Cross-Cultural Training

Lesson 8: Adapting to Your New Culture

Introduction

Ulitimately you want to be able to adapt and live comfortably in your new culture. This does not mean that you have to recreate yourself and throw away your own values and beliefs. What it does mean is that you have to understand yourself, understand your new culture and be able to make the necessary adjustments in your actions to function in your new home.

I cannot express the importance of understanding yourself in this process enough because many misunderstandings occur simply because a person is judging a situation based on their own values and beliefs. In fact, this is so common that J.A. Lee, a cultural anthropologist created a term for it. It's called using a self-reference criterion.

Hopefully, this course has given you tools to help you adjust and this module will give you even more.

  1  2  3  4  5  6  7