tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89298441284008637952012-01-18T11:28:10.750-08:00Dissertations on International Living and Comparative Culture Analyses by Ladislav, Chief Advisor of HappierAbroad.com and Author of "Expatriate Insights", aka "The Socrates of Expatriate Living". He speaks 10 languages, been to over 30 countries, and has seen the beauty and ugliness of the world while discovering truths too deep for mainstream media.Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.comBlogger921100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-41985662373770454442010-08-08T04:21:00.001-07:002010-08-08T04:21:15.773-07:00

Amores de Lejos, Amores de Pendejos? This famous Spanish proverb literally translates as “Loves from Afar are Loves of Fools”- that is basically that long distance relationships do not work. I beg to disagree. Of course, relationships with people near you are far better, but sometimes you can’t help but be separated. You can get drafted into the army, or be sent somewhere by a company, or meet

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-81073809955458354802010-08-08T04:19:00.000-07:002010-08-08T04:19:57.314-07:00

Get Out of My Office! You are Fired! In some countries labor laws are so strict that firing someone is a difficult, lengthy and expensive proposition. However, many expats, both the managers and employees are not aware of those. Hence, western managers brought into the country fire people for the reasons that they would fire them at home for (many of which are trivial). In the US one can fire

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-20748458686180755312010-08-08T04:16:00.001-07:002010-08-08T04:17:37.031-07:00

Some two decades ago, I was watching a famous preacher on TV. The topic for that day’s sermon was “India“. According to the preacher, India was poor because it was not Christian, and he was inviting people to go there and teach Christianity. At the end of the speech, he raised his voice and shouted something like: “Jesus will take that country out of poverty!”, “Jesus will make India advance!”

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-84049122144338182542010-08-01T13:19:00.000-07:002010-08-08T04:23:00.613-07:00

 A letter to my friend Winston Wu: “Winston If you still have not figured it out, do not rack your brains over it. It is several reasons, not one- so it is a combination of factors that lead to the different results you are experiencing. Here they are one by one: 1) East Orthodox Slavic culture vs. Anglo-Celto-Germanic. Communal and friendly vs. individualistic-cliqueish one. Russians are

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-70479375980292660762010-07-24T10:02:00.001-07:002010-07-24T10:02:47.616-07:00

The government of Kazakhstan is up in arms. A man in remote England is making fun of them by posing as a Kazakh journalist. He has set up a site in broken English, and is ridiculing the country and its people right and left. They feel insulted and are trying everything possible to stop him, but to no avail. You see, Kazakhstan is a newly independent country that most Britons know very little

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-29320479376794970152010-07-09T07:22:00.001-07:002010-07-09T07:44:24.741-07:00

As the government of Kazakhstan is hating Borat more and more for making a movie and TV series in which their country is shown to be a backward East European backwater and a poor Third World jumping off place, and in the aftermath of the cartoon riots, many Muslims around the world are steel reeling under the weight of the controversy, many Western media leaders are citing the right of free

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-82141067747283427962010-07-09T07:20:00.001-07:002010-07-09T07:20:12.118-07:00

I am in the middle of Sydney, Australia. It is a cool, wintry day in August. The skyscrapers around and above me are filled with light , and a huge moon hangs over the city as the lazy puffs of vapor, coming out of the chimneys and exhaust outlets, rise into the crisp, southern skies. I look around me and I see what I did not quite expect to see in Australia ( maybe because I had been watching

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-84025872108100250002010-07-09T07:19:00.001-07:002010-07-09T07:19:23.194-07:00

Aah! What prosperity and abundance awaits so many of us who end up in the countries where wealth comes from the ground! One does not realize that instead of an economy based on credit or taxes or hard work and discipline as in most of the West, the wealth seems to be jetting forth constantly from the ground, like from the horn of plenty. One soon notices that everything is cheap but salaries are

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-36428926287203443042010-07-09T07:18:00.001-07:002010-07-09T07:21:42.761-07:00

You know, duty free may be a good deal in Western Europe, Japan or the US, but for the life of me, I have no idea why anyone would want to buy anything except only a few items in the duty free areas in most of the world countries. Take souvenirs, for example. Why would you want to buy them in the duty free section if you can get those three or four or five times cheaper outside the airport, in

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-78482308895886538352010-06-21T10:40:00.001-07:002010-06-21T10:40:53.195-07:00

There are many books dealing with the culture shock, and generally they all agree that you go through these stages- euphoria, followed by disappointment and resentment, followed by adjustment and then, eventual relative peace and enjoyment, I have discovered that after the resentment and before adjustment you go through the stage of sarcastic derision. The new country ends up looking ridiculous

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-64862932968295771182010-06-21T10:26:00.001-07:002010-06-21T10:27:43.220-07:00

In some so-called developing countries, the enthusiastic employers who want to hire you can exhibit gross ignorance in how they are supposed to go about issuing you a working visa or a work permit. A case in point is Thailand. It is a constant complaint of many expatriates there that they would be hired only to find out that their employer had no earthly idea as to what is involved in the

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-76057868690782445922010-06-21T10:25:00.001-07:002010-06-21T10:25:46.482-07:00

Working in the Middle East can be lucrative, but it can also be uncertain. One never knows what may happen from one day to the next. I guess uncertainty is universal nowadays, but it is especially so in this part of the world. I am not talking about political uncertainty alone. It may happen that you may not be rehired for the next year’s contract. It may also happen that someone does not like

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-88472076955833857622010-06-21T10:18:00.001-07:002010-06-21T10:18:40.208-07:00

*** One of the tragedies of Van Gogh was that during his life time he could not sell but very few of his paintings and it was only after his death that he started selling and became famous. Most artists go through that stage one way or another. Most do not become famous even after their death. And most cannot sell. I am an artist and I have found the reason why I was not selling a lot of my

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-67406334402586716102010-06-21T10:17:00.001-07:002010-06-21T10:17:27.156-07:00

When I was a kid, I used to listen to music from around the world. It did not matter to me whether I could understand the words or not. Actually, it seemed even better to me when I could not grasp the meaning of the foreign language because then, the voice would become a musical instrument of its own. A voice that I could not understand and the accompaniment to it sounded awesome and exotic. I

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-33463744350394933182010-06-21T10:16:00.001-07:002010-06-21T10:29:01.633-07:00

There are two types of Chinese Junks- one you see in the Hong Kong harbor and they will charge you an arm and a leg for a tour of the island. The other junk is the one you see in all these countries that have no quality control. Watches for $1. Electric shavers for $2. Sneakers for $5. Is buying all these things worth it if you want to save money? They say that if you buy cheap Chinese products

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-36510000188873721682010-06-21T10:11:00.001-07:002010-06-21T10:11:17.962-07:00

Living abroad is challenging as it is without the almost never-mentioned danger- wild kids. These kids can create all sorts of problems, some lethal, and make your life miserable. In some countries kids are above reproach. It is simply not the custom to discipline them. Hence, the may go wild when the see someone who looks foreign or dresses foreign. And they can cause you embarrassment, ruin

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-37685339122528572582010-06-02T05:58:00.000-07:002010-06-21T10:31:49.785-07:00

Throughout many years I have worked along side people from the Indian subcontinent. I have met few people more pleasant than these- they are polite, non-confrontational and rarely angry. It is a culture that emphasizes harmony and humility above all. One cultural peculiarity that I would like to describe is the time-stretching phenomenon which Indian people include in their business practices.

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-30471203108884843682010-06-02T05:57:00.000-07:002010-06-21T10:32:24.054-07:00

I had a happy childhood, and for many years thereafter, I always longed to be a child again. After all, I did not have to work, all of my needs were provided; I did not have to pay rent or worry about finding a mate. Up until puberty, I lived a life of absolute contentment. I had no sexual urge and all the troubles resulting thereof, and I was simply happy to read my books, travel to new places,

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-21905704476689313192010-06-02T05:56:00.000-07:002010-06-21T10:32:42.706-07:00

That's right. Losers by society's standards. So, if you have no place to go and nobody wants you, come on over to Saudi Arabia- you will be in good company. What's more, you will rediscover your dignity as well as save some cash. How so? OK, I'll give you an example. Let's say you are a glamorous young man aged 20-35, handsome and popular with women. You are a party animal , exercise freak ,

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-86037044213858922952010-06-02T05:55:00.001-07:002010-06-21T10:35:01.540-07:00

One is for all intents and purposes an eternal guest and is treated as such by the man on the street. You may be living in the country for 20 years but to the average Joe Asian, when he sees you, it is like you have just arrived. He starts speaking to you in English or if he does not speak English, he either uses signs or avoids you altogether. He asks you questions that one would only ask a

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-75895754312315161952010-06-02T05:55:00.000-07:002010-06-21T10:34:42.804-07:00

If you travel to and live in both the Latin and the "Anglo"- America, you will notice that the problem of racism in both parts of the world is expressed differently. In the US as a rule, the poorer the strata of the society, the more racism there seems to be in their general attitude in dealing with other groups. The worst place to be different in color or in nationality in the US would be some

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-57042878083860301692010-05-13T08:54:00.001-07:002010-05-13T08:54:52.435-07:00

One of the most important reasons why it is so easy to succeed in 1st World countries is because of the infrastructure both technical and human. Most 1st Worlders are so used to it, the do not even notice it. They take it for granted that phones work, that faxes work, that courier shipments will arrive on time, that the mail will not disappear; that you can quickly and easily obtain products and

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-25580348809998019242010-05-13T08:53:00.000-07:002010-05-13T08:53:06.914-07:00

There are many ignorant people out there both in your country and abroad. After 9/11, a Sikh was killed at his gas station somewhere in the South Eastern US. He had a beard and was wearing a turban. Close enough to Bin Ladin. Never mind the Sikhs are not Muslims. The man is now dead as a door nail. End of the story. When the US attacked Iraq, certain extremists in Saudi Arabia started

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-17247786206229504652010-05-06T12:15:00.001-07:002010-05-06T12:15:43.721-07:00

In quite a few poorer countries around the world, a white-skinned foreigner is an object of automatic admiration. He is presumed to be extremely cultured, sophisticated and fantastically wealthy. Aren’t all white people born with $1,000,000,000 in their trust accounts? Aren’t all white people movie moguls living in sunny Hollywood? Isn’t it true that only poor people of color are doing work in

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-32379294000917869612010-05-06T12:09:00.000-07:002010-05-06T12:14:10.643-07:00

One of the examples of how an international person cannot be understood by a non-traveler was when I started working in the South Central LA as an elementary school teacher. I had done my practicum in Puerto Rico, and I was used to being respected as a teacher. In the Spanish-based culture of that Caribbean Island, respect for teachers is something that is ingrained from a very early age. Those

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-12765575431870058422010-05-06T11:59:00.000-07:002010-05-06T12:03:19.420-07:00

When you arrive in a new country, you feel happy because it has many things that your old destination does not. Some SE Asian countries have many beautiful women that you can look at every day and be just happy feasting your eyes on them. Some VNese refugees to the US would say that ‘every day in America was a holiday” for them. Many people from Egypt living in Australia would be ecstatic about

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-75013555107104091842010-05-06T11:58:00.001-07:002010-05-06T11:58:23.647-07:00

Same Language BluesJust because a country speaks the same language that you speak, does not mean that it cannot create misunderstandings and embarrassing situations. I was once bounced out of a bar in Australia. This is how it happened: I saw a bar in Sydney as I was walking down the street, and heard music coming from it. I became curious and decided to check it out. In front of it, there was a

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-68169738948649531592010-05-06T11:54:00.001-07:002010-05-06T11:54:38.807-07:00

In many places around the world, countries experience shortage of cash. You hear the expression “cash-strapped countries” quite often. That can affect you even if you have plenty of it. It basically means that you need to watch what notes you get at the local exchange offices once you arrive there So, after you change your hard currency into local money at such an exchange booth and the smiling

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-9151106133512024592010-05-06T11:48:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:58:56.272-07:00

Get Up and Go To WorkWhen visiting a foreign city, try and do this: one day that you are there, put on clothes that resemble working clothes- a suit or something, take a briefcase or a folder, get up at 7:00am, brush your teeth, have breakfast and “go to work”. I did that in Auckland, Buenos Aires and a few other major cities. I joined the crowd of people walking towards downtown, me being part

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-59652372056679020352010-05-03T06:30:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:32:14.548-07:00

When I hit my mid twenties, I realized that getting rich was harder than I thought. I also realized that I was not motivated enough to be rich. And not smart enough. And not have the right background/connections. Etcetera, etcetera. So, I asked myself- Can I live rich without being rich? What can I do that the rich do, and still not have to sacrifice a big chunk of my life trying to get rich. The

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-70886815040484167782010-05-02T06:29:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:30:59.990-07:00

When visiting the so-called developing countries, one of the most embarrassing things that can happen to you is encountering a toilet that does not flush. Forget about toilets that do not have toilet paper- that is a given. That is why I carry tissue with me. But the ones that do not flush can leave you in a really unpleasant predicament. Think about it: you are invited to dinner at someone’s

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-1338660252133454062010-05-02T06:28:00.000-07:002010-05-13T09:02:27.069-07:00

While working in the Gulf I have decided to create classifications for the types of money here. There are LVCUs and HVCUs which stands for “lower value currency units” and “higher value currency units”. For example, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait have currencies that are higher than the dollar or the pound- and each one has 1000 smaller units instead of cents. Qatar or the UAE, on the other hand, have

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-70569517226269108662010-05-02T06:27:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:33:11.677-07:00

It was an unlikely place for the same ugly idea to raise its head, and I did not expect it to happen here. But it happened again. I was at a Korean restaurant in Kuwait City. I had been patronizing it for some time now, a few months actually, and as in many restaurants around the oil- rich Gulf, the waiter was a young Indian gentleman. He was nice and polite and performed his service well. It so

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-87346031676712402802010-05-02T06:26:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:33:31.288-07:00

Don’t you just love getting into all these expat websites and clicking on all these colorful ads of real estate “bargains” in the Third World? Yeah the prices are not bad- $150,000 for a house, that’s cheap compared to California. Or Tokyo. But, outside of expensive states/ cities like that, I can buy a house in the First World for not much more than K150. So why would I want to invest $150,000

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-20728476290876443772010-05-02T06:22:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:33:52.389-07:00

One of the commandments of overseas living should be: “ Thou shalt not criticize the host country in front of its citizens even if the criticism is justified”. When abroad, you may run into unpleasant circumstances, inconveniences, and culture shocks. You will often be tempted to vent your steam by saying negative things about the host country. Please never say those things when a native/citizen

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-13084208585632117882010-05-02T06:21:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:34:12.058-07:00

I remember once I worked in downtown Los Angeles, on a street where most passers-by were recent Mexican and Central American immigrants, 99.999% of whom could speak very little or no English. This did not deter a lonely preacher who was standing on the corner of Broadway and 5th street, delivering a long sermon in English and telling everyone to accept Jesus. I plucked up my courage, walked up to

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-84131928304361278302010-05-02T06:19:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:34:57.747-07:00

I remember when back in the 80ies I was fascinated by foreign languages so I decided to learn a few. Spanish was my first choice as it was spoken all around me. So, I bought a book titled “Spanish in 22 easy lessons” or something like that. Spanish to me was the language of Cervantes , Garcia Lorca and Julio Iglesias. It is the language of 300,000,000 plus people around the world. The

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-51868846109913423472010-05-02T06:18:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:35:22.816-07:00

I spent two years teaching English in Japan, and while there, I would pass a great deal of time being entertained by the Japanese staff, students and colleagues. Often, we would sit in a restaurant with soft music being piped in. Once, they were playing "Auld Lang Sine" and one Japanese student turned to me and with a solemn look on his face declared: “ This is a traditional Japanese song!”. I

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-16840739683475225062010-05-02T06:16:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:35:52.977-07:00

I remember that day like it was yesterday. It was July something-something of 1983, and I was about to be sworn in as a new US citizen. I was at a Federal Building in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The building was as American as one can get, US flags all around, signs and all, but what was outside did not fit the parameters of what I expected the US to look like. I was on a Spanish- speaking Caribbean

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-6500070740068356902010-04-02T06:15:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:37:43.656-07:00

The Anglo Guilt Former British colonies and Britain itself seem to suffer from some kind of guilt complex. They are constantly trying to make amends for all the bad things they have done to other countries and races. In the process, they can get take advantage by other countries who had done just as many bad things, but who are not feeling guilty in the slightest. China, for example, carried out

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-8542433909799604802010-04-02T06:14:00.001-07:002010-05-06T11:38:23.613-07:00

During the Cold War there was a popular term: “The North-South Divide”. It used to refer to how rich countries in the North such as the US, Germany. the UK and even the USSR would exploit the poorer countries in the South such as the Congo, Colombia or Cambodia. . So, how did the countries in the North become rich in the first place? There are several not so politically correct theories that

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-26729579900733403792010-04-02T06:14:00.000-07:002010-05-13T09:03:22.784-07:00

1) It never ceased to amaze me how so many Latin American nations see the Spanish language as a national symbol of their country, while, and at the same time, sharing that colonial language of the former European master with others. Shouldn’t the liberators, after a bloody war with the Spaniards to win independence from them, have adopted the local Amerindian languages as the national symbols?

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-7079833410721648182010-04-02T06:13:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:38:46.606-07:00

When you arrive in a place where for climatic or cultural reasons people look radically different from the way people look in your country, your first impression is- “They all look the same!”. However, while to ‘you’ they may look the same, they do not look the same to each other. People in China and India, for example, can quickly determine by facial features what province or part of the country

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-22765089043129226392010-04-02T06:12:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:39:06.310-07:00

In some English-speaking countries, where English is an official second language, and many documents and business communication in general, is in English, there is an interesting linguistic phenomenon: it is the numerical selling out of the tens and the “teens” which follows the utterance of the number. Confused by what I mean? OK, let’s go to Singapore or Malaysia. A taxi driver tells you that “

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-53092592695626886582010-04-02T06:11:00.001-07:002010-05-06T11:39:49.366-07:00

In many societies there have been social and racial divisions that have existed for centuries, if not for millennia. People have learned to live with them and even benefit from them. By appearing in those countries and trying to be a do-gooder, you may violate the fragile social harmony of those countries and upset many people in the process. It may even cost you your safety. The wise expat

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-47609460449395761672010-04-02T06:11:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:39:27.346-07:00

As an expat, you will often be living in certain places where your presence alone may attract uncalled attention from a variety of unwanted elements. Jealous locals, fake business partners, women that want to take advantage of you, prejudiced people who do not like your race or nationality, corrupt police looking for bribes, etc. One has to be on guard at all times as one is not at home and may

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-34339768804360599192010-04-02T06:09:00.001-07:002010-05-06T11:40:33.754-07:00

As I thumb through major international magazines, I often come upon all these schools that advertise their long distance programs as well as on-campus programs for BAs, MAs and PhDs. They make it a point to convince the potential student that the degrees are legal and approved. And I keep seeing the ads over and over again everywhere I look. I have often wondered- since in the US, accreditation

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-64012790170347217572010-04-02T06:09:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:40:14.059-07:00

Have you ever noticed how the term “Multi-Cultural” is often applied to the British colonies such as the US, Canada, Australia, and even Malaysia and Singapore, and how few other countries who were not British possessions give themselves such a description? The Soviet Union was a multi-national country and so was Yugoslavia but they were never called “multi-cultural”. Countries in South America

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-20535696019173312992010-04-02T06:08:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:40:54.363-07:00

Jealousy is a basic human emotion, and it generally manifests itself in situation where one observes other people having things that one does not have, and/or living a lifestyle that one cannot afford to live. Jealousy is a strong emotion, however; in the First World countries it rarely assumes destructive proportions unless you find yourself among the really poor and deprived underclass which is

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-74901257134126425122010-04-02T06:07:00.001-07:002010-05-06T11:45:23.754-07:00

Best things in life are…cheap if you know where to look. I do believe that best things in life may be free, but what is not free is getting to where they are and putting yourself in the situations where you are more likely to find them. Too many of us are simply short of both time and money to be able to travel to places where such things are free. Some twenty odd years ago I had a dream to fall

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-73833447681021593302010-04-02T06:07:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:41:37.924-07:00

A lot of strife nowadays is generated by religious intolerance which is a bit difficult for those who come from fairly liberal societies to understand. My observation is that while religious differences are definitely a serious cause, the bigger cause is really in the combination of religion and tradition. In most societies of the world religion is something you inherit from you ancestors. It is

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-38084746296059743892010-04-02T06:06:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:45:37.490-07:00

For a long time on earth we have had several opposing camps- Communist vs. Capitalist, Materialism vs. Spirituality, Fundamentalism vs. Secular or Christian- based democracy, etc. In each of such camps there were dissidents- people who disagreed with the mainstream political or spiritual philosophy of their country, and who would leave for places where they could finally practice their own way of

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-23272994111681016992010-04-02T06:05:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:45:50.786-07:00

The Thai Tourist Authority used that catchy phrase in the 1990ies to promote tourism to their country. They advertised the temples, the tropical fruit and a pretty lady selling them. I saw the poster. Very impressive! And the phrase stuck with me, too. I kind of adopted it as my own personal motto- basically, every Kingdom or country has its treasures, and it is up to us to discover them. Even

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-35593212271310376612010-04-02T06:04:00.001-07:002010-05-06T11:46:31.826-07:00

So many of us spend decades of our lives climbing social ladders of societies where competition is high, the dog-eat-dog attitude is the norm, and true friendship and love are devilishly hard to find. We grow stronger in such an environment, wiser in an unhealthy way, and, at the same time, tougher and colder. We are true societal warriors, ready to crush the guy next to us for the benefit of

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-63483154811194191812010-04-02T06:04:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:46:05.168-07:00

When traveling from place to place one becomes exposed to local radio programs be they in a taxi or a car you rent or wherever. If you listen to love songs, I mean, local love songs, you will become aware of an interesting phenomenon- namely, the kind of lyrics and the type of performers change as you move from country to country depending on the particular characteristics of their national “love

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-1931020350621801642010-04-02T06:02:00.001-07:002010-05-06T11:47:11.421-07:00

I have, on several occasions, read the writings of ladies who were wives of American officers, and who spent a large chunk of their lives accompanying their husbands on their overseas postings. They would describe their lives in Germany, Japan, and other such locations with the most positive of terms. The people were lovely, the cultural experience, overall, was priceless and the hospitality of

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-33795550235963889732010-04-02T06:02:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:46:49.823-07:00

If you are preparing to go abroad for a short- or long term, and decide to consult the State Department and order any brochures from them that deal with foreign travel, they will be happy to supply you with the most up-to-date information on visas, travel restrictions, and tell you what to do and what not to do in foreign countries. Your passport will also list various travel-related precautions

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-21243300210837683322010-04-02T06:01:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:47:36.851-07:00

I got to thinking one day about how inconsistent the English language can be with some terms. I will give you one example. Say, with the words about international relations that end in "o". Did you see those? Recently I was reading about "Sino-American" relations. OK, fair enough, it is probably from some Greek or Latin root and it means Chinese- American. Then, I recall once reading something

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-56674011749965725402010-04-02T05:59:00.001-07:002010-05-06T11:48:17.156-07:00

A rich man in a poor man's house is always welcome- A velvet carpet he will have unrolled for him. No matter how unpleasant he may be or how galsome, The poor man's house with sheepish smiles will brim. A rich man in a poor man's land is always greeted- A fat and burly tourist dollar notes will wave, And with supreme respect by natives he'll be treated; Each one is set to do his will just like a

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-30201694446083229782010-04-02T05:59:00.000-07:002010-05-06T11:48:00.962-07:00

When I was a kid, the world was simple- it had only six continents- Europe, Asia, America, Africa, Australia and Antarctica. That is what I learned in my Geography class. People living in those areas were, therefore, Europeans, Asians, Americans, Africans, Australians and..Antarcticans, I guess. I mean the ones working at those weather stations. Is this fair? I think so. Then came the news

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-29515856666568455562010-03-02T05:54:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:55:06.803-08:00

The Chinese say money can buy a house but it cannot buy a home. Does that mean that you can have a home without any money? I think so. While on California highways back in the 1980ies, I found that my home was on the roads since I spent so much time on them. I formed emotional attachments to certain highways, streets and buildings which I would silently greet every time I passed them by. I also

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-86010869662827288042010-03-02T05:53:00.002-08:002010-03-02T05:54:32.004-08:00

I have been traveling all my life, and I think that one of the most important elements of a successful voyage is proper preparation. If you get ready for you trip in a correct and thorough way, you will have less to worry about when you are in the foreign land. Traveling is stressful as it is, so there is no sense in making it even more so. Hence, prepare early, prepare well and prepare carefully

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-74126950840429606062010-03-02T05:53:00.001-08:002010-03-02T05:53:51.884-08:00

Every nation-state maintains a sort of a cultural matrix with a myth about its glorious past, its comfortable present and even a better future. An average citizen of such a nation-state, unless he is well-traveled, well-read, and multi-lingual, swallows such nationalistic myths hook, line and sinker. Often, as one would expect it to happen just that way, this mythology is not shared by the

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-70932334698651746302010-03-02T05:52:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:53:05.395-08:00

There are two types of American dream. The first one is that of a foreigner in some oppressed land where he has no freedom and no opportunity to advance himself or his family. He may suffer from the lack of political freedoms, or poverty in spite of all his hard work there. For such a man, America looms as a paradise in which his basic requirement are all met and where he becomes truly happy. The

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-82614187234261816722010-03-02T05:51:00.002-08:002010-03-02T05:52:21.581-08:00

As you learn a new language to the point where you begin to think in it and read literature in it, you will feel like you will develop a whole new personality and move into a parallel universe. Concepts will be different, the flow of thought will be different and many words will have no equivalent in your native tongue. Some expressions and adjectives will have approximate counterparts but never

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-38837267282704042152010-03-02T05:51:00.001-08:002010-03-02T05:51:45.218-08:00

After my many visits to foreign lands I would come and tell my family about how friendly the people there were. My dad would listen to my stories with a smirk. He would then tell me " You will only know about the people when you start sharing daily bread with them". People who are friendly to a new face in a foreign land will turn into devils if you end up costing them money or taking away from

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-34377313000180859122010-03-02T05:50:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:51:10.686-08:00

Facts about assimilation into other societies: 100% assimilation into any new place is impossible. Even within the same country moving from one place to another and being completely accepted in it as its member is impossible. With foreign countries it is naturally harder but the elements of assimilation are as follows: 1) Race/ethnicity/tribe : is one a member of any of the majority races/

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-17023029837189757892010-03-02T05:49:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:50:31.559-08:00

No place in the world is completely free, however many countries like to advertise themselves as free. As you travel you will see that usually countries that are not free politically seem to be free on a grass-root level. Freedoms of people to do business without special permits, to make love and show affection for each other are often in inverse proportion to the political freedoms. Many

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-16302292017953801642010-03-02T05:48:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:49:21.416-08:00

If you get an English teaching job in a place like Thailand or Chile and you get paid in local currency, please be prepared for one thing. When you get back to the "First World" and apply for loans or credit or other such things, you will often have to put on the form the amount of money you had been earning. If you had been working in Thailand making 30,000-40,000 baht a month and living like a

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-40193586459521621642010-03-02T05:47:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:48:20.408-08:00

I remember once watching a movie on TV about a young man who had just been bitten by a vampire, and who was in the process to becoming one as a result. He was lectured by an older veteran on the particulars of a vampire's life. There were big disadvantages- such as one could not go out in the sun lest one be burnt to a crisp, for one. One had to stock up on blood, and food became unnecessary,

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-31386855238783605602010-03-02T05:46:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:47:20.304-08:00

Most human beings do not create dreams independently. Most of us lack information as to where we should be heading in order to attain maximum satisfaction, and we form goals that are often dictated by society- our parents, fellow students, relatives and friends. We want to be doctors or lawyers, or actors because these are respected professions according to what people around us tell us. We want

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-51274831025305319822010-03-02T05:45:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:46:28.956-08:00

I have been struggling to coin a term for this group of people and it is not about tourists in flip-flops. By triple f’s I mean people who are caught in between cultures. In the nation of Flops they are Flips and in the nations of Flips they are Flops. How so? Take second generation immigrants in some country such as say, Japanese in Brazil. People would call them Japanese there but if they went

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-51622210012391999212010-03-02T05:44:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:45:17.210-08:00

As you go from country to country and spend time in them, you will become aware of an interesting phenomenon- you will assume a new role, so to speak in every country you visit and your image and self-image will change. In some countries you will be a low class nobody, in other countries you suddenly become a shining prince, a playboy or a lurid intellectual. How so? Well, most people see

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-84002353633831758872010-03-02T05:43:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:44:20.424-08:00

When I was working in Saudi Arabia, a British co-worker once told me:" Let me sing you the national anthem of the country of dummies!" He then proceeded to sing "the Star-Spangled Banner" with the following lyrics: "dum.b dum.b dum.b dum.b dum.b du-uu-mb ". Another British co-worker said that Americans were "the dumbest race of people on the face of the Earth". I asked him why? He said that he

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-39825592977311722172010-03-02T05:42:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:43:23.226-08:00

Some people who are interested in other cultures to the point of wanting to expatriate and go to another country to live, need to keep one thing in mind and ask themselves this question: "Will the country love you the way you love it?" Prejudice against certain groups is very strong in some parts of the world. Find out how you will be perceived in that particular nation or region, and whether you

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-66143761396764771482010-03-02T05:41:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:42:13.013-08:00

We have heard the new politically correct slogan- "There are no inferior cultures, we are just different." There is also another slogan-" there are good and bad people/things everywhere". As you travel from country to country you become more and more convinced that the above two statements are simplistic at best. Nations undoubtedly have different cultures but there are definite inferiorities and

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-23369847573033790132010-03-02T05:40:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:41:23.132-08:00

As you travel you will visit many countries who had been colonized by one or another colonial power. You will also probably become aware of a strange paradox- usually, if Country A was Colonized by Country B, and Country B was richer and more developed than Country A, many of the natives of Country A will continue loving and admiring it long after the independence; despite the horrors perpetrated

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-42272199115726493222010-03-02T05:39:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:40:24.008-08:00

The Linguo-Racial complex is a phenomenon that I (and many other people, I guess) discovered while learning foreign languages. It refers to how average people associate a language with people's racial characteristics and have confusing reactions to the speaker of the language if he/she does not have the appearance that a "normal" speaker of such language has. Here are some examples: A White

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-21362375430731915252010-03-02T05:34:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:35:16.426-08:00

There is new and growing group of people whom I will call Double Expats. These are people who are from country A, who immigrated and became naturalized in country B and now are living and working in country C. There are also triple expats, those who after working in country C have decided to retire and live in country D. An example- a Lebanese engineering student who emigrates to Canada, receives

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-49059012801556912092010-03-02T05:30:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:31:52.594-08:00

The farther away a group of people is from you geographically or culturally, the more they fuse into a blurred whole, sometimes even becoming a completely new category. To illustrate: A Brit can tell different accents of English in his homeland. However, he often cannot tell different American accents. To him they all sound just "American". Same with Americans- they oftentimes cannot distinguish

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-81402713563087900322010-03-02T05:24:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:29:54.997-08:00

While you were growing up, you must have watched many movies about racism in the US. If you have not been out of the US, you may think that America and, maybe, South Africa before the end of apartheid, are the most racist countries in the world. One has to be a bit careful in making such conclusions. For one, if you have not been to every country in the world nor have done extensive sociological

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-33335510894441594612010-02-23T23:21:00.000-08:002010-02-23T23:23:53.130-08:00

***As a child, while we were growing up, we had stereotypes about other countries. We also watched the news or saw movies in which certain countries were portrayed in a certain way. If you are like most Americans, you would probably think good things about the following countries and think of visiting them: England France Netherlands Switzerland Scandinavia Italy Hawaii (not a country, but still

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-31529291080691009462010-02-23T23:20:00.001-08:002010-02-23T23:24:59.290-08:00

***Those men who visit exotic foreign lands are often taken in by the beauty of the scenery and the women as well as by the friendliness of the local people. Their money which doubles or even quadruples elevates them to a higher status that what they had back home. Being suddenly rich, in a beautiful land, surrounded by gorgeous women who admire the man every step of the way, the charmed tourist

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-90177823074297924572010-02-23T23:19:00.001-08:002010-02-23T23:19:51.484-08:00

***If you grew up in the West, you may have developed the idea that sexually, it is very free. In a way, it is, but in order to enjoy the "sexual liberation" of the West, you cannot just be an average Joe. In order to meet exciting and beautiful women, you have to be either super good-looking, tall, and handsome (and young, too) or be super successful. That means that a small percentage of men

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-51178123827189383322010-02-23T23:15:00.001-08:002010-02-23T23:15:39.404-08:00

***Poor countries are not that poor and rich countries are not that rich. The media in most rich countries likes to present a sorry picture of what life is like in the so-called poor countries. People are portrayed as living in slums, starving and dreaming of emigrating to a richer country so that they could live a better life and greater freedom. What they do not tell you is that while people

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-76804596265363102962010-02-23T23:13:00.000-08:002010-02-23T23:14:09.418-08:00

*** Just like one should not put all his eggs in one basket, one should not pin his hope on any one country thinking it to be a panacea for all one's ills and a promised land of milk and honey. It can become worse politically, economically and/or socially overnight. You can have a run-in with someone who can blackmail you or make your life miserable in more ways than one. Lastly, you yourself can

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-82802424432230704862010-02-23T23:09:00.000-08:002010-02-23T23:12:37.867-08:00

***Political correctness in speech is almost always applicable to the English language only. It starts at US universities and quickly spreads to other Anglo countries- UK, Canada, OZ, NZ. Maybe some W. Euro countries share the correctness- France, Spain, Germany, Holland, etc. In other, more remote countries that speak languages that are not mainstream, people have no qualms about using insulting

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-90189510633284009212010-02-21T03:14:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:34:05.055-08:00

In the Third World, the richer, the more arrogant, and the poorer, the friendlier. In the first world, the truly rich are relaxed and quite friendly, but the poor look mean and nasty. *** The so-called Third World is probably what we call "the real world". It runs a full gamut and represents the full spectrum. It has a high top and a deep bottom. First world countries do not have a deep bottom.

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-53544085933686932742010-02-20T12:11:00.000-08:002010-02-20T12:12:08.190-08:00

The friendliness of people ( and women )of a certain country towards you depends on several factors: 1) The difference in GDP between your country and theirs. The formula is this: Your country's yearly GDP /Her Country GDP= friendliness factor. I.e. $24000/$2400= 10. That means they will be ten times friendlier to you than women in your own country. Before you choose the place to go to, check out

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-61968612621180771162010-02-19T13:38:00.000-08:002010-02-19T13:39:47.387-08:00

According to Hollywood, all people in the world speak English with perfect grammar but with slight foreign accents. If the country is "bad", then the accent is sharper and more unpleasant. If the country is good, then the accent is barely audible. But the grammar is usually perfect. All the tenses are in place, the irregular verbs are used perfectly, the conditionals are immaculate, the

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-14115419651727600362010-02-19T13:23:00.000-08:002010-02-19T13:26:40.245-08:00

Media propaganda and stereotypes of people in certain countries are almost always untrue. Not only they are untrue, the people in those countries often turn out to be the exact opposites of what you were taught they were. For better or for worse. Nationalities that were supposed to be unfriendly turn out to be very friendly and the ones that we were taught were friendly, turn out to be very

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929844128400863795.post-19778041166839749622010-02-19T12:04:00.000-08:002010-02-19T12:10:24.509-08:00

Dear Reader,Thank you for your interest in pursuing knowledge and understanding of the multi-national world, expanding your cultural awareness, and openness in allowing others to share with you what they’ve learned.The following is a collection of intellectual dissertations, observations, comparisons, insights, wisdom, lessons and advice on international living and dating by my Advisor, an

Ladislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12360989501771460647noreply@blogger.com0