India – absolutely intercultural!

Sports Culture +++ Why we do sports +++ Influence of sports +++ Absolutely Intercultural 281 +++

Hello and welcome to show 281 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today, we are going to shed some light on the “Sports Culture” which is a non geographically determined culture that people from all over the world can be part of . From our international guests, we will hear what can motivate or inspire people to do sports. What are the values and beliefs that sports people share? Is it all about physical health and strength? Or is it actually about mental well-being? Some sports people go for the satisfaction produced by accomplishment. Some go for the collectivist idea of team spirit and equality and inclusion, working against discrimination based on gender or race.

Perhaps, the running and sweating is only a side issue and the sports culture is really about cultural values such as team spirit, resilience and shared achievement which would mean that sports have a much greater impact on us and on society than we may think.

absolutely impactful

In our first story “absolutely impactful”, we will listen to Brian from India. Brian shares with us how playing sports can bring amazing outcomes to people, especially when we look at mental health. He says, doing sports makes him feel at his best.

absolutely competetive

In our second story, “absolutely competitive”, we will listen to Steph from Canada. Steph shares with us how she has played hockey for years and how it can be hard being the only woman on the field. No matter what, Steph never gave up, and biting comments from male players even encouraged her to become more competitive.

absolutely productive

In our third story, “absolutely productive”, we will listen to Albano from Italy. Albano tells us how he does sports to redirect his negative energy to something productive and manages to get both toxins and negative ideas out of his body and mind.

What about you? Are you part of this sports culture? What or who inspired you to start and what keeps you motivated? What benefits does it have in your professional and personal life? Do you believe sports may be able to solve problems that our politicians cannot? Or perhaps you are more critical of this culture? We would love to hear more perspectives on this topic. Get in touch, and feel free to share your unique story with us here on this podcast.

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, 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 6 January.

Until then – think about what the sports culture means to you! –

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Natalia Obikhod

Assistant Editors: Kim Kyeongjin, Faisal Faisal

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Green Culture +++ Second-hand Shopping +++ Being eco-friendly +++ Absolutely Intercultural 279 +++

Hello dear listeners and welcome to show 279 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today, we are going to talk about the “Green Culture”, about being eco-friendly, about the culture of environmental sustainability – or whatever words you use to describe this phenomenon. Today, we are shedding some light on the Green Culture that is getting more and more popular all over the world. From our guests, we will learn that the green culture has many different practices and approaches, from saving water to reflecting on your wardrobe. We will also hear what motivates people to join the green movement, whether it is a love for animals or for the planet or simply a wish to save some money.

absolutely eco-friendly

In our first story, “absolutely eco-friendly”, we will listen to Hannah from Canada who is currently living and working in Germany. Hannah tells us a story about how she gave up trying to be the “cool” kid and decided to change her clothing habits by creating a “timeless wardrobe”.

absolutely vintage

In our second story, “absolutely vintage”, we will listen to Erda from Albania. Shopping at second-hand stores has always been her hobby. In Germany, Erda, to her surprise, realized this hobby doesn’t only help her to find authentic vintage outfits but at the same time makes her a part of the Green Culture in Germany.

absolutely underprivileged

In our last story “absolutely underprivileged”, we will listen to Mathumitha from India who has recently arrived in Germany for her semester abroad. Mathumitha shares with us how differently green practices can be interpreted in different parts of the world.

What about you? Are you or your friends a part of this Green Culture? In fact, we would love to hear from people who reject the whole idea! Get in touch, feel free to share your unique story with us here on this podcast.

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 4 November.

Until then – find your unique way to the green culture – or not! –

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Natalia Obikhod

Assistant Editors: Kim Kyeongjin, Faisal Faisal

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Job Applications +++ Job Interviews +++ Taboos +++ Absolutely Intercultural 276 +++

Hello and welcome to show 276 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today we are going to talk about “Job Applications” in different cultures. Most countries have their own work cultures, you can sometimes tell from the layout of office spaces, behaviour in the workplace and even the application processes may differ. How can the application process for jobs be different in different cultures when the final aim to get the best person for the job seems to be the same? Let’s hear from the experiences of our guests.

absolutely honest

In our first story, “absolutely honest”, Meaghan from Canada talks about why in the past she kept some things about her personal life hidden during job interviews and how she has just had her first experience of mentioning her daughter in this situation.

absolutely prepared

In our second story, “absolutely prepared”, we hear from Yarub, a student from Jordan, who explains how his university helped prepare him specifically for the German job market.

absolutely curious

In our last story “absolutely curious”, Ashlin shares with us that at some job interviews in India you should be ready for some very personal questions, even about your religion or caste.

What about you? Have you ever applied for a job or been an interviewee for a job interview? Or, maybe, you have even applied for a job in a different country? Feel free to share your story with us.

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 5 August.

Until then –prepare yourself well for job applications 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

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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

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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.

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Gender Stereotypes +++ Gender Roles +++ Keeping Tradition +++ Absolutely Intercultural 257 +++

Hello and welcome to show 257 of Absolutely Intercultural, Gender Roles, coming to you from beautiful Remagen in Germany. We are talking about what life is like as man or woman in different countries. Have you ever been the victim of inequality because of your gender? If you had a wish – what would you change? Well, in today’s episode, we interview students from three different countries about gender roles in their cultures and how those may differ from the views they are confronted within Germany. Continue reading “Gender Stereotypes +++ Gender Roles +++ Keeping Tradition +++ Absolutely Intercultural 257 +++”

Hidden Cultures +++ Cultures in Management +++ Empathetic Leadership +++ Absolutely Intercultural 251 +++

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_81492-684x1024.jpg Hello and welcome to show 251 of Absolutely Intercultural, Cultures in Management, coming to you from the beautiful Rheinland in Germany. Today’s show is about the culture of management, where we listen to three managers and how they handle some of the more hidden cultures in their workplace to be effective leaders. Culture can be more than just national or geographical identity, it can be about direct/indirect, female/male, formal/informal, old/young or it can unite people who have the same profession but who all grew up in the same country. You will have certainly encountered some of these yourself throughout life.

Intercultural Adventures +++ Green Erasmus +++ Solo Traveler +++ Absolutely Intercultural 249 +++

Today’s show is about Green Erasmus. Have you ever wanted to adventure like Indiana Jones or simply wanted to travel without harming the environment? In today’s show we give two very real examples: Kalvin, an Australian exchange student living in Germany, who bicycled around Europe without pre-booked accommodation, and Jean, a German student who took the land route to India! For those who don’t know, Erasmus is a scholarship for university students coming to or from the EU on exchange programs.

Continue reading “Intercultural Adventures +++ Green Erasmus +++ Solo Traveler +++ Absolutely Intercultural 249 +++”

Growing Stronger Abroad +++ Germany and Shanghai +++ Hari and Marina +++ Absolutely Intercultural 243 +++

This show is about growing stronger overseas. Maybe you’ve always dreamed about a new life or modifying your old one? You will hear about two students who used their time abroad to reinvent themselves and discover how they managed this change with SMART goals. You will be surprised how these students spent most of their energy.

Harigautham Somasundaram, from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, spent a semester at RheinAhrCampus, Germany, doing an academic internship. He explains how he moulded a new personality using a technique he learned in Germany – SMART goals. Marina, from Germany, shares her personal transformation in China. Initially, she was too scared to order food from a restaurant in China, but by the end, she was exploring the Chinese country-side far away from the trodden paths of regular tourists.

Sadhana Forest +++ Auroville +++ India +++ Community +++ Absolutely Intercultural 237

In this show, you will hear about Sadhana Forest. This is a nonprofit organization which was set up in the alternative international township, Auroville, in the South-East of India about two hours south of Chennai. You may remember that our show 231 was also about Auroville and if you have the time you may want to re-listen to that episode. The main activity of Sadhana Forest is to plant trees with the aim of re-creating the forest which used to be in that area.

At first, we will listen to Mike Roy, who is originally from the United States and is the Project Director in Sadhana Forest, in this show he explains why he made the decision to pack up and be a member of this community in India. Noel Parent, our guest in episode 231, tells us how the volunteers contribute by working in the Auroville community. And finally, we will go back to Mike Roy and this time he talks about how to get involved in Sadhana Forest project.

Continue reading “Sadhana Forest +++ Auroville +++ India +++ Community +++ Absolutely Intercultural 237”