This book is a must read for anyone who travels or lives cross-culturally. I read it the first year we moved to New Zealand and I decided to re-read it this year. The basic premise is that the world is made up of two types of cultures - hot-climate cultures and cold-climate cultures - and that most of how we live is determined by our environment. It also encourages us to learn about what makes up our culture, its habits, attitudes and practices, and then to learn about those facets of the opposite culture so that we can better understand how we can adapt to new environments as well as how to help newcomers adapt to our environment. Hot-climate cultures are relationship based. Cold-climate cultures are task-oriented. For example, in a hot climate culture you would find relationships of utmost important. People will come and go from one another's homes with ease, they will stop for a coffee or a visit and not care what time it is or if they need to be somewhere else. Relationship comes first. In a cold climate culture you will find people very much task oriented and task driven. The most important thing is to stay on task and get the job done. Any stop in achieving the goal is considered an inconvenience. I'm sure you can all think of people who fit these categories. There are many other interesting facts and characteristics that stand out that I can't do justice in one blog post. If you're interested in learning more, find the book and give it a read. It's a quick, easy, informative read, one that will definitely change the way you look at people from all over the world and help you to understand yourself and others better.This book is a must read for anyone who travels or lives cross-culturally. I read it the first year we moved to New Zealand and I decided to re-read it this year. The basic premise is that the world is made up of two types of cultures - hot-climate cultures and cold-climate cultures - and that most of how we live is determined by our environment. It also encourages us to learn about what makes up our culture, its habits, attitudes and practices, and then to learn about those facets of the opposite culture so that we can better understand how we can adapt to new environments as well as how to help newcomers adapt to our environment. Hot-climate cultures are relationship based. Cold-climate cultures are task-oriented. For example, in a hot climate culture you would find relationships of utmost important. People will come and go from one another's homes with ease, they will stop for a coffee or a visit and not care what time it is or if they need to be somewhere else. Relationship comes first. In a cold climate culture you will find people very much task oriented and task driven. The most important thing is to stay on task and get the job done. Any stop in achieving the goal is considered an inconvenience. I'm sure you can all think of people who fit these categories. There are many other interesting facts and characteristics that stand out that I can't do justice in one blog post. If you're interested in learning more, find the book and give it a read. It's a quick, easy, informative read, one that will definitely change the way you look at people from all over the world and help you to understand yourself and others better.
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