Tag: Germany

What is home? +++ Origin +++ Belonging +++ Absolutely Intercultural 273 +++

Hello and welcome to show 273 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Our topic today is “What is home?”, a question that has many interpretations and potential answers. Is it the place in which we were born or the place where we live now? And is it actually a place at all? For some people, home is connected to their family roots. At the same time, others find it hard to identify themselves with their country or region of origin – they have moved on and made their home in other corners of the world. Some people had to leave their home, some may never even have had a real place to call home.

In this show, we tried to figure out where is home or more importantly, what is home? To find out the truth, we asked our guests what the word home means to them.

absolutely displaced

In our first category, “absolutely displaced”, Arina from Ukraine reports how she had to escape from her home town Kyiv after the war started in Ukraine five weeks ago.

absolutely belonging

In our second category, “absolutely belonging”, Teresa shares with us how she found a new home where she truly belongs.

absolutely alien

In our last category, “absolutely alien”, Sebastian, describes how he moved only a couple of hundred kilometers from his home city and suddenly felt like a complete stranger.

What about you? What does home mean to you? Your place of birth? A place where you feel comfortable, a circle of friends, or a beautiful memory? Tell us about how and where you experienced this feeling of belonging, of being truly at home.

By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes or Apple Podcasts? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

Our next show will be coming to you on 6th May.

Until then – cherish your home and if you have not found home yet, get up, start looking for it and

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Natalia Obikhod

Assistant Editors: Carlos Fuch, Lars Felder, Shelbi Ankiewicz

Apology Culture +++ Making mistakes +++ Forgiveness +++ Absolutely Intercultural 272 +++

Hello dear listeners, and welcome to our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. This is show 272, and our topic today is “The Apology Culture”. Are you the kind of person who easily and quickly apologizes? Or do you have a sleepless night when you know that you should apologize to your boss the next morning? Making mistakes may be painful, but it is the fastest way towards getting it right. Some people can admit their mistakes quite easily, they apologize and move forward. On the other hand, there are people who are stuck in their guilt for what they have done; people, who find it very hard to say sorry to others, and sometimes, even to forgive themselves. Is there any universal formula for how to apologize properly? Are there any paths for moving from guilt to self-improvement more quickly?

absolutely absent

In our first category, “absolutely absent”, Lars from Germany shares with us how he forgot to attend an important business meeting with his team and this almost cost him his job.

absolutely forgiven

In our second category, “absolutely forgiven”, Safi, a student from a German-Libyan family, tells us about an embarrassing situation where he had forgotten to cancel a one-to-one zoom meeting with his university lecturer. However, as he apologized very thoroughly, his lecturer was so disarmed by his honesty, that Safi was completely forgiven.

absolutely guilty

In our last category, “absolutely guilty”, Fernanda, a former medical student from Mexico tells us about how terribly sad and guilty she felt when a patient had died in her care in a very busy emergency room.

What about you? Have you recently been in a situation where you where you had to apologize to someone? Did you do what our guests today advise us to do in order to be forgiven or even to forgive yourself?

By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes or Apple Podcasts? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

Our next show will be coming to you on 1st April.

Until then – allow yourself to make mistakes – but be prepared to fully apologize for them and

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Natalia Obikhod

Assistant Editors: Carlos Fuch, Lars Felder, Shelbi Ankiewicz

Managing Cultural Diversity +++ Sprachen/Internationales +++ Sustainable Innovation+++ Absolutely Intercutural 270 +++

Hello and welcome to show 270 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today we will talk about the biggest intercultural event of Sprachen/Internationales during the Winter Semester which is called the Managing Cultural Diversity Seminar. Every year – for the last 20 years we have invited guest lecturers from our partner Universities from literally all around the world to join our seminar. The main idea of the Managing Cultural Diversity Seminar is one intercultural topic that is discussed in detail by participants from every part of the World. This semester we looked at Sustainable Innovation. Local and international students together with the guest lecturers were divided into groups to work on Sustainable Innovation ideas and at the same time collaboration intercultural teams.

absolutely entrepreneurial

In our first category, “absolutely entrepreneurial”, we will listen to the conversation of two international students who both participated in the seminar. Carlos from Brazil and Lorena from Albania went out of it, motivated to take initiative and to start their own business ideas just because of having listened to the stories of the other participants in the seminar

absolutely project-oriented

In our second category “absolutely project-oriented”, we speak to guest lecturer Vilmante from our partner university in Lithuania. Vilmante has generously contributed to the Managing Cultural Diversity seminar for more than 10 years now and for her MCD is not only the place where she will meet old and new friends but also the place where great projects with other guest lecturers from all around the world are conceived and planned.

absolutely innovative

Finally, in our last category “absolutely innovative”, we listen to Tea, a guest lecturer from our partner university in Tirana, Albania. She held a workshop about Sustainable Innovation in Crisis, and gave a simple solution to a topic which sounds as if there cannot be a simple solution. She gave Esjona an insight before her own workshop took place.

What about you? Have you thought about finding a way to stay connected to people who live far from you? Have you started thinking of your own sustainable innovation business idea?

Please write a comment or mail us, we could do a follow-up interview with you in one of our next shows. On our web page, www.absolutely-intercultural.com, you can get more information about this show and previous episodes and you can leave comments. And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too. 

By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes or Apple Podcasts? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

Our next show will be coming to you on 4th of February.

Until then – start formulating your next sustainable innovation idea – and Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Esjona Musta

Assistant Editors: Natalia Obikhod, Elene Mikeladze

Internalization +++ Erasmus Experience +++ Life In a Cultural Exchange +++ Absolutely Intercutural 269 +++

Hello and welcome to show 269 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today we will listen to our Chef Editor, Esjona Musta from Albania who will share with us the biggest step in her internationalization story so far. Have you got any plans for internationalizing yourselves? What can you do to have a multitude of intercultural challenges? How does an Exchange program like ERASMUS change young people’s lives? How did Esjona manage to integrate herself so quickly and learn about traditions of a new culture and religion?

absolutely integrated

In our first category, “absolutely integrated”, Esjona will take us into the Carnival Celebrations in Cologne. Imagine her in a crowded train full of Germans dressed as Movie characters, such as Pocahontas, but also as the Christmas Grinch, next to Santa Claus, and the whole zoo.

absolutely traditional

In our second category “absolutely traditional”, Esjona will get an unexpected Christmas present while she is describing how it feels to celebrate a traditional Christmas in Germany.

absolutely Erasmus

Finally, in our last category, “absolutely Erasmus”, Esjona makes a toast with mulled spiced wine to the most valuable lesson she learned during her ERASMUS semester.

What about you? Have you had intercultural experiences which changed your mind set or your behavior? Have you thought about starting your own internationalization story in your own country or abroad?

By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes or Apple Podcasts? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

Our next show will be coming to you on 7th of January.

Until then – start formulating your next steps in your own internationalization – and Bleiben Sie absolutinterkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Esjona Musta

Assistant Editors: Natalia Obikhod, Elene Mikeladze

Intercultural Stereotypes +++ Nationality Stereotypes +++ Absolutely Intercultural 268 +++

Hello and welcome to show 268 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Sometimes we are the objects of other people’s stereotypes and sometimes, we are, in fact, the people who actively use overgeneralizations to simplify our social lives. When we use stereotypes, we instinctively categorize others using shared beliefs about a certain target group. But do cultural stereotypes really always make our lives easier, or do they sometimes ruin relationships and harm the relationship between two different cultures? Our mothers told us, not to use stereotypes, but then, some people tell us that stereotypes may be a great trigger for small talk ?Are cultural stereotypes the bridge that connects two cultures, or are they the reason why this bridge between two different cultures is never built?

In our show, three students tell us about concrete situations, where they were the objects of stereotyping and how those stereotypes affected their personal lives.

absolutely Christian

In our first category, “absolutely Christian”, Berla, a student from Iraq tells us about being stereotyped as a Muslim by her fellow classmates before they had even seen her in her new school in Germany. They were in for a surprise.

absolutely secular

In our second category, “absolutely secular”, Erta tells us how a friendly bus driver in her university town wished her Eid Mubarak just because he knew that she is Albanian. In his mind all Albanians are Muslims.

absolutely white

Finally, in our last category, “absolutely white”, Ali from Yemen remembers a story where a girl he met in a club was a little surprised by his skin color.

What about you? Have you been the object of a stereotype? How did you react? Do you try to use these situations to connect to others or do you just ignore them and move on?

Please write a comment or mail us, we could do a follow-up interview with you in one of our next shows. We could go deeper into other categories such as Heterostereotypes which we have about the others and Autostereotypes which we have about our own cultural group. On our web page, www.absolutely-intercultural.com, you can get more information about this show and previous episodes and you can leave comments. And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too. 

By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes or Apple Podcasts? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

Our next show will be coming to you on 3 December.

Until then – try to watch out for stereotypes – and

Bleiben Sie absolutinterkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Esjona Musta

Assistant Editors: Natalia Obikhod, Elene Mikeladze

Home country+ Host country+++ Cultural surprises +++ Reverse cultural shock +++ Absolutely Intercultural 266 +++

Hello and welcome to show 266 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today we talk about the cultural surprises that will happen to you when you live abroad and far from your home country. For some of us, living abroad is a temporary expierience in life and for others living abroad has become a permanent challenge or joy. When we go home, mostof us instantly feel comfortable again but for some their home country doesn’t feel like home anymore.

Why do we sometimes feel more comfortable in our host country than in the country where we were born? Which are the reasons that no matter where we go, there is something that drawsus back toour home country?

absolutely fitting

In our first category, “absolutely fitting”, Natalia,originally from Ukraine,tells us about the reasons why she feels that Germany has turned into her chosen home country. She explains that living, studying and working in Remagen has provided her the intercultural environmentwhich she had always been searching for in her home country.

absolutely shocked

In our second category, „absolutely shocking”, Ariana, an exchange student from Albania, tells us about her first loud and cheerful birthday party – at the age of 20! For her as an Albanian Muslim birthdays are apparently not a big deal and only communal celebrations such as Eid are celebrated in full pomp.

absolutely indian

Finally, in our last category, “absolutely Indian”, Surya, from Pondicherry University in the South of India, shares with us that even though she tried hard to recreate an Indian-like environment here in Germany, not everything can be recreated. Compared to India, even big cities in Germany seemed “empty” to her and she misses the closeness of the crowds in India.

What about you? Do you have any host country that feels just like your home country, or even closer? Is there something in your home country which brings you always back to it? Write a comment or mail us, we could do a follow-up with you in one of our next shows.

Our next show will be coming to you on the 1^st of October.

Until then – stay as diverse as you are – and

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Esjona Musta

Assistant Editors: Alina Vor, Natalia Obikhod, Elene Mikeladze, Natia Nikvashvili

LGBTQ+ Community +++ Queer Culture +++ Cultural Diversity +++ Absolutely Intercultural 265 +++

Hello and welcome to show 265 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today we talk about the LGBTQ+ or the “queer” culture – the culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning individuals. Unlike the French or the Australian cultures the queer culture is a non-geographically determined culture. We spoke to enthusiastic supporters but also to passionate critics of the movement.

Why is being diverse seen so differently across the globe today? Are the new, more liberal ideas about gender identity a step forward, or are they just another factor which will soon divide our societies?

absolutely unorthodox

In our first category, “absolutely unorthodox”, Giorgi, a student from Tbilisi, reminds us that his Christian religion cannot and should not accept homosexuality. He criticizes the emerging LGBTQ+ movements, because they openly support behaviour which the church for the last 2000 years has called a “Great Sin”.

absolutely un-lady-like

In our second category, „absolutely un-lady-like”, Irina, also from Georgia, tells us how a man in the street openly challenged her appearance. She explains how much easier it is for her to show her same-sex affection for her girlfriend in Germany than in countries like Georgia or Portugal.

absolutely equal

Finally, in our last category, “absolutely equal”, Luka, also from Georgia, but studying in Germany right now, demands that queer people should be treated like everybody else. He shows his supportand understanding towards gay people and believes in equal human rights for everybody.

What about you? Are you also struggling with this topic? Do you have any views on what we heard today? Write a comment or mail us, we could do a follow-up with you in one of our next shows.

Our next show will be coming to you on the 3^rd of September.

Until then – stay as diverse as you are – and

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Esjona Musta

Assistant Editors: Giorgi Sulaberidze, Alina Vor, Natalia Obikhod, Natia Nikvashvili.

Erasmus Experience +++ International Friends +++ Life In A Cultural Exchange +++ Absolutely Intercultural 264 +++

Hello and welcome to show 264 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today we will listen to our chief editor Giorgi Sulaberidze from Georgia, Eastern Europe about his cultural experiences during his exchange semester in Germany.

How does the exchange program influence international students’ lives? What are the cultural challenges? Which aspects of life in a foreign country turn out easier than expected? How do our exchange students spend their free time during their stay abroad and what cultural insights do they gain from each other?

absolutely independent

In our first category, “absolutely independent”, Giorgi asked his international friends about things they did for the first time in their new cultural environment.

absolutely connected

In our second category “absolutely connected”, Giorgi tells us how the group of international students is spending their free time together and how they stay connected through sports and games.

absolutely standing

Finally, in our category, “absolutely standing”, Giorgi talks about cultural exchanges amongst the international students. His friend Rabee taught him that the most traditional Jordanian dish, Mansaf is eaten with your right hand while standing around the table.

Our next show will be coming to you on the 6th of August.

Until then,

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell! 

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Giorgi Sulaberidze

Assistant Editors: Alina Vor, Natalia Obikhod, Natia Nikvashvili, Esjona Musta.

Green Culture +++ Cultural Clashes +++ Green Challenge +++ Absolutely Intercultural 263 +++

Hello and welcome to show 263 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today we will talk about green culture. We have all heard about being vegan, consuming less energy, using paper-based packaging, reducing co2 emissions and driving sustainable vehicles. But is this really a culture, or just a trend brought by the 21^st century? How does it affect our lifestyle? Is it always good to be green or it also has some disadvantages? Is it easy to adapt to green culture?

In this episode our guests attempted to take part in the green challenge – the experiment where everyone spent 4 days adapting to the green lifestyle: cutting meat, plastic and streaming out from their daily routine.

In our show, three students tell us a concrete situation, where they were the objects of stereotyping and how those stereotypes affected their personal lives.

absolutely challenging

In our first category, “absolutely challenging”, Jan Lübke talks about the issues and challenges of being green in different cultures.

absolutely confronting

In our second category “absolutely confronting”, Rabee Jarrar from Jordan, tells us how can green culture clash with his own traditions and religion:

absolutely controversial

Finally, in our category “absolutely controversial” we set down with 6 participants of our green challenge which took place during the weekends for 4 days. We asked Jan, Ariana, Jency, Nikos, Lara and Moritz to try and adapt to the green culture, and after 4 days tell us what was the most difficult challenge they faced during this period.

What are your thoughts about this? Are you a green person or you are trying your best to contribute? Let us know in the comments.

Our next show will be coming to you on the 2^nd of July.

Until then,

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell! 

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Giorgi Sulaberidze

Assistant Editors: Alina Vor, Natalia Obikhod, Natia Nikvashvili, Esjona Musta.