Hello and welcome to show 251 of Absolutely Intercultural, Cultures in Management, coming to you from the beautiful Rheinland in Germany. Today’s show is about the culture of management, where we listen to three managers and how they handle some of the more hidden cultures in their workplace to be effective leaders. Culture can be more than just national or geographical identity, it can be about direct/indirect, female/male, formal/informal, old/young or it can unite people who have the same profession but who all grew up in the same country. You will have certainly encountered some of these yourself throughout life.
Author: Dr. Laurent Borgmann
Intercultural Adventures +++ Green Erasmus +++ Solo Traveler +++ Absolutely Intercultural 249 +++
Today’s show is about Green Erasmus. Have you ever wanted to adventure like Indiana Jones or simply wanted to travel without harming the environment? In today’s show we give two very real examples: Kalvin, an Australian exchange student living in Germany, who bicycled around Europe without pre-booked accommodation, and Jean, a German student who took the land route to India! For those who don’t know, Erasmus is a scholarship for university students coming to or from the EU on exchange programs.
New Skills +++ Professional Challenge +++ Working Overseas +++ Absolutely Intercultural 247 +++
Hello and welcome to show 247 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today’s show is about Working Abroad. Maybe you’ve always dreamed about stepping into a new work environment overseas? We will hear from Sandie, an Australian lecturer who taught in Germany, and Nika, from Georgia, who worked as a bartender in Norway. Our interviewer today is Kalvin Mitchell, also from Australia, who is doing his semester as an exchange student at RheinAhrCampus, Germany. He has been our editor for a while and was curious how worklife changes from country to country. Continue reading “New Skills +++ Professional Challenge +++ Working Overseas +++ Absolutely Intercultural 247 +++”
Flourishing on the Farm +++ Rural vs Urban Culture +++ Comparing Farms +++ Absolutely Intercultural 245 +++
Welcome to show 245 of “Absolutely Intercultural”! Today’s show is about farm life in Brazil, Germany and Australia. We will learn what childhood is like from three different farm environments in Brazil, Australia and Germany. Be warned, some of the stories may be shocking.
We will hear Manoel from Brazil, Kalvin from Australia, and Laurence, from Germany. You will be surprised and terrified by some of the things our guests have seen and done in their childhood on the farm. Our interviewer today is Vitor, also from Brazil, who is doing his second semester as an exchange student at RheinAhrCampus, Germany. He has been our editor for a while and was curious how culture in the city differs from the countryside, having never personally experienced it before. Continue reading “Flourishing on the Farm +++ Rural vs Urban Culture +++ Comparing Farms +++ Absolutely Intercultural 245 +++”
Growing Stronger Abroad +++ Germany and Shanghai +++ Hari and Marina +++ Absolutely Intercultural 243 +++
This show is about growing stronger overseas. Maybe you’ve always dreamed about a new life or modifying your old one? You will hear about two students who used their time abroad to reinvent themselves and discover how they managed this change with SMART goals. You will be surprised how these students spent most of their energy.
Harigautham Somasundaram, from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, spent a semester at RheinAhrCampus, Germany, doing an academic internship. He explains how he moulded a new personality using a technique he learned in Germany – SMART goals. Marina, from Germany, shares her personal transformation in China. Initially, she was too scared to order food from a restaurant in China, but by the end, she was exploring the Chinese country-side far away from the trodden paths of regular tourists.
Continue reading “Growing Stronger Abroad +++ Germany and Shanghai +++ Hari and Marina +++ Absolutely Intercultural 243 +++”container-home +++ sustainability +++ self-sufficiency +++ Absolutely Intercultural 241 +++
In this show, we will find out what life in a container home in the most spectacular countryside in Queensland is like. We will discover how an industrial container from Hamburg has become the home for two Germans, Uwe Terton (lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast) and Katrin Terton (media artist). They have chosen a very simple and sustainable lifestyle, free from water or electricity bills, far from the busy and “stressful” life in the modern cities. Dr. Uwe Terton, our guest in this show, will share the details of his decision to live in a minimalistic life, up on the hill with a stunning 360° view.
First, Uwe will explain the details of the fauna and flora around the container-home. In the second part, we will go inside the container and we will discover how to use smart ideas to live comfortably but in a sustainable way. And finally we learn how the couple used recycled materials in the construction of the container-home.
Australia +++ Scumbags Barbershop +++ hair dressing +++ political correctness +++ Absolutely Intercultural 240 +++
In this show, we are going to immerse you in the “culture of barber shops” which means you can expect to meet rough guys with motorcycles, full beards, dirty boots and, of course, a beer can in their hands.
First, we will listen to Tomi, perhaps the happiest barber in Australia, who shares his daily life as an employee in Scumbags Barbershop. Rashad, our exchange student from Azerbaijan is our second guest and will tell us his points of view about the barbershop culture. And finally, we will go listen to Tomi again, and this time he will tell us about the Scumbags philosophy.
Sadhana Forest +++ Auroville +++ India +++ Community +++ Absolutely Intercultural 237
In this show, you will hear about Sadhana Forest. This is a nonprofit organization which was set up in the alternative international township, Auroville, in the South-East of India about two hours south of Chennai. You may remember that our show 231 was also about Auroville and if you have the time you may want to re-listen to that episode. The main activity of Sadhana Forest is to plant trees with the aim of re-creating the forest which used to be in that area.
At first, we will listen to Mike Roy, who is originally from the United States and is the Project Director in Sadhana Forest, in this show he explains why he made the decision to pack up and be a member of this community in India. Noel Parent, our guest in episode 231, tells us how the volunteers contribute by working in the Auroville community. And finally, we will go back to Mike Roy and this time he talks about how to get involved in Sadhana Forest project.
Australia Day +++ Can-do attitude +++ The lucky country +++ Absolutely Intercultural 235
Please put your headphones on and listen to a very lively Show 235 from Australia!
Today our show will take you to the “Lucky Country“, where the Australians with their often multicultural backgrounds have developed a positive “can-do”- attitude and try to give everybody a “fair go”. I have been pretending to be one of them for four months now, as I am teaching and doing research down-under at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Listen to my interviewees in Australia. Last Saturday, 26 January 2019 we celebrated Australia Day, and I planned to go out with my microphone to share my Australian impressions with you, the listeners. In order to prepare myself, I listened to my own show about Australia Day which I did five years ago which really nicely captured the spirit of the day. I hope you will forgive me, but at that point I put away my microphone, uploaded show 175 again and enjoyed the celebrations in Noosaville hands-free, as a guest, not as a podcaster this time.
Continue reading “Australia Day +++ Can-do attitude +++ The lucky country +++ Absolutely Intercultural 235”
Open-hearted +++ Boquerones +++ Málaga, Spain +++ Absolutely Intercultural 233 +++
In this show, which could carry the sub-title “absolutely boquerones” we are going to focus on the culture of Málaga in Spain. And Boquerones is the typical fish grilled over open fire on the beaches of Málaga, but it is also the nickname for the inhabitants of Malaga. First, we will listen to Julian talking about his experience in Malaga, Spain, as he is doing a Semester abroad at our partner University, Universidad de Málaga. Juanjo, an Erasmus Student from Spain, who is currently studying a semester at RheinAhrCampus in Germany, will talk about the differences he noticed in the educational systems of Spain and Germany. And finally, we will listen to Trish, who is originally from Ireland but lived in various different countries and now lives in Málaga, will share with us why she decided to live in Spain.