The Art of Crossing Cultures

I don't have a lot to say about The Art of Crossing Cultures, by Craig Storti. It's a short (135-page) book with the purpose of helping people who are going overseas for a significant amount of time. This book was originally purchased by Kendra before she spent her semester in China, but I thought it might be an interesting read. Unfortunately, as it turned out, I was not its target audience. While I do hope to go overseas someday and would even consider something long-term, I don't think I would ever really benefit from this book.

Why? The book clearly caters to people who are not only going overseas for a significant amount of time (several months or more), but also to those with little overseas experience who are nervous about the change. I personally love experiencing different cultures and would almost never find myself in a position where I would be anxious about the differences. Rather, I would embrace them and try to immerse myself in the culture as much as possible, as I did in my month in India.

I think this book would be helpful (and perhaps necessary) for the stereotypical American traveler or for someone moving overseas for a job where there is a lot of anxiety over the new culture. For those that love other cultures or have a lot of travel experience, this probably isn't for you. Don't let the title fool you - the broad topic of "crossing cultures" is covered in only the most narrow sense in this book.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

10 books, 46 days...at this rate I'll read 79 books