Course overview

What the course is and isn’t, our three promises, the Culture Journal, and a quick check that points you to a learning path.

Twenty-five short introductions in the travelers’ own words, and the locals who’ll tell the other side.

A cup of tea nobody drinks, a dinner nobody stays for, and the iceberg: why culture feels like common sense.

Region, generation, faith, work and family: why nobody is “just” their nationality.

Bell curves, a Dutchman who apologizes for everything, and the difference between a first guess and a closed mind.

A three-line email, twenty minutes of greetings, and the habit of mistaking someone’s style for their character.

The three-step habit that slows down a snap judgment, practiced on four puzzling moments.

A lecturer called “Dave,” a check that never comes, and colleagues who leave at four. What’s really going on?

A dinner invitation lost in a “maybe,” a “fine” that wasn’t, and what each style is trying to protect.

A printed welcome sheet, rules nobody says out loud, and why some cultures spell everything out.

A proposal “we will study carefully,” a deadline met with “I will try my best,” and how to hear a soft no.

Blunt honesty, gentle hints that sound like praise, and how to turn the dial up or down.

Debate as respect or as an attack, at a research colloquium and in a new marriage, and how to disagree safely.

Workplace banter, comfortable silences, too-personal questions, and why humor is the last thing to translate.

A blunt email, a silent room, a “quite interesting” proposal and a sharp question in class.

Elbow taps, palm-down waves, pointing with your lips, and the thumbs-up that isn’t friendly everywhere.

A hongi in Wellington, a handshake that ends in a snap in Accra, and the invisible bubble around each of us.

Lowered eyes, smiles that hide embarrassment, and a kitchen where shouting and silence mean very different things.

Quick-fire puzzles about thumbs, head shakes, closeness and eye contact.

A meeting that starts when the people arrive, a clock that counts from dawn, and what “on time” really means.

A note on the recycling bin, a question nobody can answer, and tight and loose cultures.

A shipment stuck at the port, a cousin who “knows someone,” and two different ideas of fairness.

Why some people trust you because you deliver, and others need to know you as a person first.

Nine o’clock in Buenos Aires, a laundry schedule, lunch in Amman and a favor for a friend.

Who chooses your career, how often you call home, and the difference between “I” cultures and “we” cultures.

Bosses who ask for opinions and bosses who decide, and what happens when a team expects the other kind.

Why a public correction can quietly end a relationship, and how to protect everyone’s dignity.

“We should totally hang out!”, six months of silence, and two very different routes to real friendship.

A choice of major, a manager who says “just call me Kate,” a camera that goes off and three polite no’s.

Twelve dishes and a barbecue, how many times to offer, and what “make yourself at home” really means.

Buying rounds, bringing a plate, who sits where, who pays, and what to leave on your plate.

Gifts as a language of relationships, and cultures that settle up quickly or never quite do.

An iftar, a Sunday shift, fasting at 35,000 feet, and how faith shapes the week and the calendar.

Tea refused once, a gift to “open later,” a pizza meeting and the question of who pays.

The honeymoon that may never come, culture fatigue, the signs to watch for, and a plan for a tough week.

How a second language can make a capable adult feel like a child, and what newcomers and locals can do about it.

When a bubble is a lifeline and when it becomes a wall, and why hosts matter more than they think.

Families who move together but adapt at different speeds, children who translate, and third culture kids.

A long weekend in bed, a fight about ten o’clock, and a family that says “we’re fine, thank you.”

From tiring questions to real discrimination: how to respond, how to be a good bystander, and how not to cause hurt.

Understanding a practice isn’t agreeing with it: your core, your stretch zone and your flex zone.

Everyone makes mistakes. How apologies work in different cultures, and how to repair the damage.

Harder incidents, each with more than one reasonable response.

Why coming home can be harder than leaving, and how to land well.

Neither from here nor from there: what it’s like to belong to more than one culture.

Seven habits that sum up the course, quick checklists for common situations, and your personal action plan.

One year on, the 25 stories told from the other side, and a last look at your own journey.

Five students, one assignment and six weeks of misunderstandings: bring the whole course together.

Every key idea and every Word Worth Knowing, with the lesson that explains it.

The books and studies behind the lessons, and where to find support.

Every Pause and Reflect question and journal activity, in one printable place.