Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- And Cold-Climate Cultures

This is a succinct and accurate guidebook on the basic differences between cultures. The author has personal experience of many different cultures and offers a practical framework from which the reader can evaluate experiences in differing cultures. My husband and I use it much in our international work/travel situations, give it away often, and lend our own copy out frequently to those traveling in or moving to new cultures. Great resource.

As short as this book may be, the words and insight provided on these pages is essential for anyone from any walk of life entertaining the idea of world travel. It gives you something to work with in understanding other people's views. Excellent read!

"Foreign to Familiar" is a short very easy to read book that really is far more helpful than I could have ever imagined. As an anglo who has had relationships with hispanics my entire life I thought I understood hispanic people pretty well. After reading the book I now understand why some of the most important people in my life have made such stinging criticisms of me. They believe I am selfish and egotistical, I believed that they couldn't make decisions, were foolish with thier money, and let their family take advantage of them. I now understand why my friends act the way they do and can begin to see myself through their eyes. I wish someone could have taught me this stuff 20 years ago.

As a college Professor, I have been using this book as a textbook to help my students learn how to communicate cross-culturally for almost 2 years now. It is a real eye openner both for students from Mid-America and for students from Latin America and Asia. It is so easy to be mis-understood. This study can heal the wounds and rejection that many people feel when they try to relate at work and in the community. Better yet, it can help us to prevent the hurts in the first place. I give it an A+.

This book really opened my eyes to the differences in various cultures groups and why communications were sometimes muddied or difficult. My job often requires communicating by mail or email with professionals in other countries, so this book has been a tremendous help in learning how to understand people in other cultures. The author breaks down the world's cultures into two basic categories: hot climate and cold climate. She then discusses the cultural differences in these two groups including the ways they communicate. The explanations on how time is perceived differently by each group and on indirect versus direct communications were so valuable! The book has changed the way I correspond with Africans, Hispanics, and Asians totally! Thanks so much, Sarah, for knowing how important this information was and for putting it into a book!