About the course
Somewhere in the Netherlands, a Japanese student is wondering why her new roommate is so rude. Down the hall, the roommate is wondering why the student never says what she means. Neither of them is wrong. They're following different rules, and neither of them knows it.
The Unwritten Rules is about those rules: the unwritten ones every culture has, which we learn so young that we think they're simply how people are. It isn't a list of do's and don'ts for every country. It's a way of seeing that works with any culture you meet, including your own.
You'll follow 25 fictional storylines, with people from about 40 countries, over roughly a year. Every scene is told twice, once from each side. Then each lesson explains the idea behind it in plain language and ends with practical tips, a few questions for your Culture Journal, and the key points in brief.
Who it's for
Culture works the same way whether you're 16 and on exchange or 67 and meeting your new neighbors.
- Exchange studentsHigh school, university and graduate students getting ready to go, or already there.
- People working abroadNew workplace norms, managing and being managed, and bringing a family along.
- Immigrants building a new lifeLanguage, belonging, and raising children between two cultures.
- Frequent travelersMeetings, meals, gifts and greetings, and the quick adjustments in between.
- Hosts and neighborsHost families, colleagues, teachers and anyone welcoming newcomers to their community.
- The curious at homeAnyone who simply wants to understand the people around them a little better.
What makes it different
How you learn about culture matters as much as what you learn.
Who's behind this
The course's author grew up in the United States and first lived abroad as a high school exchange student in Japan. There he discovered that speaking the language is not enough. He also needed to know the unwritten rules: which slippers to wear in which room, when to bow, and how a polite "that might be a little difficult" can quietly mean no.
In college he went abroad again, this time to study in Europe. He has now lived abroad for more than 20 years, and it has been a challenging journey. He has had to learn how people from other countries think and act, and also to understand his own American upbringing better, including the many unwritten rules he picked up as a child without noticing.
The author has always been fascinated by other cultures and keeps looking for new insights that help him see things from other people's perspectives. He cherishes the moments when part of another culture that once felt unfamiliar begins to make sense. Creating this course gave him many more of those moments. Telling every story from both sides meant seeing each situation through the other person's eyes. It showed him that no matter how long you've lived abroad or how many people from other countries you've met, there's always something new to learn.
Whether you're living abroad, traveling, or welcoming newcomers where you live, he hopes The Unwritten Rules brings you more of those moments of understanding, and fewer awkward ones.
What's inside
Start Here, then nine modules that build from seeing culture to living between cultures. Each module ends with a scenario challenge.
10 areas · 39 lessons · 9 challenges
- Start Here2 lessons
- Seeing Culture (Including Your Own)5 lessons · 1 challenge
- Say What You Mean? Communication Styles6 lessons · 1 challenge
- Beyond Words: Body Language3 lessons · 1 challenge
- Time, Rules, and Trust4 lessons · 1 challenge
- Me, We, and Who’s in Charge4 lessons · 1 challenge
- Everyday Life: Hospitality, Food, Gifts, and Faith4 lessons · 1 challenge
- The Emotional Journey of Living Abroad4 lessons · 1 challenge
- The Hard Parts: Prejudice, Values, and Mistakes3 lessons · 1 challenge
- Coming Home, Going Forward4 lessons · 1 challenge
- Short lessons, on any device
- 9 scenario challenges, every answer explained
- 4 printable PDFs, including your Culture Journal
- An optional Essentials path, in about 2.5 hours
- One simple payment — no subscription