religion and extends to a strong belief in the powers of the non-physical world. Now those beliefs have become a political issue, [...]
The unintended benefit of an informal culture
One of the differences commonly used to differentiate between cultures is the degree of formality or informality exhibited by people in their speech, dress, etc. There was an interesting article this week in the NY Times that discussed how an Iraqi Olympic official took on some of the informal traits of the U.S. culture during a [...]
Travelers, tourists and photographers
So many people have tried to define the difference between a “tourist” and a “traveler” that it’s now become something of a cliche. However, the NY Times put an interesting twist on the question when they profiled travel photographer and writer Peter Guttman. Here is Guttman’s take on the topic:
“You have to decide whether you [...]
Travels in rural Ghana
Ever wanted to know what it’s like to travel in rural Africa? Joshua Berman and his wife are in the midst of a round-the-world journey and just spent two weeks visiting villages in northeastern Ghana. He writes about their experiences on his blog, the tranquilo traveler:
We returned to Accra last night, stiff and loopy after the [...]
Meeting people, not places
Anyone who has traveled much has no doubt discovered that the best experiences on the road often result from encounters with people rather than places. That point is emphasized again in a recent Washington Post story by travel writer Tahir Shah. In an article about books that inspire wanderlust, Shah recounts a meeting he once had with the legendary [...]
Networking across cultures
There was a recent article on MSNBC (via entrepreneur.com) about networking around the world. It offers a few tips on overcoming cultural differences in business.
For example, here is an excerpt on how to treat business cards in Asia:
The business card means much more in the Asian culture than it does here in America; it’s truly an [...]
Seeing the world through a burqa
We’ve all seen photos of women in burqas, the head-to-toe pieces of fabric that women wear in public in some Islamic countries. Now Sara Terry reports on what it’s like to view the world from inside a burqa, which she first wore as a means of gaining anonymity while walking the streets of Afghanistan.
At my request, [...]
Differences within countries
I write a lot about cultural differences between countries, but there are of course also differences between regions of the same country. For proof, one needn’t go further than to compare the average U.S. resident of, say, Wyoming with Vermont, or Alabama with New Jersey.
Germany, too, has often been split between Prussian Protestants in the north and [...]
How immigrants assimilate
There has been much talk in recent months about the growing Hispanic population in the United States and its effect on the country. One of the fears articulated is that we could be creating a separate Spanish culture in the U.S. However, a recent story in the Washington Post indicates that some of those fears may [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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My travel memoir - Two Laps Around the World: Tales and Insights from a Life Sabbatical - is about two round-the-world journeys with my wife.
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