March 2012: Authentic Journeys

Stepping Outside the Normal Purview of Life to Create Change

When I think of those whom I have coached, these words and thoughts come to my mind:

• Eager
• Enthusiastic
• Self-motivated
• Taking initiative
• Probing deeper
• Insight and foresight
• Desire to go the extra mile
• Sensitive and compassionate
• Able to give and take, learn and teach
• Exposing vulnerability to learn and grow
• Always having an attitude of gratitude
• Respect and patience for the process (This is not easy when one is impatient to see and experience change! Kudos!)

I am honored, blessed, and humbled by those who have come to me for short or long term coaching. I am also thankful for those who have contacted me for coaching but, are yet to start. It takes a certain vulnerability to approach someone for help. I am honored that you chose to approach me.

I am writing this ‘thank you’ note because almost everyday I am reminded of the lessons and insights given to me by my coachees. These inspiring individuals decided to step outside the normal purview of life and take the extra step to create change and meaning in their life.

Though I appreciate all prospective, current, and past coachees, I am particularly moved to share with you the insight of a few coachees.

My recent coachee, Hari lives in Kochi, India. Four years into his career as a PHP developer, Hari makes the most of every learning opportunity he gets. This intelligent young man recently wrote about his one-year anniversary at his job. You can read his blog about his experience by clicking here.

Sajitha is an Indian from Kerala living in the U.S. She inspires me on so many levels. Read about her experiences adjusting to the American ways and the sacrifices she had to make.

Chiyomi is Japanese. She was living in the U.S for a few years. She was one of my first coachees and will always inspire me to be the best person I can be! Read a little about her experience in adjusting to the U.S culture by clicking here.

To read the success stories of all my past clients, click here.

Thank you for spending your valuable time on this blog.

Have a wonderful day!!

Edited by Sufi Swarup.

Understanding the Confusing U.S. American Culture: The Scheduled, Relaxing Vacation!?

One of the values of the American society that newcomers must know is “Work Hard & Play Hard.”

Americans have tightly packed schedules, day in and day out. Many times things get ‘checked off’ on a to-do list. These include activities and events typically known as ‘fun and relaxing’. Time off work, whether it’s a typical workday, a weekend, or a longer vacation is of process, procedure, and the time is broken into small blocks of scheduled activities. Some of these activities are scheduled based on the family’s organizational and planning skills, while the others are planned and purchased fun activities. These activities may be scenic train rides, group tours, zip line rides, amusement park rides, or other planned and paid vacation activities.

This incessant, almost obsessive need to have things prepackaged, planned, and prepared (ready-to-use) was highlighted in an episode of Phineas and Ferb. I like this cartoon as it often portrays the humor or absurdity in ordinary American activities. In this episode, the family takes a vacation to Hawaii. In the video below at 5 minute 24 second mark, Candace, the teenage daughter is relaxing poolside while a hotel employee announces ‘yoga classes’ that are supposed to help one relax in a controlled environment. Candace replies, “Pathetic, isn’t it? Some people don’t have the discipline to relax on their own. They need to take a… Who are you kidding? You’re takin’ a class!” But like most Americans, she is relieved to actually partake in a relaxing activity with parameters and goes to join the crowd.

I think this value stems from the Puritan work ethic followed by the early settlers of the US. The settlers couldn’t relax as they were setting up their new home. Any chance of relaxation was taken as a sin because the new environment was so unpredictable. The only way to make sense out of this unpredictability was to create structure, process, and ‘busy work’. This seems to be a hallmark of the American culture. To learn more about the other cultural values, behavior, and mindset of Americans, in preparation for your visit, move, or expat work assignment to the US, check out the comprehensive online e-learning program “Living and Working in the U.S.”

Thank you for your time.

Jennifer Kumar is a cross-cultural trainer based in Kochi, India. She specializes in Indians find success in cultural transition. More about her services here.

Editor, Sufi Swarup is a freelance editor and writer based in Bangalore, India.

Spring Ahead & Fall Back: What is Daylight Savings Time?

Have you found what you are looking for here?

Let me know by writing comments after the post.

Every spring and fall the clocks are changed in the United States (U.S.). in almost all states. People that come to the US from abroad may not have day light savings time in their countries. At the end of this article is a map that shows which countries participate in daylight savings time.

In this article, I hope to provide a tutorial to international students, expats, foreigners and others new to America about daylight savings time (DST).

What is daylight savings time?
Day light savings time is a way to change the clock time ahead one hour (in the spring) or back one hour (in the fall) to 'save time'. Originally, "they" claim this was done for farmers, but now-a-days I think it's done more for social reasons. A few being:

Kids will not have to go to school in the dark (especially in fall/winter).
To have more light in the mornings in the winter (coincides with #1).
Kids can 'trick or treat' on Halloween when it's still light out. (They changed day light savings time in 2009 from October to November for this reason.)
It will stay brighter out later in the summer so we can enjoy the summer weather with longer daylight.

Maybe there are other reasons, these are my guesses.

When do we observe daylight savings time?
In the spring- Second Sunday in March at 2am local time.
In the fall- First Sunday in November at 2am local time.

How do we observe daylight savings time? What do we do?
In the spring at 2am on the second Sunday in March, we should turn our clocks ahead. Instead of it being 2am at 2am it will now be 3am. We loose one hour of time that weekend.

In the fall at 2am on the fist Sunday in November, we should turn our clocks back. Instead of it being 2am at 2am it will now be 1am. We gain one hour of time that weekend.

Does one have to do it at 2am?
Well, no, though it will make the alarm clock wake you up at the right time Sunday if you do! We can do it when we fall asleep the night before so our alarm will wake us up in the morning. We do not have to get up at 2am to change it this way.

If I forget or am confused how do I know the correct time?
There are a few tricks if this is confusing! Breathe a sigh of relief!

Firstly, if you have computers or cell phones, these modern devices can change the time automatically as long as you have set them up to the right time zone.

Secondly, turn on the TV news as soon as you get up. Most news stations have a clock somewhere on the screen. When we see this, we can get the right time!

After this, remember to manually change all clocks that have times on them, this includes
- watches
- microwaves/ ovens
- alarm clocks
- clocks in cars
- wrist watches
- any other gadget with a clock/watch on it!

How does DST affect our family and friends abroad?
Our friends and family abroad want to call us in America. We want to call them. But, don't forget though our time has changed, theirs may not have, so keep track of the time by visiting this website and putting in your local current time to compare against where you want to call.
World Clock- Time Zones on timeanddate.com

Daylight savings times also impacts how meetings are scheduled across international time zones. For information on managing time when the clocks change, read this article.

When is DST in 2013, 2014 and 2015?

2013
Spring ahead - March 10
Fall back - November 3

2014
Spring ahead - March 9
Fall back - November 2

2015
Spring ahead - March 8
Fall back - November 1

Author of this post and owner of this blog, Jennifer Kumar works with Indians to improve cross-cultural understanding between colleagues and clients in the global workplace.

Images in this post:

IPhone Courtesy Peter Ouwerkerk @flickr.
Map Courtesy Wikipedia

Thanks for your valuable time.

Related Posts:
Meeting Planning and Daylight Savings Time

4 Mistakes to Avoid in the Restaurant Business

Baja Fresh, a casual Mexican dining chain was featured in one episode of Undercover Boss. Throughout the episode we learn a few things that employees can do to improve customer service and the overall reputation of the restaurant in an American context.

Keeping with the Status Quo and Not Trying Different Approaches

Baja Fresh, like other chain eateries are based on a cookie-cutter concept. In this concept, there are many aspects that are copied from individual store to individual store. However, customer demographic and need may differ based on many factors. An apt manager and line employees can take this into account while creating unique programs to fit the needs of the unique demographic. For instance, in the episode, Carrie who works in the Boise, Idaho store, has implemented various schemes like lunch delivery and catering to make life a bit easier for her customers. Jose, in Mesa, Arizona thanks regular customers for their patronage by buying them a free lunch from time to time.

Doing these atypical things can be risky, or they can reap great rewards; improving customer satisfaction and loyalty. Happy customers are repeat customers. Happy customers are more apt to bring in new customers to share in the experience they enjoyed. It is because of innovative customer strategies which may break the normal process that some franchises in a chain can excel while others do not.

(Learn more about American values and cultural variables and

how they will impact your expat assignment to the USA.)

Relying on Coupons or Promotions

Carrie in Boise mentioned that when their location opened initially they provided the guests a plethora of coupon offers. While these offers encouraged sales, they discouraged the customers paying the regular prices of the menu items. Due to this, over time the promotions devalued the brand. When this happened, she had to think of new ways to restructure the menu options and prices so that the location did not lose money, but was able to sell product at the correct price to maintain a particular profit margin.

This lesson is very important for many businesses. It may seem attractive to offer discounts, coupons, promotions and lower prices than a competitor. However, when this is done over a span of time, customers rely on this and do not appreciate the actual value of what they are buying. Promotions not only hurt the locations relying on them to bring in customers, but can adversely affect the entire industry, bring prices, revenue and profit down for people across the industry.

Not Apologizing to Customers for Lackluster and Bad Service
When customer service is not up to mark, customers become disgruntled and do not have a good experience. Any number of things can create customer discontentment. A manager on duty (along with the line staff) should be sensitive to this, adapt their behavior accordingly and follow up with a sincere apology. In one location, our Undercover Boss was left alone to fend for himself during a lunch hour rush at the cash register. He, of course, new to the cash register and menu options was very slow and may have filled orders incorrectly. After the rush slowed down, the manager took the Undercover Boss into the dining room to apologize for the service delay due to on-the-job-training. The apology included a “sorry” and a coupon to get free or discounted food on another visit. This coupled with the tip above this, doesn’t appear to be a recipe for success.

Being Grumpy or Disengaged with Customers
American customers expect the employees to greet them with a smile, often ask “How are you?” and try to create affable conversation in the short amount of time it takes to give the order. This is an acquired skill at a fast food restaurant for a cashier. When the cashier is happy, joyful, smiling, engaging and full of enthusiasm, the customers get the idea that the employee is having a good day, enjoys his job and feels comfortable in handling customers and his job. Even if this is not true, this is the kind of enthusiasm that is expected by the customers and from the company as it projects a positive image of the company. This behavior also increases customer satisfaction and repeat business. Would a customer prefer to go to a restaurant where the employees are happy, smiling, engaging and know their job or a restaurant where the employees are miserable, make mistakes, and ignore customers? Answer this question correctly, and you will have no problem pleasing most American customers.

Photo credit: Leo Reynolds at flickr.

Author, Jennifer Kumar is a cross-cultural coach helping Indians understand American workplace etiquette. If you need assistance, contact her at authenticjourneys@gmail.com.

Editor, Sufi Swarup is a freelance editor and writer based in Bangalore, India.

Interracial Marriage in the USA- Trends and Experiences

by: Jennifer Kumar

Did you know that in the USA in 2010 15% of new marriages were mixed race in the US (interracial or interethnic)?
Can you believe that 35% of Americans say they have someone in their immediate family that is married to someone of another race?
Isn't it interesting that two-thirds of Americans say it's fine if someone in their family 'married out' (to someone of another race / ethnicity / culture)?

The curiosity these questions evoked inspired a recent discussion on National Public Radio's (NPR) show Talk of the Nation. During this show, guests called in to talk about their interracial marriage and immediate and extended family perceptions of this kind of relationship.

The answers to the following can be found by listening to the podcast (embedded below):

Is the process of cross-cultural relationship acceptance a one-time deal or an ongoing process?
Acceptance of interracial marriages by youngster and older adults: how does it compare?
What are the legitimate concerns parents have over hesitating to accept intercultural marriages?
How does the society characterize children born of mixed race or intercultural unions?

A few insights from this podcast that make me think are:

A stated face that "Asian woman are three times as likely to 'marry out' than men."
How different races may characterize children of mixed race marriages.
Parents could be concerned that marrying out dilutes the quality of life (culturally as well as socially and financially in some cases).

Relationships discussed:

African American / White
African American / East Indian (south Asian)
African American / Haitian / White
Mexican-American / Asian-Caucasian
Mexican / White

Listen to the podcast here. If you'd like to read the transcripts, click here.

Embracing Cross-Cultural Identity: A Work of Art

Haikaa Yamamoto- A Musician Influenced by a Global Lifestyle

My name is Haikaa, I am a singer-songwriter and I was born in Brazil and I have studied and lived in the US and in Japan. The contradictory notions of right or wrong that I was exposed to led me to develop a “chameleon-like” personality and I could have spent my entire life going from one identity to another depending on where I was.

Fortunately, music wasn’t going to let me keep such an exhausting pattern of behavior. The driving force behind my music has always been the urge to express myself. That means that basically I had to understand who this self was in the first place. What I slowly began to understand was that the values that I appreciated in myself and in others were the same regardless of culture or circumstances. I like to say that there’s no such thing as American honesty or Brazilian tears or even Japanese fulfillment. By identifying the underlying values that were important to me regardless of where I was or who I was interacting with, I began to develop a stronger sense of who I am in essence.

On the title track of my latest album “Work of Art”, I celebrate this understanding and the sense of self-acceptance that emerged out of it. Even though my discovery came as a result of the multicultural experiences in my life and my passion for music, I felt strongly that this message was quite universal. In order to express this musically, I started looking for people who would want to do versions of the song “Work of Art” in their own language based on the concept of “Six Degrees of Separation”. I asked my friends who then referred their friends who in turn introduced me to their acquaintance and thus “The Work of Art Global Project” was born. In a period of one year and a half, I had already recorded the song in 20 languages with the help of more than 40 collaborators across the globe. I even recorded a video where I sing parts of the song in 19 languages . The 20 full length versions and stories are available on the project’s website – www.woaglobalproject.com .

I approached each of the versions as a new poem and not a translation as I wanted to convey the core of the message respecting the different cultural contexts. For example, what may sound like assertiveness in English could come across as an incredible display of arrogance in Japanese. So, while the focus on the original English version is on self-acceptance, the Japanese version has a greater focus on the feeling of hope and understanding. It is more geared towards the society and not the individual, which I think is actually a strong characteristic of Japanese culture.

Navigating through different cultures and embracing new aspects to your lifestyle is an incredibly enriching and unique opportunity. I only knew two of the lyricists that worked on this project. I managed to connect with all the others based on values that we share as human beings because in essence, we are a lot more similar than different. However, the differences are here to make our world more interesting and diverse. By embracing new cultural aspects, I think we become more colorful individuals.

If you wish to download a free mp3 of “Work of Art”, just go to www.noisetrade.com/haikaa .

Haikaa Yamamoto - Busy at her Passion - Music!

Thank you!!!

Love,

Haikaa
www.haikaa.com
Love has led me to live a life
that gives me lots to sing about.

PS - Believe it or not, I still don't have any version in an Indian language!!! So if anyone out there would like to give it a try, please get in touch with me at contacthaikaa@gmail.com , thank you.
[sic]

Haikaa Yamamoto, the author of this guest post, has also authored the book What is Diversity. Take a look at the blog owner's review by clicking here.
Last three guest posts:
Communication in an Intercultural Setting by Kristy Kumari
Tips for Expats Relocating to Dubai by MoveOne, Inc.
Safety for Foreigners in India - by Valentina Griffin