On May 21st I Connected With People From All Over The World.

First In New Zealand, Where I Learned A Few Words In The Maori Language “Noho Ora Mai, Nga Mihi Mahana” (Stay Well And Warmest Best Wishes)…

I spoke via skype to a lady in Romania where I learned about the difficulties people have who are running new businesses – a lack of business skills and understanding how to grow from being sole entrepreneurs or micro businesses.

I had a conference call with people based in France, Croatia, Germany and Spain (and me in the UK) when we talked about creating cross-cultural webinars. Then another call with SIETAR Europe board members (Society for Intercultural Training, Education and Research).

I linked up with an American living in the UK and talked about the problems of living and moving to another country – in terms of culture shock. She realises that after three years she has probably been going through the stages of culture shock (I’ve written various articles on the subject see:http://www.deborahswallow.com/2010/05/16 /overcoming-culture-shock/). She commented on how difficult it is to find friends in the UK – we seem, according to her, to keep ourselves very much to ourselves.

Funnily, I Had The Same Experience In Spain When I Lived There – When All My Friends Were Expats Not Native Spaniards – Even Though I Was Fluent In The Language!

I Took The Opportunity To Re-Engage With Friends In Finland And Estonia Whilst Doing Some Research On Russia And The ‘Blat’ System – The Pseudo Official Bribery System Where You Have To Pay Government Officials To Get Anything Done In A Reasonable Amount Of Time (The Finns And Estonians Have A Huge History In Dealing With The Russians!).

I Heard From Someone In Turkey Who Posted A Blog About The Origins Of Baklava – See:Http://Www.Theworldatwork.Com/Peace-And- Food. A Client From Belgium Contact Me.

From Folks In Jamaica I Learned That The Bible Is Being Translated In Their Patois Language, For The Very First Time, And The First Gospel – That Of St. Luke – Was Revealed To The World On Sunday! You Can Listen To It Hear Http://Www.Kouya.Net/?P=2952

Finally, My Son Phoned From Amsterdam To Announce That His Dutch Girlfriend And He Are Getting Married!!!! Congratulations David And Miranda.

So, For Me, What A Wonderful End To Cultural Diversity Day When I Had Travelled Around The World From The Seat Of My Desk, With The Aid Of My Computer!

Good Luck And God Bless To All Our Group.

Tags: eorld cultural diversity day, journey

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