Welcome to this special episode dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of the European Erasmus Program. In today’s episode we are going to hear from three participants of the program sharing their experiences and stories about how they decided to leave their comfort zones and made a bold move to internationalise themselves. Listen to the the stories of two international Erasmus Exchange students from Azerbaijan and Georgia, and a guest lecturer from Canada.
Tag: Hochschule Koblenz
Absolutely Intercultural 213 +++ Cultural Differences +++ Travel Culture +++ Daily Routine
Today you will hear about cultural differences between traveling in India and in Germany and also you can follow a Portuguese exchange student through her daily routines in the student accommodation and on campus.
Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 213 +++ Cultural Differences +++ Travel Culture +++ Daily Routine”
Absolutely Intercultural 210 +++ Cultural Diversity +++ Culture Shock +++Re-entry Shock
In this Podcast we will talk about culture-shock, cultural differences and also re-entry shock which expats can experience when they return to their home country after some time. Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 210 +++ Cultural Diversity +++ Culture Shock +++Re-entry Shock”
Absolutely Intercultural 203 +++ Traveling +++ Diversity +++ Time Management +++ Culture and Traditions +++
In today’s podcast we hear from people who have traveled and are sharing their interesting and diverse experiences. We listen to Michael, a French student in Germany, telling us a story of how he was welcomed in Germany.
Then we listen to Audrey, she tells us how surprised she was after attending a German wedding and experiencing the customs and traditions of a typical German wedding. In the last part of the podcast we listen to Maris from Latvia who tells us the tale of “5 minutes”, information that every tourist should learn before traveling to Egypt. Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 203 +++ Traveling +++ Diversity +++ Time Management +++ Culture and Traditions +++”
Absolutely Intercultural 199 +++ Culture +++ Software of the Mind +++ Updates +++
Absolutely Intercultural Show 199
Have you ever tried to explain something, and in the middle of it, you figured out that the best option would probably be to compare it to something else?
Hofstede did the same thing with culture and software, showing their similarities in his book “Cultures and Organizations – Software of the Mind“.
The metaphor of culture as the software of the mind works really well when we compare them in terms of installing, uninstalling and updating cultural software, for example.
In this episode, we listen to two interviews about Hofstede’s idea, on how you can easily see his theory present in your daily lives.
Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 199 +++ Culture +++ Software of the Mind +++ Updates +++”
Absolutely Intercultural 195 +++ international students +++ internship experience abroad +++ gypsy art +++
In today’s podcast we hear about ‘‘International students and their internship experience abroad”. We talk to Sander, a Dutch student who is living in Spain working in a bike tour company and he told us about how to plan, organize and prolong a student internship then we listen to an interview with two gypsy artists Delaine and Damian from Great Britain who are traveling the whole world and exhibiting their art in various places, e.g. at VHS Aachen Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 195 +++ international students +++ internship experience abroad +++ gypsy art +++”
Absolutely Intercultural 193 +++ selfies +++ image projection +++ selfie gadgets +++
Listen to today’s podcast and find out about ‘‘Selfies’’. We talk to three of our exchange students from Croatia, Australia and Pakistan and learn about their perspectives on taking selfies. Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 193 +++ selfies +++ image projection +++ selfie gadgets +++”
Absolutely Intercultural 191 +++ Storytelling +++ Germany +++ Pakistan +++ Canada +++
The focus o
f today’s show is on storytelling and we hear from students and how they have used story telling in different situations including in work and at university. We also hear from an exchange student from Pakistan and learn about some of the cultural differences between Germany and Pakistan. Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 191 +++ Storytelling +++ Germany +++ Pakistan +++ Canada +++”
Absolutely Intercultural 181 +++ Germany +++ German Habits +++ Intercultural Experiences In Germany +++ Language Barrier +++ Students Blog +++
Are YOU interested in soccer? Did you follow the FIFA World Cup which ended a couple of weeks ago?
When you look at it – it is probably the biggest intercultural event in the world where people from all continents come together to enjoy sport. Some countries stood out more than others, above all Brazil which hosted the games and we learned a lot more about Brazilian geography and culture. But Germany also stood out, because they won the cup.
So now, many people are thinking about doing a trip to Germany. As a consequence, we, the team of Absolutely Intercultural have decided to give our listeners an intercultural inside view into some parts of the German culture in the hope of reducing some stereotypes which you may have heard.
absolutely intercultural 175 +++ Australia Day +++ can-do attitude +++ the lucky country +++
Please put your headphones on and listen to Show 175 from Australia! If you like the podcast then please also LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!
Today our show will take you to the “Lucky Country“, where the inhabitants with distinctive multicultural backgrounds have developed a positive “can-do”- attitude and try to give everybody a “fair go”.
Listen to my interviewees in Australia. On the last weekend in January we celebrated Australia Day, and I took along the microphone to share my impressions with you.
absolutely immigrated
Let us listen to two typical Australians whose ancestors came over from Europe. I met Vivian and Wayne in Sydney Harbour over coffee and with the beautiful view on the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and when I was conducting the interview I wished we had a video podcast so I could have shared with you a perfect hot summer morning in late December.
absolutely Aussi
Three weeks later I had left New South Wales and was back on the Sunshine Coast. Let us see whether in Queensland being Australian is also about football, meat pies, and BBQs. I asked some colleagues from the University of the Sunshine Coast how they were planning to celebrate Australia Day. Bishnu told us that when he first moved to Australia he did not really like eating lamb but now it has turned into his favourite dish. Talk about successful integration!
absolutely aboriginal
I am following up this topic of the first owners of the land and asked how the attitudes of ordinary Australians towards Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders have changed over the years in society and in education.
absolutely multicultural
Every year the Australian of the Year is elected and this person will give important public speeches during that year. This year I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to the speech of the outgoing Australian of the Year talking about attitudes to indiginous people and to multiculturalism in general. You could really see on Ita Buttrose’s face how happy she is that her ancestors came over to Australia in the 1850ies.
absolutely original
On 26 January I visited Australia Day in Noosa, Queensland, in search of examples and explanations of the”can-do” attitude, the “fair go” and the “Lucky Country”. I did not have to search long because the first person I met, John Major, “Bush Poet” and former farmer, explained to me in his own words what these Australian concepts are all about for him.
And do not miss the brass band at the beginning and the end of that interview!
Would you like to share with us your own intercultural experience in foreign countries? If so, we would be delighted to hear both positive and negative experiences, so don´t hesitate and share your intercultural experiences with it with us on our Facebook Page.
Our next show will be coming to you on 7 March from Anne Fox in Denmark.
Until then –
Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!
And please visit our Facebook page.
The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann
