Azerbaijan – absolutely intercultural!

Uncertainty +++ Decision-making +++ Semester abroad +++ Absolutely Intercultural 271 +++

Hello and welcome to show 271 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Our topic today is “Uncertainty”. We are all faced with uncertainties every day, but the way that we deal with them and the way we feel about them makes us unique. Some of us feel terribly helpless in situations of uncertainty. On the other hand, there are people, for example those who enjoy playing poker, who think that certainty is boring and are always looking for the adrenaline which uncertainty provides them with during their adventures. Are there any tricks, for those who don’t like uncertainty to be able to take decisions and feel safe with their choices? Or for those who seek uncertainty as a thrill in life and enjoy weighing up different probabilities?

absolutely homeless

In our first category, “absolutely homeless”, Elene from Georgia shares with us how she left her lovely, predictable and comfortable home in Georgia and ended up sleeping rough in a car in Amsterdam together with three friends.

absolutely uncertain

In our second category, “absolutely uncertain”, Adika, a student from Azerbaijan, tells us about a situation where she observed a man well because she was not so sure whether she should accompany him to his house for CouchSurfing.

absolutely open

In our last category, “absolutely open”, Amauri, a student from Brazil tells us about how he resolved the uncertainty of living with a roommate from an Arab country. Amauri had read on the internet that single Arab men do not like to have girls around their house and feel a little awkward when there are female visitors at home.

What about you? Have you recently experienced uncertainty in your life? How did you feel about it? Will the tricks that we shared help you when you face uncertainty?

Please write a comment or mail us, we could do a follow-up interview with you in one of our next shows. On our web page, absolutely-intercultural.com, you can get more information about this show and previous episodes and you can leave comments. And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too. 

By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes or Apple Podcasts? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment.

Our next show will be coming to you on 4 March.

Until then – allow a little more uncertainty in your lives – and

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Esjona Musta

Assistant Editors: Natalia Obikhod, Elene Mikeladze

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Motivation Culture +++ Workplace +++ Absolutely Intercultural 260 +++

Hello and welcome to show 260 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today we talk about different cultures of motivation. Can it be true that in our globalized world we still stick to our culturally determined motivation strategies? Our interviewees report about motivation strategies in their own national cultures. What is the best method to keep your employees from Albania, Georgia and Azerbaijan productive? Why do we seem to lose our motivation over time and how can we refresh it? Well, in today’s episode we interview students from three different countries about effective motivation techniques in their own cultures.

Continue reading “Motivation Culture +++ Workplace +++ Absolutely Intercultural 260 +++”

Hidden Cultures +++ Cultures in Management +++ Empathetic Leadership +++ Absolutely Intercultural 251 +++

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_81492-684x1024.jpg 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.

Australia +++ Scumbags Barbershop +++ hair dressing +++ political correctness +++ Absolutely Intercultural 240 +++

Tomi the Barber

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.

Continue reading “Australia +++ Scumbags Barbershop +++ hair dressing +++ political correctness +++ Absolutely Intercultural 240 +++”

Learning Outcomes +++ New Project +++ Skills to Learn and Apply +++ Semester Abroad +++ Absolutely Intercultural 224 +++

Have you ever thought about outcomes of your learning process? Well, in today’s show, we are going to focus on intercultural learning outcomes in lectures and seminars at university but also in study abroad experiences. First, we will listen to Mariana Silva, an Erasmus exchange student from Portugal. Mariana studied at RheinAhrCampus in Germany and did an intercultural internship at the same time. She will talk about the research she has done into the theory of learning outcomes or graduate attributes and quote examples from her own observations in classes and her intercultural development during the internship. Then, our main editor Zarnura Hajiyeva will take the microphone and will turn Dr. Borgmann into a guest in this show – as a lecturer who has some experience in formulating learning outcomes for his own classes. As he noticed considerable effects on both the style of his teaching and the effectiveness of his classes, he will share his experiences of the process. His next project will be to apply the idea of intercultural learning outcomes to the study abroad experience of his students. Finally, we will listen to Husniyya Huseynova, an exchange student from Azerbaijan, who will share her impressions of the courses and the lasting impact on her personal intercultural growth. Continue reading “Learning Outcomes +++ New Project +++ Skills to Learn and Apply +++ Semester Abroad +++ Absolutely Intercultural 224 +++”

Absolutely Intercultural 218 +++ Erasmus babies +++ advice for the exchange students +++ indirect Erasmus effects +++

Hello and welcome to show 218 of our podcast “absolutely intercultural” which is the third of a series of “Erasmus” podcasts to celebrate and highlight the 30^th anniversary of the most successful of all student exchange programs. In this episode our students are going to share their own experiences and stories with you. You will hear some useful advice for your exchange semester. How should you be prepared before going abroad? How to make your integration easier? Also how Erasmus effects non-exchange students, and how they profit in their home country. And we will listen to a beautiful story about how an exchange semester resulted in a lovely Erasmus couple.
Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 218 +++ Erasmus babies +++ advice for the exchange students +++ indirect Erasmus effects +++”

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 204 +++ Ramadan Special +++ “Two-way exchange” project +++

"Two way exchange" project In today’s podcast we have special topic: the Muslim Ramadan. The reason for choosing this topic is the great number of refugees in Germany which comes with a great number of intercultural learning opportunities. At RheinAhrCampus we have embraced this opportunity and have reached out to those refugees who are interested in university life, have integrated them in our daily routines and they, in turn, have readily shared their new lives with us.

Recently we organized an international cooking event followed by Iftar (إفطار‎‎ – the joint breaking of the Ramadan fast) together with some international students, German students, ordinary Remagen citizens and our new international friends, the refugees. The success of the event and the incredible Ramadan spirit that reigned in the two kitchens gave us the inspiration for our Ramadan Special today.

Continue reading “Absolutely Intercultural 204 +++ Ramadan Special +++ “Two-way exchange” project +++”