the podcast about all things intercultural
On our Absolutely Intercultural Facebook page we recently reached the 700 Likes milestone so thank you for that! Our 700th liker could have been Cécile Saint-Espès, Laurent Kazimotol or Selsela Arya. Thank you all.
In this show we’re going to look at different types of exchanges both study and work. So what effect does an exchange have on you?
And what’s the best way of preparing yourself to benefit from an exchange?
Did you know that Denmark regularly comes in at number 1 for global surveys of transparency and lack of corruption? Well I’m going to spoil all this by bringing you a show featuring only my family so there’s some nepotism right there! In this show we’re going to be talking about the dark side of visiting other cultures. We’ll start with my daughter, Mia, who has been doing a grand tour of the world. We are going to be a bit coy about naming the country she is talking about for reasons which will become clear later. But in this particular country she discovered how political corruption works. So what happens at election time?
And we’ll also be hearing from my brother, Greg, who has been on assignment in Dubai, about how abrupt some of the boundaries can be between one code of behaviour and another
Today you will hear about cultural differences between traveling in India and in Germany and also you can follow a Portuguese exchange student through her daily routines in the student accommodation and on campus.
Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 213 +++ Cultural Differences +++ Travel Culture +++ Daily Routine”
In this Podcast we will talk about culture-shock, cultural differences and also re-entry shock which expats can experience when they return to their home country after some time. Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 210 +++ Cultural Diversity +++ Culture Shock +++Re-entry Shock”
In today’s podcast we hear from Dennis Rayuschkin, a RheinAhrCampus student from Kazakhstan who tells us about his cultural backround and his integration efforts.
Then we listen to to Dr. Wendy Spinks, who will explain some differences she has noticed between the German and Australian cultures.
In our third part, we listen to Javier Chapa Madrid (see photo), a student from Spain. He will explain what intercultural experiences in daily life mean to him and how he connected to the German culture.
In our last part Maher tells about the feelings and experiences he had around the time of his arrival in Germany. Continue reading “Absolutely intercultural 209 +++ Stereotypes +++ Different cultures +++ New in Germany? +++ Refugees +++”
In today’s podcast we have special topic: the Muslim Ramadan. The reason for choosing this topic is the great number of refugees in Germany which comes with a great number of intercultural learning opportunities. At RheinAhrCampus we have embraced this opportunity and have reached out to those refugees who are interested in university life, have integrated them in our daily routines and they, in turn, have readily shared their new lives with us.
Recently we organized an international cooking event followed by Iftar (إفطار – the joint breaking of the Ramadan fast) together with some international students, German students, ordinary Remagen citizens and our new international friends, the refugees. The success of the event and the incredible Ramadan spirit that reigned in the two kitchens gave us the inspiration for our Ramadan Special today.
In today’s podcast we hear from people who have traveled and are sharing their interesting and diverse experiences. We listen to Michael, a French student in Germany, telling us a story of how he was welcomed in Germany.
Then we listen to Audrey, she tells us how surprised she was after attending a German wedding and experiencing the customs and traditions of a typical German wedding. In the last part of the podcast we listen to Maris from Latvia who tells us the tale of “5 minutes”, information that every tourist should learn before traveling to Egypt. Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 203 +++ Traveling +++ Diversity +++ Time Management +++ Culture and Traditions +++”
We have a new look for the website, a Facebook milestone, a webinar on culturally responsive teaching and a plea for help on the Edublog awards! We will be talking to two teachers about how they adapt to a diverse classroom.
So we have updated the website to accommodate the new material we have on culturally responsive teaching. You can now also sign up for the Teaching Culture newsletter . Continue reading “refugees +++ integration +++ Denmark +++ Germany +++ Eddies +++ absolutely intercultural 196 +++”
Maybe you will notice that we have a new editor on the show. Laura has left the Sunshine Coast, Australia, to come and take on a year here at RheinAhrCampus in Germany. We all think she is crazy to give up all that beautiful sunshine but are so happy to have her on our team. Thanks a lot to Younes Jaber who has helped us produce so many good shows in the past and is now about to finish his studies. Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 187 +++ Cultural Comparison +++ Learning German +++ Australian Culture”
December – in the north of Europe this means Christmas trees, mulled wine, lots of snow and if you are lucky you may spot the odd reindeer. In our show today I asked how my guests celebrate Christmas in Australia, England, Germany, Singapore and Eritrea but also how people formulate their New Year’s resolutions in different cultures.
Christmas celebrations differ around the globe but typically involve gatherings of family and friends and indulging in rich and glorious food and drink. When talking about Christmas, everyone seems to have their own ideal view of what “Christmas” should be all about, which, however, varies greatly from country to country. For me, as a child, Christmas meant spending the holy evening with my family, singing traditional, often gloomy German Christmas songs, remembering previous Christmases and excitedly anticipating the moment where I get to un-wrap my gifts. For the last 25 years, I have been abroad in different countries for that period of year, experiencing different intercultural traditions. I have been fortunate enough to meet people from all around the world and hear about how they spend their festive night.
absolutely festive Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 185 +++ Christmas Traditions +++ New Year’s Resolutions +++ Intercultural Christmas”