Global Business and Travel Experiences
Do you have an interesting international business tale to recount? Please write it here and share your experiences with others.
Do you have an interesting international business tale to recount? Please write it here and share your experiences with others.
My international experiences is limited to the following:
Assignment to:
Korea 1 year
Iraq 1 year
Kuwait 21 months
Missions in:
Italy
Kosovo
Cuba
Germany
Egypt
My Kuwait experience has been the most relevant business experience. I have had the pleasure and consternation of procurement, project management, and social interactions within Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense as a communications advisor to their armed forces. The conduct of business in the Middle East is distinctly different than in the U.S. It usually frustrates most westerners unaccustomed to the social nature of business here.
Rick – clearly your travels are exciting and trying. It is probably both a blessing and and a curse that your work requires/allows so much travel. I grew up as a Navy brat whose father was never transfered much beyond the Washington DC area. He did all of his traveling before I was born. I used to joke that I had never been outside the country but I was “made” in England. As an adult I have remedied my travel inexperience a bit. I have been to Canada, Bahamas and Tijuana, Mexico (I consider all 3 of those to be local). I have also been to Australia, Japan and 5 Eastern European countries (tour thing). In my overseas travel I have noticed a better response from local people if I declare I am Canadian instead of American. I understand that. I have been on tours and witnessed the “stereotypical” American tourist – loud and obnoxious and have done what I could to distance myself. My work has never taken me abroad.
I love learning from other cultures and doing what I can to learn to be respectful and polite. My partner does a great deal of service work in Haiti and loves the country and the people. There is often talk of retiring there. I am hoping to go there in January for some service work.
Nice to see people who travelled several countries. I am originally from India and been in USA over a decade. Working both in India and here is great. Haven’t yet put my hands on working in other countries yet, but have visited UK and UAE, and I do see there are several cultural differences and variety of opportunities. Waiting to see where time takes us to explore these opportunities.
My international experience is limited to England, Scottland, Ireland, France and Mexico. I have limited business experience in England.
Hello everyone!!! I have lived overseas for quite some time. Here is the quick run down.
Japan – 2 Years
Korea – 2 Years
Germany – 3 Years
I have also been very fortunate in my travels. I have visited Mexico, Canada, Thailand, Australia, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Luxembourg, Belgium, Sweden, England, Ireland, Russia, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Holland, and Switzerland.
In December I did a 12 kilometer Battle of the Buldge memorial walk in Bastogne, Belgium and then spent some time in Brussels and Brugge. If you ever have a chance to visit Brugge, Belgium, I recommend it. For New Years I was in Paris and I just got back from visiting Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Lauterbrunnen is one of my favorite places in the world thus far.
At this point I can’t imagine myself not traveling. It has become somewhat of an addiction. I do have to add one thing based off some of the comments I have read. Everywhere I have been I have met amazing and wonderful people who were nothing but nice to me. Most just want to share their culture with you and I have never been treated badly because I was American. It is all about how you act in the environment you are in.
Jamie
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting/living in roughly 28 countries. I’ve lived in Japan (2 years) and the Philippines (4 years). My most memorable countries are England (London, Portsmouth, Lincoln, Edinburgh), Spain, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Australia (loved it), Thailand, South Korea and Mexico.
Growing up in Vermont, I have spent considerable time in Montreal over the years. One of my most memorable experiences was going to a restaurant and being refused service for speaking English with my party. For a while after that, I kept to the more Anglo sections of the city. My recent experiences in the French parts of town have been more pleasant.
I have visited Spain twice, spending time in Valencia, Cordoba, Granada, Madrid, Sevilla, and Zaragoza. My next trip will focus on the Northern and Basque regions. (In my undergraduate studies, I majored in Spanish Language and History, with a minor in Latin American Studies. Most of that was historical in nature, and my knowledge of modern Spain is mostly through travel and self-study. My language skills are rusty now, though I tend to recover quickly when immersed.)
I have also been to London, The Dominican Republic, The Bahamas, and numerous islands in the British and American Virgin Islands.
Chris,
Your travel reflects an assortment of cultural experiences, all of which, except for one, seem to be enjoyable.
I, hail from Belize, Central America. Growing up however, I lived in Versaille France, Buttonwood England, Menwith Hill England, Barbados West Indies, and the United States as I followed my father on his embassy assignments. I have lived in the United States off and on for many years.
My career as General Manager, hotel, food and beverage operations included international assignments in Lagos Nigeria (2 years) and Barbados West Indies (2years). My career with the Department of the Army provided me the opportunity to live in Germany. Working out of the European regional Office, we required me to travel temporary duty (TDY) throughout Europe such as Germany (21 installations) Belgium (NATO in Brussels & SHAPE in Chievres), and Italy (Livorno & Vicenza) and to the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt and Turkey) frequently. My reassignment to stateside, headquartered in Alexandria, VA, shifted my TDY assignments to the Pacific Rim, including Japan (camp Zama, Torii Station, & Iwakuni), and Korea (camp Casey, Camp Henry, Camp Humphreys and Yongsan) and Hawaii (Schofield & Shafter).
I met many of people, made many of friends among an assortment of cultures. In all my traveling, I do not recall ever having a negative experience that I would attribute to an intentional act of disrespect. I believe, firmness, wrapped in grace, politeness and respect is a universal language.
Derk
I have visted Canada, Puerto Rico, and Guadaloupe. I worked for a company based in Spain that sell subway trains around the world. I am currently contracted to work for the Navy that has other commands in Peru, Egypt, and Indonesia. I have picked up a little Spanish and plan to learn it fluently.
My personal travel experience has been to Italy, Greece, England, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, Nevis, canuan Island, Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic. I was on a traveling program in college. We would attend class for 3 days in one country and we were free to travel on the weekends. It was a great experience that basically enabled me to backpack through Europe while learning abroad on a partially supervised trip.
My husband and I got married in Punta Cana. Then we traveled to Europe again on our honeymoon. After sailing the Greek Isles for 5 days in college, I knew that it was without a doubt where I wanted to honeymoon.
My international business experience has been to Brazil, Canada, and Germany. I was required to present at corporate symposiums. I learned how bashful other cultures are compared to Americans. People were afraid to ask questions and would shy away if called upon during a presenation.
During my personal travel experiences, I do recall a negative experience with the people of Italy. The males were very forward and aggressive. I have never had a negative travel experience while traveling for business.
Working in a program known as the Legislative Strengthening Program for developing countries, sponsored by the US Agency for Int’l Devt (USAID), I worked in countries on the west coast of Africa including several states in Nigeria (my native country), Benin Republic, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
I have also visited London and Vienna, Austria for vacation with siblings.
My military service in the US Army has taken me to Kuwait and Iraq .
The only continent that I have yet to set foot on and look forward to visiting is Asia.
My exposure to diverse cultures fosters a strong appreciation of diversity and respect for cultural differences. I have come to understand that how people view the world is shaped by their environment and cultural orientation. Hence, successful cross-cultural relationships depends largely on a good understanding of each party’s cultural nuances .
International experience, for me, begins when I joined the Air Force. In 1998 I was assigned, as a financial analyst, to Vogelweh Germany. I worked with local nationals, but we did U.S. government accounting. There were cultural aspects that were learned by working closley with local Germans.
Beyond that I was also assigned to Prince Sultan Air Base for a short time as a third-country national escort. For this job it required monitoring the workers on the U.S. base in Saudi Arabia. Very interesting learning experience and was exposed to many different cultures.
I have visited Italy, Austria, and Germany. I have lived in Germany for a total of 7 1/2 years of my life.
Currently I work in the U.S. but I am a cost accountant for construction equipment that is produced in Sagami Japan. I regularly communicate and coordinate information between Japan and our home offices in North Carolina. Again, the experience that is gained by working with another culture has been invaluable.