Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
How to Develop Cultural Awareness
Furnham and Bochner describe several training
techniques for developing social skills, and thus
minimising culture shock:
Information-giving
This topic is all about that and many more
sources follow in the Further Reading section on
page 244.
Cultural sensitisation
Real adaptation comes from observation, but there
are ways you can fine-tune your observational
skills. The first step is recognising that invisible
difference between you and another person:
cultural perspective. The Bloom Program, a
course offered each October by the Women of
American Church in Paris, integrates cultural
sensitisation with basics on dealing with Paris.
Details are available from the American Church
and WICE.
Understanding the reason behind actions or
attributes of another culture.
One of my chief inspirations in the initial research
for this topic was a book called, in English,
Cultural
Misunderstandings
by French anthropologist
Raymonde Carroll. Her wisdom is scattered
throughout this topic and helped me enormously
in understanding why the French do what
they do, such as things they themselves often
cannot describe. While few of us can aspire to
be the talented social scientist Dr. Carroll is,
I'd like to quote her five steps for developing
cultural understanding:
Clear the deck.
Avoid all attempts at discovering the deep-
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