Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- And Cold-Climate… (original 2000; edition 2000)

I didn't have a clue before reading this book. I just thought I did. It all makes sense to me now! Having a "cold climate" background, various "hot climate" friends and family often left me confused and bemused. An excellent bridge to understanding different cultures and the reason they are different. In the melting pot that is America, this should be required reading for EVERYONE! All teachers and politicians especially but also required reading for high school and college students. Misunderstandings can arise from the everyday little things that we take for granted and yet another culture does not. Do your part to promote world understanding and unity! Get this book! Easy to read and common sense (which is anything but common)!

(I notice that a lot of tags seem to belong to missionaries but this book has absolutely nothing to do with religion, no mention whatsoever, and everything to do with communication and understanding. So don't let the tags mislead you.) ( )

Fascinating guide to working multi/cross-culturally. ( )

Foreign to Familiar is a short book that introduces some differences between hot and cold climate cultures. The material presented is easy to understand theoretically, but more challenging to take on in a practical sense to relate to others in their own contexts. It’s worth reading more than once. ( )

Relationship v. task orientation, direct v. indirect communication, individualism v. group identity, inclusion v. privacy, different concepts of hospitality, high-context v. low-context cultures, different concepts of time.

Easy to read and very necessary for anyone working in an international context ( )