Lately Knowledge Must had the opportunity to interview the distinguished Swiss interculturalist Hans Durrer, author of articles and books, teacher and coach, theoretician as well as practitioner. His pioneering works on intercultural and visual communication offer a very innovative approach to the study of culture. One particular field of interest for him is photography. According to Durrer photographs are nothing else than shattered fragments of the broken mirror of reality, which force the viewer to reconstruct their meaning. Depending on the upbringing, interests, and also the mood of the viewer, the photographs’ meaning will be read very differently.

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From Moscow to Beijing via Ulan Bator in Mongolia. Crossing 7 time zones. If measured from start to end it accumulates to a vast total of 7622 km (4735 miles). You will have heard about it. It is the Trans Siberian Express. It is not just a train ride. It is one of the amazing experiences in the world! If you choose to not make any stops after departure from Moscow, the journey can be made in 6 days. However that’s not how I did it and I’m darn happy about that because otherwise I would have missed an amazing experience!

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Knowledge Must had the chance to interview the China-born martial artist Shaobo Tang who is living in the Netherlands. Although not living in China any more he continues to cultivate many Chinese traditions, especially Wushu. Whenever he finds the time he goes back to China to train with the masters. Consciously moving between Dutch and Chinese cultures Shaobo is trying to make the most out of the two worlds.

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When I arrived in India from the Netherlands for my internship it was Bipin who answered any question I had about Indian culture. For me, someone who has never been in India before, it was really nice to have someone who, as Indian, knows the Indian culture perfectly to help me explain things. Another reason why he knew so well how to help me was because he himself is also experienced in going abroad. So he knew exactly how you feel when you take the leap to study in a completely different culture. Since I was already curious about his experience in the UK I thought now would be the perfect time to interview him and share his experiences with you as well.

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Interaction with people from different cultures is next to the obvious change in landscapes the most striking thing while going abroad. You talk about cultural issues that are different like eating habits or local traditions. So of course it was also one of the things I talked about a lot while being abroad and it was at this time that I discovered how odd foreign people find Queen’s Day, which is maybe the biggest Dutch-specific public holiday. People find this odd because how are people partying everywhere and dressed up like crazy in orange be related to the Queen of the Netherlands?

Continue reading "The Dutch Monarchy and the Day the Netherlands Turn Orange"