Halfway Around the World

Abstract

Not only do different cultures treat different features differently, but they also treat each other differently. How people act with respect to each other is a topic that can, and does, fill volumes of books that, as nerds, we probably have never read, but finding out a bit about where you're heading is a good idea. You can try to ask the locals, although people generally are so enmeshed in their own cultures that they have a hard time explaining them to others. It's best to observe with an open mind, watch how your new team reacts to each other and to you, and then ask simple questions when you see something you don't understand.