I am a very strong advocate that if you’re moving overseas, you absolutely have to make the effort to learn a new language. In a recent moment at my gym, I was reminded of how language plays a key role in standing your ground. I was warming up for my spinning class, and another woman who takes the class was just outside the door, which is made of glass. A man in the class, left the room to get water, and opened the glass door…slamming it right into this woman…and kept walking! She confronted him and suggested he could apologize for hitting her with the door! Seems like a small thing, but if you’re in another country and cannot speak the language, something this “small” becomes an act of DISempowerment.

This is why one element of learning a foreign language is EMPOWERMENT. Let me give you a couple of personal examples.

I studied in Italy one summer, and on my return home, my flight, from Rome to New York, was delayed.  This was due to another flight, also going from Rome to New York, being canceled.  All those passengers were fighting to get seats on my flight.  There was a desk, and 2 women at computers, working on the passengers.  I soon noticed that not only were they NOT bothering to check those of us with valid seats in, but there was also no real order to anything.  I stood on the “line” as best I could, but after some time, a man walked up from behind me, looked at me with a “stupid foreigner” gaze, and stepped literally, right in front of me.  It made me feel completely disrespected, not to mention, afraid I would lose my seat to him.  Happily, I studied Italian in Italy.  So I walked up to him and said, “YO SONO PRIMA DI TE” – roughly “I am in front of you!”  He looked at me, completely shocked, and stepped out of my way!  Observing the lack of order, I then literally threw my passport onto the desk, and demanded my ticket, and got it! 

In another incident, I went to a bar in Paris with some friends.  We were minding our own businesses, when I suddenly felt the pressure of someone pushing against me from behind.  After a few moments, it still hadn’t stopped, and there was not much space for me to move.  So, I turned around and found myself face-to-face with an angry French woman.  She had the nerve to say to me, in French, “You could at least move a little!”  To that, I replied, “You could at least say ‘Excuse me’.”  Her mouth shut, she stepped back, and left me alone.

So, to anyone out there who doubts the power and important of learning a new language, I hope these examples show you otherwise!

* For more tips on learning a new language and adapting to a new culture, click here! *

I recently came across a fascinating article.  When we transition cultures- especially to another country – we’re always concerned about the local language – trying to learn it or trying to understand it.  However, some languages are on the verge of extinction.  I know that when I lived near Strasbourg, I learned about the Alsacien language – it sounds a bit like a blend of French and German – but is incomprehensible.  Sadly, the younger generation isn’t learning it in school, and it’s known now mostly to elders.  There’s something about this loss of language that most also imply a loss of cultures, which seems unfortunate.

However, according to an article published in April in The New York Times, it seems that New York is becoming a gathering point for people of various cultures, who speak dying languages, to actually foster their continuation. 

* Click here to read about this fascinating phenomenon. *

Found another really interesting article in the paper today – it seems that business travelers who are looking for in-depth knowledge about a place they will visit or work are turning to in-country expats for advice!

Click here to read all about it.

When experiencing different cultures, food is always part of that experience. When you first arrive someplace new, it’s often about missing what you left behind, and being either timid, or excited, about the strange foods you’ve never tried before.  The irony often is, that when you repatriate, or simply change countries you are an expat in, you start missing the foods from the country you just left!

I’ve always felt a bit silly about it, but to this day, every time I go to France, I have to have my Vache Qui Rit apericubes, Camembert Cheese, Amora mustard, foie gras, and I simply cannot leave the country without a huge bag of my favorite teas from Mariage Freres, and don’t get me started on all the spices I want from the Monoprix!

In fact, my brother was recently in France, and even though my local “Dean and Deluca” supermarket stocks one of the Mariage Freres teas I like, I gave him an order to bring home with him.

So, I was very happy to find an enlightening article in the New York Times recently – all about the fact that even though the internet has made many of the foods we love and miss available even from our current homes, it simply doesn’t taste as good as when you buy it directly in the country and bring it home yourself, or receive it from someone else who brings it back for you.

In the end, food is about memories and connection – it may remind us of times spent in another country, or of beloved family – so the article makes the point that ordering over the internet removes this level of connection, thus making the food taste better when obtained directly.

What are your thoughts on this?

Click here to read the full article.

I was recently discussing views on the American healthcare system with an Irish friend living in China.  That got me theorizing and wondering if other countries have similar, or different, approaches.

In this post, I’m going to talk about a specific subset of healthcare – how it’s a business in the United States, and how cultural dynamics, I feel, play into this. 

Here is my theory.  Over the past 5 or so years, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend.  Drug companies seem to be capitalizing on gullibility, advertising, and financial incentives to make billions of dollars off health concerns. Bodily issues, that have probably been around for centuries, are now being given an ugly name.  Here’s how this plays out.

STEP 1: Create Ugly Name for Non-life-threatening bodily challenge.  i.e. CREATE A PROBLEM.  So, say your nose itches a lot, they suddenly call it “HEFFERITIS”, or whatever ugly name they make up that sounds bad enough that you know you don’t want it.  You might have had it for a long time, and been doing just fine, but now you see a TV commercial that lists your symptoms, and attaches a name to them, and convinces you that you have a problem.  For many people, if they see it on TV, it must be true.  In other words, the drug companies pay for advertising and convince us we have a problem that needs to be fixed.

STEP 2: CREATE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM.  Now that the problem has been laid out, and it’s on TV, so it must be true, the drug companies can promote their new drug.  Because you now feel you have a problem that needs to be fixed, you suddenly need to have this drug, it’s the perfect solution.  Here’s the thing, the SIDE EFFECTS ALONE are worse than the problem!  So, let’s take Hefferitis – you start off with an itchy nose, but if you take this wonder drug, you MAY end up with: “itchy feet, diahrrea – sometimes fatal, hallucinations, urges to kill people – sometimes fatal, depression from wanting to kill people – sometimes leading to suicide, dizziness, loss of vision – which may be temporary, loss of bladder control, temporary immune dysfunction, hair loss, neck rash – sometimes fatal…..” (And this is honestly only a slight exaggeration, you should see these ads!)

STEP 3: FINANCIAL BENEFIT TO DOCTORS WHO SELL SAID DRUGS: So, now you’ve seen the commercial, you know you have Hefferitis, and you go to your doctor to get his or her thoughts.  They are being financially compensated to sell said drug, so recommend it to you and tell you the side effects only happen 2% of the time, and so it’s unlikely to happen to you, and if it does, you can stop taking the drugs.

I just saw a perfect example of this – there is a recent advertisement on the television for “Menorrhagia” – heavy menstrual bleeding.  We’ve been living with this for centuries, but now apparently, it’s a disease that needs a cure, oh, and just stay tuned, I’m sure the new drug will follow soon!  Marketing first – get us all in a panic, and wanting the cure, and then when the drug comes out, we’ll run and buy it!

I guess eliminating pain and suffering might be a good cause, however, the side effects of the drugs seem more painful and to cause more suffering, than the problem of origin.

I don’t mean to belittle anyone that might have Hefferitis or any other problem that I cannot commiserate with.  I suffer from arthritis and high cholesterol myself, and recently herniated two discs in my neck, so I can understand how intense pain and aggravation would lead someone to seek out a remedy. I just feel like in the US, it’s not really about a cure, it’s about making executives at drug companies more wealthy, which is highlighted to me by:

1. The fact that we have drugs with such bad side effects
2. We’ve made it socially acceptable for KIDS to take drugs (e.g. ADD) but then try and tell them “Just say No to drugs” – conflicting message if you ask me
3. Insurance companies are miserable when it comes to medical reimbursement, but any drug with a generic form, or one that has no generic seems less problematic for them to pay for

So, I wonder, for those of you living outside the US, do you also see advertisements as I mention in this post?  Do you feel that your country’s healthcare approach is for your good, for the good of a corporation, or a combination?  Please leave your comments!

Today is our final day in the Culture Transition Tip Tuesday series.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the tips and look forward to hearing from you! here is Tip #10. 

If you’d like to cast your vote for the next topic covered in a video series related to transitioning
cultures, just click here!

My younger brother will soon be returning from his first summer in France.  I am overjoyed that he shares one of my first addictions and loves of France – “Le Monoprix”!

I’m not sure what it is that draws me, but I simply cannot stay away when I am in France.  Even worse, I want everything I see.  Kitchen gadgets that I cannot find in the USA, washcloths that are like gloves instead of flat squares, my beloved Timotei shampoo and Le Petit Marseillais body soap which remind me of happy memories in France.  Vache Qui Rit Apericubes in distinct flavors I cannot find in New York, Packages of lardons that I love to cook with and cannot find anyplace else, rows of foods that I want – not sure if it’s all the colors that appeal to me or the fact that the writing on the boxes are in French?

And who can pass up a jar of Amora – not only is that mustard some of the smoothest and subtly spiciest I know of, but you get a fun glass to use over and over after you’re done with the mustard!

So, musing over my joy that my brother is also addicted to Monoprix, I realize I’m not quite as crazy as I had thought.    Now, I do like Auchamps, and Chez LeClerc, but there is something so special about the Monoprix which offers you everything you need and didn’t know you needed in a small space.  Thinking about this addiction further, I realize that I also am quite fond of “Marks and Sparks” (food hall) and Sainsbury’s in England – perhaps it’s the plethora of Indian foods and spices, I’m not quite sure – and don’t get me started on Boots! (I know, it’s a drugstore, but that’s another one I find myself needing to visit on trips to England!)

Now that demand has brought some of my favorite foods and products from other countries to my “back yard”, I don’t have the same sense of immediate need that I once did, however, I cannot seem to escape this “need” I have to visit supermarkets, at least in Europe.  I’m not sure if it’s simply a question of being surrounded by fond memories that the products and places allow me to rekindle, or something more.  I mean, we have supermarkets in America that I certainly don’t have the same attraction to!

So, I wonder – does anyone else out there have a similar addiction – be it stores, supermarkets, or other – when you visit or live in foreign places?  Or, an addiction that you developed when living overseas, that you have to satisfy every time you visit that place after moving back home?

It’s Culture Trasition Tip Tuesday once again!

Here is Tip #9

It’s Culture Transition Tip Tuesday again!

Here is Tip #8

Welcome back to Culture Transition Tip Tuesday!

Here is Tip #7