Lost in Translation: Cracking Hidden Cultural Codes

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Have you ever found yourself “lost in translation” when speaking across cultures?

“Hi! How are you?”  Translation: Greetings

Recently, a German friend posted: “What Germans probably confuse the most is that ‘How are you?’ really just means ‘Hello’ in the U.S. and doesn’t actually mean the person is interested in how you are doing.” 

Her statement reminded me of the time I passed a Middle Eastern student in the hall and said, “Hi!

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As a child, Jill Dobbe imagined a life far different from the one she was living in her small Wisconsin town. She dreamt of one filled with travel, excitement and adventure.  After graduating with dual degrees in sociology and education, Dobbe set off with her husband Dan and their two children, both under the age of two, to make those dreams come true.

In her new memoir, Here We Are & There We Go: Teaching and Traveling with Kids in Tow,  Dobbe takes the reader along on her family’s journey over the next sixteen years as they settle first in Guam, followed by Singapore, Ghana and Guadalajara.