This book is a compelling analysis of the personal challenges inherent in the cross-cultural experience. While focusing on the basic psychological processes involved in encountering a foreign culture and adapting to it, Craig Storti suggests a model for meeting the culture straight-on, managing the temptation to withdraw, and gradually adjusting expectations of behaviour to fit the new reality.
He bases his analysis of cross-cultural adaptation not only on psychological and communication theory but also on the perceptions of some of the world's greatest authors and their literature, writers such as Mark Twain, E M Forster, Noel Coward, Mary Renault and Rudyard Kipling and weaves their comments and insights into his discussion.
To deal with the differences one encounters in living in another culture - differences that for almost everyone cause some form of counterproductive psychological reaction - one must be ready to go through a clearly identifiable mental process, which Storti clearly defines. Learning how to anticipate differences and master alternative reactions rather than withdrawing is at the heart of the cross-cultural adaptation experience.
The book tells readers how to adjust. The insight Craig Storti offers into the actual process of cross-cultural adaptation is valuable to anyone contemplating such a change.
