ReadOasis Step 2 The last thing I remember before the car accident was music. My favorite song played on the radio. Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” exploded as an instant hit. He released the song in December 1991. And I fell in love with it immediately. Three weeks after... Read more
Your Cross-Cultural Purpose
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ReadOasis Step 2 Viktor listened to the sound of hard coughing. He looked at the man in the bed next to him. The man coughed and fought for air. Other men in the room coughed hard, too. Just then, the door burst open. A cold wind filled the room,... Read more
Communication, Culture, and Conflict
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ReadOasis Step 2 The following story uses very strong language -- not appropriate for children. In his work team, only Hiro can speak English. As a result, the team chose him to go to Chicago on an important business trip. The team leader offered to get Hiro a guide.... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Yuki stepped outside the airplane, and the warm air touched her face. “The heat feels nice,” she said to herself. “Better than winter in Japan!” She flew over 14,000 kilometers for one reason. She wanted to meet her boyfriend’s parents. Arturo, he stood tall,... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 2) If Yuki marries Arturo today, imagine her future. His parents do not come to the wedding. On their honeymoon, Arturo receives a phone call from home. His father says, “You left our family. You broke our family. You are not my son anymore. I... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3 Bruce looked down at the blue ocean below. In the distance, he saw the green hills and snow covered mountains behind the city of Santa Marta, Colombia. “I arrive in Argentina in 7 hours,” he thought. “Time to get some sleep.” Bruce fell asleep and dreamt.... Read more
Update Your Mental and Cultural Software
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ReadOasis Step 2 Neo looked at the chair. On the backrest, he saw wires connected to a sharp object. “It looks like an old electric chair,” he said. Morpheus answered in his deep voice. “We use the adapter to connect your brain to the mainframe computer. Then we can... Read more
Blind Men and the Elephant of Culture
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ReadOasis Step 2 Long ago in a faraway land, six blind men sat by the road. Animals and people walked by, kicking up dust in the air. The burning sun made the ground hot. The blind men had no food, no money, and no water. They just waited for... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 Lena looked back. She felt fear, sadness, and excitement all at once. She waved to her friends and parents. And they all waved back, smiling and blowing kisses. Lena turned around and started walking. She took a deep breath and said to herself, “Don’t be afraid.... Read more
Six Culture Conflicts (Part 1)
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ReadOasis Step 2 Note -- The events in this story are shocking. Joel held the warm, brown cup in both his hands. With his eyes, he smiled at Matt and drank his hot chocolate. "Ready to go?" asked Matt. "Yeah," said Joel. "Let’s go home." They stood up at... Read more
Six Culture Conflicts (Part 2)
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ReadOasis Step 2 Opinions differ about social problems. But here we will not focus on changing opinions. Instead, we want to ask a basic question. What do social problems teach us about cultural values and conflicts? To answer this question, we will look to the culture expert Geert Hofstede.... Read more
Six Culture Conflicts (Part 3)
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ReadOasis Step 2 Question 4: What Is True? Here a culture faces its fears of the unknown. We may feel unsure about many things: money, health, the future, success, failure, danger, or risk. We lack certainty about many things in life. People worry and feel anxiety. How do we... Read more
Cross-Cultural Travel by Design
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ReadOasis Step 2 A man’s nervous voice cracked over the loudspeaker, “Please stand behind the yellow line.” I wanted to move, but the crowd pushed me from all sides, so I let them push. Before I knew it, I was moving into the open door of an orange train... Read more
The Blues: Music of Survival
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ReadOasis Step 2 Four men were walking across a field. They were carrying a body wrapped up in white cloth. Their strong, black hands and arms supported the body as they walked on. Other men, women, and children walked behind. And the tall green trees listened. They listened to... Read more
The Place Martin opened the green door of his second floor room, room 306. He stepped outside and closed the door. He felt the air on his face, and he heard the voices of his friends. He looked down at them. They stood talking in the parking lot below.... Read more