Feb 21

Passport to Culture – An Educational Board Game

By Missy Gluckmann International Education Tools, Professional Development No Comments »

"Passport to Culture" Game

This past birthday, a dear friend bought me a really unique board game called “Passport to Culture.” Despite being in my 40s, I love board games and this one has been great fun!  Here’s a sample:

In Vietnam, which animal is associated with positive attributes and would be an appropriate gift?

A. Cow

B. Monkey

C. Turtle

If you answered “C. Turtle”, you’d be correct!  According to “Passport to Culture”, ‘items shaped like turtles are symbolic of longevity, strength and endurance and are positively received when given as gifts.  Cows are considered stupid and monkey are considered bad.’

A mix of Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly and Bingo, “Passport to Culture” is fun, easy to follow and educational. The objective is to fill your passport with stamps that are earned by answering multiple choice “passport questions.”  These questions are a mix of culture, geography, language, history and customs. What I found particularly useful about this game is that some questions challenged me and 2 other adults who played, but at the same time, I could see how this game is also appropriate for children over 10 years of age! The questions were educational, generated dialogue, offering ample time to consider the answer and to take the knowledge into the next question.

The game also includes “culture  cards” – when a player lands on this particular space, you get something like a “chance” card in Monopoly.  The card provides a scenario and either offers you a “free” passport stamp or takes one away, depending on how the character in the vignette responds to a cultural situation.  These provide for excellent learning opportunities, particularly for young people. An example of a culture card is:

“Depending upon the culture, the color (Vietnam), number (Russia), and type (France) of flowers given change meaning for different occasions. You consider this is the next time you give flowers.”  The card indicates that the player wins one passport stamp for your cultural awareness.

Players win by earning all the passport stamps – but one also wins by correctly answering the most passport questions.  Due to the culture card, there is an element of “luck” to win more passport stamps, so counting passport questions is another way to measure “success.”

This game is a superb learning tool for international educators. Its a game that you can pull out over coffee with friends or in the faculty dining room;  it is not a game that drags on for hours like Monopoly. It is also a game that you can give to your kids – it is entertaining and will feed their desire for discovery.

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Feb 12

DAAD accepting applications for “Germany Today”

By Missy Gluckmann DAAD, Germany, International Education Tools, Professional Development No Comments »

I was fortunate to be a participant in DAAD’s Germany Today program in June 2009. It was an outstanding professional development opportunity. DAAD did an excellent job at balancing the lectures/presentations with venturing out into the historic cities; one of the highlights was a tour of the Aachen cathedral. If you are accepted, plan to spend extra time in Berlin – it was my favorite stop along the way and I needed weeks there, not days!

This year’s program will focus on The Bologna Reforms. Applications are due by March 5, 2010.  See details below:

Bologna Turns Ten:  Transatlantic Student Mobility in the German and European Higher Education Context
Bonn – Brussels – Berlin
June 12 – 19, 2010

Since 1979, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has sponsored an annual information visit on current developments in Germany and Europe for high-level North American policy experts and decision makers. This year’s program will focus on the latest efforts and developments in internationalizing higher education in Germany and Europe, and on how your students can benefit from it.

North American participants in this program are typically senior administrators at leading universities in the U.S. and Canada (such as vice-presidents for international affairs or heads of international offices), policy makers in federal and state/provincial governments or associations, and other experts in the higher education field.

The program will be in English. All program-related costs in Europe (accommodation, domestic travel, most meals) will be covered by DAAD. (The program will end on Friday, June 18, in Berlin but accommodation through Saturday morning will be covered by DAAD, as well). Intercontinental travel is at the participant’s expense.

Please visit www.daad.org/?p=germanytoday for further information.

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Feb 08

Cross-Cultural Counseling

By Missy Gluckmann International Education Tools, Multicultural Lives, Uncategorized No Comments »

(Click on the book to preview/purchase.)

This past week has been a sharp reminder of the importance of learning and utilizing skills when counseling across cultures, particularly during a crisis. I worked with two students this past week who are both experiencing tremendous anxiety:  one because she is experiencing a challenging relationship with her parent here in the US, the second because she is too far from her family in Western Europe.

In each case I received a somewhat panicked email or phone call asking if I could meet on the same day, which is rather out of character for each of these young women.  Both were tearful, uncertain and confused.  Each was unsure of how much to share and how much I would or could, in turn, share with others.

These experiences reminded me of the value of a graduate class in Cross-Cultural Counseling that I took many years ago at the School for International Training.  The work of Dr. Paul Pedersen really stood out for me, as his readings were based on the simple idea that “since all behaviors are learned and displayed in a cultural context, accurate assessment, meaningful understanding and appropriate interventions are done from the perspective of the client’s cultural context.”  As an American counselor, I have to style switch to address each student’s concerns, sensitively ask questions to determine understanding, make sure that my listening skills are particularly fine tuned to “hear” what might not have been said directly, and be keenly aware of the non-verbals.

One of the potential challenges for an adviser is how to handle the hand off to formal counseling services. For many students, American or otherwise, confidentiality is of tremendous concern. Many international students (and their family members) are not aware that universities in the US are not able to disclose information about a student to family members and perhaps not even colleagues within the institution, due to a law called FERPA – The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. For the first student, who is not from Western Europe, this was of great concern. She was uncomfortable with the thought of her family finding out that she was seeking counseling due to her strained relationship with a parent. I spent a great deal of time explaining the law and thankfully, due to our two year history and time dedicated to trust building, she was willing to try the free counseling.

Pedersen’s work illustrates that “Competence is measured by your ability to know what your client is thinking but not saying.”  In this case, I knew that this student was thinking that people in the US talk about these things publicly, as they do in her own culture.  Because of this, I made sure to pull up the FERPA web page to show her, in writing, that this is a firm law in the US and to explain that laws are very seriously followed in this country.

This past week has reminded me that it is time again to revisit the important work of Dr. Paul Pedersen. If you are interested in learning more about cross-cultural counseling, Pedersen’s website offers valuable power point presentations and simple exercises that you can easily utilize for staff training.

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Jan 18

Defining Global Skills and How They Translate to the Workplace

By Missy Gluckmann Career, International Education Tools No Comments »

Guest blogger, Ms. Pamela Ruiz

I’m thrilled that today’s post is written by a dear colleague and friend, Ms. Pamela Ruiz.  Should you want to reach out to her directly, please find her bio below.

Thank you Pamela for an informative post and useful links!

Why study, work, or volunteer abroad? For a student, the answers to this are many: to learn another language; to confirm one’s identity; to see another part of the world. An ever increasing reason to go abroad is to give the student a leg up over his or her peers upon graduation and into a career. How can the global skills attained while abroad translate into career skills? What are “global skills” anyway?

Some define global skills specifically as having to do with international, cultural or linguistic knowledge. While that may be true, global skills can mean so much more than that. When an individual spends time abroad and immerses his or herself into another culture, that person is not only learning the language and culture, but also about his or herself. One learns to adapt and be flexible in new situations. One learns that the best results come from listening and trying to understand before acting. One learns that communication goes beyond the spoken word. Perhaps the most useful lesson is that the new way to do something may not be better or worse, just different.

“Global skills” are not just for those going into the international/intercultural fields anymore, on the contrary; global skills are a requirement for all job seekers. More often that not, an individual will work with someone with a different background, even if they are both from the same country. No two people are alike, therefore in the workplace those that have confidence, flexibility, adaptation skills and the ability to work with all types of people are the ones who prove to be most successful. All of the above could also be used to describe a leader.

Confidence is gained as a student is continuously put in new and unfamiliar situations. Don’t know the language? “No problem, as long as I give it my best shot. My peers study/work/function differently than I do, and I am learning to study and work with them.” Immersing oneself in a new culture allows a student to study or work with others within a team – others that may have grown up with different socio-economic, religious, familial, or educational values. The problem-solving and adaptation skills required to succeed overseas are just the skills that hiring manager and savvy corporations require of new graduates.

Acquisition of global skills are not limited to those that have the wherewithal to travel abroad. As universities around the globe grasp the importance of campus internationalization, students are given many opportunities to enhance their skills without ever leaving their home country. International exchange students or international interns introduce host students to the world beyond just by their presence in their classrooms, dorms, and study groups, and the different ways of doing things.

There are challenges to the translation of global skills to career skills. First, students must embrace available international and intercultural opportunities, whether abroad or on their own campuses. Next, students, guided by career centers, professors, and parents, must process and understand how they have changed and have the confidence and skills to communicate what they have learned and can accomplish in the future. Finally, more hiring managers must see the value in international experience and how it equals what they are seeking in new hires. Students can ensure that their resumes are on top of the pile not only by stating that they studied or worked abroad, but by giving specific examples in a well-written cover letter of flexibility, leadership and confidence to step outside of their comfort zones.

Additional resources and information:

ISEP Handbook

University of Michigan

IAESTE United States

New England Study Abroad Re-entry Conference

About the Author:

Pamela Ruiz is the Director of Membership and US Member Relations at ISEP: International Student Exchange Programs. Previously, Pamela has worked with an international internship company as the Director of Operations, and prior to that as the Director and National Secretary of IAESTE United States, a program of the Association for International Practical Training, where she oversaw the exchange of international internships for technical students. Her career has also included work in translation and international relocation. 

Ms. Ruiz has lived, studied and worked in Italy, and has traveled through Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa. Pamela is in the field of international education because she truly believes in the value of international experiences for the individual and for the world as a whole. She can be reached at : pamelaruiz8@hotmail.com or via her LinkedIn profile.

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Dec 21

Prisencolinensinainciusol: What Does English Sound Like to “Foreigners”?

By Missy Gluckmann ESL, International Education Tools 1 Comment »

I am one of those people who listen to radio stations in languages that I don’t speak – to me, it offers an opportunity to explore different sounds, figure out a few words, and hum to some good music.

While I have taught ESL in the past, I had not come across this brilliant video.  It starts with a skit:

The student asks the Professor why he wrote a song “that has strange words that don’t mean anything.” This version does not show the entire skit, but the Professor does go on to say that people aren’t communicating enough so he wrote this song and the title is meant to mean “Universal Love.”

This song, Prisencolinensinainciusol, was written by Adriano Celentano from Italy in the early 1970s.   He wrote it using gibberish that was meant to sound like English, giving us an idea of what it might feel like to not actually understand English.

This first video clip is the partial skit and song.  When you play this first clip, what English words do you think you hear? How do you react to not knowing what is being said?

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This next version is a “translation” of the “sort of English” into English. How did you feel about these “lyrics”?  Did they reflect any words you thought you heard?

At the end of the day, I found this to be a really fun exercise and actually found this tune to be rather catchy. It is a bit of early rap/funk and I think it will be playing in my head for days!

I’m looking forward to hearing your experiences with Prisencolinensinainciusol!

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Nov 26

Thanksgiving Holiday (US) – A Search for Truth and Thanks

By Missy Gluckmann International Education Tools, Multicultural Lives 2 Comments »

The United States will celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, November 26th.  We will gather together with friends and family, most of us will eat a turkey with stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce and a dessert of apple or pumpkin pie.   We’ll all ignore the obligatory salad that someone has made and instead have second helpings of the carbohydrates, eventually flopping onto the sofa for a cat nap before the festivities end.

The day is meant to be a celebration of the first “Thanksgiving” between the Native Americans and the “Pilgrims”, which is largely a myth.  I am still stumped as to why my country feels the need to perpetuate such myth about this event.  The reality is that historians suspect that the local natives provided much of the food for the harvest feast, as the “Pilgrims” did not have the skills to survive in the new landscape.  Additionally, the ugly history of the takeover of the land is largely ignored and it should be noted that Native populations generally do not see this day as one of celebration. The reality is that a harvest feast in 1621 should not be mistaken as something as simple as a happy meal. The tragedy is that the native population of this country was ultimately systematically slaughtered. Those who weren’t were treated as merely one rung above African American slaves.  The history of my country that most people don’t know that if a Native American was not a slave, he or she typically “owned” one (or many).  I would highly recommend Tiya Miles’ book Ties that Bind: The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom to anyone who is interested in learning more about this subject.  It is the story of Shoe Boots, a Cherokee warrior and his slave (and life partner/mother of his children), Doll, an African-American woman. This book leaves a lasting impression and will help you to understand my strong concerns about how our schools repeatedly share corrupted stories of our nation’s history.

Based on this history, I choose to treat Thanksgiving as a day to reflect on what I am personally thankful for and to share that with dear family and friends.  I choose to remember the true history of our nation and take pride in the progress that has been made, as well as remembering so many indigenous people who were slaughtered and enslaved along the way.

Today, I give thanks for a career that allows me to have the gift of  a world view.  I am grateful for the people that I have had the honor to meet through my work – the students who take the leap of faith to pursue their studies abroad, the faculty who give tirelessly to ensure that their experiences are deeply meaningful, and the administrators who think creatively to make sure all the “i”s are dotted and the “t”s are crossed.  Travel is something that I value deeply, and this past year I was able to participate in an educational program in Germany.  I am so very appreciative for that experience.

On this day, I am particularly grateful for the larger network of professionals that I work with on a daily basis. These are truly the most giving of mankind, in a league of their own.  This morning, while reading an email from a list-serv, I was reminded of how generous this breed truly is.  One of my colleagues had asked for help on a list-serv. One of her students had left her I-20 at her home college. She was in Canada and needed the document to re-enter the US in the appropriate visa category, however, there wasn’t enough time to mail the I-20 to her abroad.  Colleagues from around the US emailed with their suggestions for this case;  one in upstate New York even offered to drive to the border to meet the student and explain the situation to the border agent.  Wow – talk about going above and beyond! This is the fine field that I have been blessed to work in  – one of compassion, support, and educating toward truth.  And this Thanksgiving, I am humbled and grateful.

“Happy Thanksgiving” to each of you – however you choose to celebrate it.

Nov 18

Learning the Field of International Education: The NAFSA Academy

By Missy Gluckmann International Education Tools, NAFSA No Comments »

NAFSA (Association of International Educators) is running the Academy program again in 2010.  For those of you who don’t know NAFSA, it is one of the primary professional associations for international educators. Headquartered in Washington DC, it offers a massive national conference that attracts educators and 3rd party providers/partners from around the world.  NAFSA also offers regional conferences each fall, which are more intimate gatherings with colleagues from a several state region.

The Academy is the training program for those who are interested in exploring the field of international education. This is an excellent opportunity for those who are relatively new to the field and who would like exposure to various career tracks under the umbrella of international education.  Those who are accepted into the Academy must commit to a 9 month program and develop learning goals. They will be paired with a seasoned mentor who will work closely with them to work toward their learning plan goals and to assist in networking within the field so that they are pulling from the most appropriate resources for their own learning paths.  Having served as a mentor in this program,  I have seen the added benefit of Academy participants bonding with a cohort of peers who will become friends and “go to” colleagues down the road.

Academy participants learn the basics of International Admissions, International Student Advising, Education Abroad and Management. They are expected to attend a training in the Spring in Atlanta, Georgia (US)  and then to attend the national and their local regional conferences. Membership to the organization is given for up to 18 months as part of the program and mentoring is continuous throughout the 9 month period, although it typically takes place by phone and email during the bulk of the program.  Participants will also have access to NAFSA’s online manual during this period.

Applications for the Academy are due by December 1st, 2009.  There is a fee of $1649 to participate, but this typically  includes membership and registration fees for the 3 face to face meetings/conferences (although the region determines whether to discount or waive the regional conference fee).  Travel costs to conferences are additional, but many employers will contribute to the program fee and travel costs.

If you know anyone interested in the field of international education, please do tell them about the NAFSA Academy. And if you’re a seasoned professional and would be interested in volunteering your time as a mentor, it is a very rewarding experience and offers a tremendous opportunity to give back to our field, which has given us so much.

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Nov 14

Kseniya Simonova Sand Art: A Creative Tool for Training

By Missy Gluckmann International Education Tools No Comments »

This video is of Ms. Kseniya Simonova, a Sand Artist who hails from Ukraine. She created a magnificent portrayal of life in the USSR during the Great Patriotic War against the Third Reich during the Second World War.  Did I mention that she did this using SAND?  Yes, you heard me correctly.  She is drawing in sand that is in a light box while it is being projected onto a screen behind her.

This video has been seen by more than 7.5 million viewers worldwide via YouTube.  Ms. Simonova won the 2009 “Ukraine’s Got Talent” competition with this incredible artistic creation. While I would normally not argue that these pop culture “talent” shows are commonly suggested tools for international educators, this one clearly breaks from the pack of the “reality television” fodder.  This video would enhance learning about this region of the world as well as increase the creativity in doing so. I can easily see it being used in history classes and pre-departure orientations and students would be particularly engaged by the unique approach to learning about the subject.

Grab your tissues, you will need it for this moving presentation by Ms. Simonova.

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Nov 11

Read Your Way Abroad: 10 Top Books

By Missy Gluckmann International Education Tools 2 Comments »

(Note: This is a reprint of an article that I wrote for “The Examiner” in December 2007.)

I am an avid reader and love everything about books; from the smell of the ink on the paper, to the feel of the pages between my fingers.

When I’m not able to get away, I can usually be found with my nose in a great book.  With the holiday season rapidly approaching, I thought it would be helpful to share with you a few great reads. Each one of these books offers a chance to learn about another culture – either directly (travel writing) or through a work of fiction that provides clues to a culture’s daily routines and or history. Some of these are personal favorites, while others were recommended to me by friends. Here are a few titles to consider the next time you’re mulling around the bookstore or library.

1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho:  Highly recommended by a dear friend, this story is about a young shepherd boy in search of a treasure. He lives in the mountains of Andalusia but his quest takes him to the Great Pyramids. Having to overcome many challenges, the young man discovers the treasure within.  It’s an excellent tribute to the power of believing in your dreams, trusting your instincts and never giving up.

2. Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman’s Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney:  This beauty of Mahoney’s writing is that she makes it clear that she’s solely looking to offer an American perspective of her travels – an outsider trying to understand, rather than define the Egyptian culture for her readers. This particular book chronicles her solo journey down the Nile River, in a small rowboat, despite the barriers that exist with every move.

3. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert: This memoir chronicles the journey of self-discovery of a recently divorced woman, Gilbert, as she travels around the world: she learns Italian in Italy, finds spirituality in India, and falls in love in Indonesia. Don’t discount this one as a book solely for women.  There are many valuable lessons on life, courage and love.  It’s a must read for anyone who has ever fantacized about ditching the daily grind for an extended adventure abroad.

4. French or Foe by Polly Platt:  For those traveling or moving to France, this book offers insight into the minds of the often misunderstood French.

5. God Grew Tired of Us:  A Memoir by Jon Bul Dau, Michael Sweeney:  Mr Bul Dau grew up in a traditional  cattle village in Sudan.  The 1987 civil war forced him as a child to flee his home in the middle of the night. As one of thousands of “lost boys,” he survived hunger, violence and exhaustion. His life story was recently chronicled by National Geographic.

6. Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah McDonald: Written by an Australian journalist who swore that she’d never return to India – then does when her fiance is sent on an extended work assignment to New Delhi – this book is pure joy and wit. McDonald’s spiritual journey is educational. She writes about Hinduism, Jainism, Island and other religions practiced in India. The miracle of this story is her growing love for her temporary home, despite a negative experience as a young woman.

7. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson:  I had a difficult time selecting which read American author, Bill Bryson, I should add to this list. Carefully crafting humor with history, you’ll be laughing until your sides ache while you learn the nuances of Australia’s values and history.  His writing about his visit to the beach truly had me in stitches!

8. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini: In his first book, Hosseini tackles the emotional tale of two childhood friends growing up in Afghanistan. This book was made into a feature film and ironically, four of the child actors in the film have left Afghanistan, fearing that they could be subjected to violence as a result of one of the film’s scenes. (Read the book, I won’t give it away!)

9. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver:  A work of fiction, this book chronicles the story of an evangelical Baptist who, in 2959, takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo.  The family’s journey is intertwined with that of the Congolese’s fierce fight for independence.  This ambitious novel has landed on many favorite book lists.

10. Shogun by James Clavell:  A dear friend from the Philippines told me that this book had such a profound impact on her that it inspired her to visit Kyoto, Japan for her birthday. It’s a fictional account of the exploration and exploitation of the Orient in the 16th century.

Nov 10

Intercultural Training through Fiction

By Missy Gluckmann International Education Tools, NAFSA No Comments »

One of the most valuable sessions that I attended at the NAFSA bi-regional conference last week was “Thinking Outside the Book: Accessing the World through Words.” This session was the brainchild of Nancy E. Young, Associate Director of the Office for International Students and Scholars at New York University. I was very fortunate to have the honor of working alongside Nancy early in my career and know firsthand that she is a very gifted adviser, educator, trainer and writer. She presented this session with James Leck, another incredibly talented international educator from Boston University.

Nancy began the session by having audience participants read quotes about reading – this set the tone for the importance and value of words and their meaning, or perceived meaning. My quote, by Thomas Carlyle, was one that I would have hand picked if given the choice: “What we become depends on what we read after all the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is the collection of books.”

Nancy described how her passion for reading became an opportunity for not only personal development, but professional development. Each book we read tells us a story, but it also provides us with many hints about culture. Why do the characters behave a certain way? Why do they respond (or not respond) in a particular manner? How would we, based on our own cultural upbringing, react to the characters and circumstances? What influences these behaviors and decisions? How can we better understand ourselves and the characters through works of fiction?

Nancy offered guidelines to consider when reading intercultural fiction. Areas such as gender, daily habits, individualism vs collectivism (Hofstede), time, and the author were outlined as a starting point. A series of questions about each of her guidelines were provided and then we were asked to listen to a snippet of a short story by Jhumpa Lahiri, read quite gracefully by James. We drifted into story land, absorbing all of the cultural cues provided in Lahiri’s work. I closed my eyes to imagine the scene that James was describing, began to feel the characters near me, smelling the food that was described, hearing their voices develop as the plot did.

James and Nancy then had us break into small groups to discuss Lahiri’s words against the 12 “frameworks” provided. My group quickly addressed gender and time/time period while others focused on cultural issues that were less visible to the reader, such as communication style. It became quickly apparent that this type of exercise would facilitate dialogue about cultures with our students, faculty, administrators, staff – even friends and family – in a non-threatening manner. After all, we were not talking about ourselves, but characters from a story. This model adds tremendous value to our ability as educators to create opportunities to dialogue about cultural differences and to surface similarities that may not have been immediately visible.

As international educators, we have a responsibility to develop and maintain our own tool kits to refer back to when working across cultures. I am very appreciative of the value of the tools that Nancy has made available at www.thinkingoutsidethebook.org. This beauty of this tool is that it can easily be used with a variety of populations on our campuses: ESL classes, international students’ orientation, study abroad students pre-departure and re-entry orientations, across diverse teams and via campus wide/community reading programs. I would encourage you to visit this site and explore some of the readings suggested by Nancy and James. And as soon as I finish my latest read: “The Thing Around Your Neck” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (from Nigeria), I will incorporate one of her short stories into an upcoming training or orientation.

I’m curious to know what works of fiction you will be using in future intercultural training. Add a comment with the name of the author and book title for others to consider.

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