I have lived in four different countries abroad, and only once did my employer arrange for classes in cultural assimilation. It was in Israel, and the classes were extremely valuable. I can only assume that they would have been equally valuable in the other countries. What did they include? A bit of history, a warning about local customs I was likely to find odd, an explanation of the “national character”, tips on dealing with Israeli traffic, and other things to make the new setting less strange and less stressful. The instructor was an American Israeli. If you can, get your employer to provide such training in the country for shortly after your arrival. Next best is an introductory cultural course before you go, but it makes a whole lot more sense after you get there. If your employer won’t arrange it, find a seasoned and contented expat (so you don’t learn biases) and ask the following questions, plus any others that come up in the ensuing conversation:
What should I know about the local culture?
What should I know about the local history?
Are there things going on in domestic politics and society that I must be aware of?
What things should I not do in public?
Why do the locals __________?
What things are likely to seem weird?
The U.S. Foreign Service gives their new diplomats a few training sessions in cultural sensitivity. Also, when foreign assignments have been made, there are Area Studies classes. My experience with these is that they are too scholarly and broad and don’t deal with real, local, neighborhood things like goat sacrifice, traffic snarls, what to do during Ramadan, etc.
What experiences have you had with cultural sensitivity training in connection with a stay abroad? Are there more questions that should be asked on the list above?
