Cross-Cultural
The Meaning of Gifts
A gift has meaning within a specific context. Focusing on the context of gift-exchange can shed more light on patronage and reciprocity than merely speaking of the word “gift.”
Mending the Fractures
Celebrating and Grieving the TCK Story
A TCK responds with three ways she's learned to respond to feeling like "everybody leaves" and "no one understands."
10 Books on Culture and Cultural Adjustment
Ten books that will help you thrive in the midst of cultural change.
Having Gone to China, I’m Thankful I Learned . . .
Recognizing, and being thankful for, what can be learned while living in China.
Things I Wish I Had Done
Life in China will be different than you expect. Here are possibilities to consider as you prepare for living in China.
Learning to Be an Acceptable Outsider
If I can’t become an insider, can I at least become an acceptable outsider?
Two Types of Cultural Adjustment
This is the time of year when many people are going to China and facing new routines in a new place and a new culture, thus beginning their journey of cultural adjustment. In this series we will look at various aspects of and strategies for cultural adjustment. There will be two contributors to this series. […]
I’m Off to Fix Something
This tendency towards fixing (be it personal or societal) can often be a cultural clash point. We look around and see so much that we don’t understand and the “why” questions start bubbling to the surface. Is our motivation to fix what we perceive as broken, or to learn how the society is organized and the thinking behind it?
It’s All about Serving Well
A framework with which to process the complexities of China, as well as tools to navigate the myriad of cultural differences you will experience in China.