culture

Wednesday Wanderlust – 10 Values and Attitudes of West and Southern Africa

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Are you vising the West or Southern African regions soon? Check out these 10 values and attitudes straight from our guides.

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Ghana

1. The significance of greetings is probably the most important rule of etiquette that a visitor should learn and observe. For example if you walk into a house, workplace, meeting, or a past a friend or neighbour on the street without saying hello, it is viewed as a direct insult.

2. You’re not allowed to leave a Ghanaian’s home without a full belly. A good host will arrange beforehand for your favourite food to be prepared but whatever you get, be sure to obey the cook’s order of “Eat all!”

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New Title Announcement – Culture Smart! GREECE (Jan 2018)

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Culture Smart! Greece: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture.

When you enter Greece’s mountainous peninsula, with its long coastline and unique archipelago, you are returning to the cradle of Western civilization. And while the ancient Greeks fashioned our political, ethical, aesthetic, and scientific values, their descendants down the ages have continued to set trends and shape world events. The Greek character is a product of the landscape. Surrounded by sea on three sides, the physical features of the land forged the pronounced individuality and strong local patriotism of the warring city-states of antiquity. Their shared history and language formed the basis of a powerful world culture. Today it is coming to terms with its recent economic and political upheavals. The Greeks have repeatedly proved they can adjust and shift their expectations—the new generation knows the old ways have gone and is bracing itself for unpredictable challenges.

Culture Smart! Greece will equip you with essential information about the background, values, and attitudes of the people you will meet and give practical advice on how to deal with unfamiliar situations. Life in Greece operates on many criss-crossing levels, offering plenty of possibilities and a variety of lifestyles. Visitors emerge from their Greek experience enriched for life, with an enduring affection for this beautiful land and its gifted people.

Author Bio:

Constantine Buhayer is an Anglo-Greek broadcaster, country analyst, and specialist in Greek and Balkan affairs. He has worked as a producer for the BBC and CBS, and he is a regular commentator on television and radio.

Culture Smart! Greece: The essential guide to customs & culture.

ISBN: 978-1-857-33870-6
TRADE PAPER; (UK) £7.99; (US/CA) $11.99/$15.99
ALSO AVAILABLE IN E-BOOK
PUBLICATION DATE: JANUARY 2018
PUBLISHED BY KUPERARD

 

Wednesday Wanderlust – 10 Values and Attitudes of Central Europe

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Home to some of the best beers in the world, Central Europe is one of the most culturally rich regions to explore. Check out these 10 values and attitudes straight from our guides!

  Czech Republic 

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  1. It is the reserved nature of the Czechs that visitors may notice at first, however emotion in speech is hard to gauge as Czechs speak in low tones and with a minimum of inflection.
  2. Czech has fewer names considered to be “acceptable”. Parents must submit the names they are planning to give to their child to a sort of ‘name police’ – a government bureaucrat – to determine whether the name is suitable. So you’ll probably meet more than one Petra, Jans, Zdeněk or Palvas. Czechs also do not use middle names so finding the proper for example; Radek Dolezal will be a challenge!

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Title Announcement – Culture Smart! Hong Kong (Jan 2018)

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Culture Smart! Hong Kong: The essential guide to customs & culture.

Visitors marvel at Hong Kong’s breathtaking location, its amazing architecture, its exciting shopping, and its fine dining. And yet it is a land of opposites—of order juxtaposed with chaos, of ancient etiquette and seemingly abrupt manners, a place where rich and poor live in close proximity.

Culturally, Hong Kong is rooted in the traditions of China, but there is more than a patina of Westernization. And despite stiff competition, it remains the principal international financial center in China. Hong Kong has more holidays than anywhere in the world, and most are celebrated in the streets or parks.

Culture Smart! Hong Kong introduces the reader to this vibrant, multifaceted society. It provides helpful advice and cultural insights on business practice and social etiquette. Published in January 2018, it is available in North America through IPG.

Author Bios:

Vickie Chan is a writer, illustrator/artist, and creative director, who has written for the South China Morning Post, China Daily, Gafencu magazine, and more.

Clare Vickers has a degree in modern languages, has written several dictionaries and textbooks for Hong Kong schools, and had a column in the educational section of the South China Morning Post.

Culture Smart! Hong Kong: The essential guide to customs & culture.

ISBN: 978-1-857-33869-0
TRADE PAPER: (UK) £7.99; (US/CA) $11.99/$15.99
PAGES: 168, SIZE: 169 x 110 mm
ALSO AVAILABLE IN EBOOK
PUBLICATION DATE: JANUARY 2018
PUBLISHED BY KUPERARD

Wednesday Wanderlust – 10 Values and Attitudes of East Africa

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East Africa is a beautiful part of the continent, with lots to see and do. Read our top tips about the values and customs of this amazing region before you go.

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Tanzania

  1. In Tanzania, it’s polite to leave a little food at the end of the meal to show your hosts you are full.
  1. Commenting on weight gain is a compliment as it means that you are successful, enjoying your free time and eating well. So if someone comments that you’ve put on weight, say “thank you”.

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Wednesday Wanderlust – 10 values and attitudes of East Asia

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East Asia

East Asia is an exciting and culturally unique corner of the world popular with tourists. Check out these 10 values and attitudes straight from our guides.

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China                                                                                                           

  1. In 2009, a brand new festival “Singles Day” was invented as a marketing ploy. The date is 11 November, or 11/11, as the four number ones symbolise four “bare sticks” (single people). Singles Day is equivalent to America’s Black Friday in terms of popularity and sales.
  1. The annual Moon Festival (which is around mid-September) celebrates the legend of the moon goddess Chang-O. This is a family affair to admire the full moon and eat “moon-cakes” which are round cakes with fillings such as lotus-seed paste, fruit or ham.

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Wednesday Wanderlust – 10 values and attitudes of Western Europe

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Western Europe 

Western Europe is a popular destination for expats, students, and tourists. Check out these 10 values and attitudes straight from our guides.

Belgium

  1. Belgium has always been multicultural. For its whole recorded history its territory has been inhabited by more than one people. There has been internal migration and immigration. Not long after the Belgian nation was created in the nineteenth century, people flocked from poor Flanders to newly industrialized Wallonia.

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Hamburg: Sausages, Football and the Beatles

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International Tourism Management graduate, Amy Harrington, pens her experiences of living and working in Hamburg, Germany.

I grew up in a small English town with an inadequate selection of leisure activities and a sameness which has plagued most English towns since the 1950s. Every year for a birthday treat my parents would take me into London, where I was confounded by the hustle, bustle and multitude of opportunities that lay before me. Since that first trip, it had always been a dream of mine to move to a city but, not just any – it had to be a foreign city. So when my university offered me the opportunity to live and work in Germany’s second city for 6 months, I jumped at the chance.

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