Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships. Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include * customs, values, and traditions * historical, religious, and political background * life at home * leisure, social, and cultural life * eating and drinking * do's, don'ts, and taboos * business practices * communication, spoken and unspoken "Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel "... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel "...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer "...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine "...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times

Cuba is a land of contradictions that is easy to enjoy but difficult for first-time visitors to decipher. The largest island in the Caribbean, it is a tropical paradise that Christopher Columbus called "the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen." It is famous for the romantic charm of its crumbling colonial cities, the beauty of its white sand beaches, and its irresistible Afro-Cuban dance beats. But it is also a land of shortages and tight government control, which has been in a sixty-year political standoff with its superpower neighbor, the USA. The homegrown version of single-party socialism created by Fidel Castro has kept Cuba in a Cold War time warp that only now is beginning to change. As travel restrictions are relaxed US tourists can once again visit the island. Greater flexibility toward private enterprise is opening it up to boutique hotels and high-quality home-based restaurants. There is a boom in special-interest tourism for cyclists, hikers, birdwatchers, and scuba divers, while foreign entrepreneurs are eagerly exploring investment opportunities. Culture Smart! Cuba will take you beyond the usual descriptions of Havana nightlife, vintage cars, and hand-rolled cigars and give you an insider's view of an island that is teetering on the brink of historic change. It offers insights into Cuba's fascinating history, national icons, unique food, vibrant cultural scene, and world-renowned music. Practical tips help business travelers gain an edge on the competition. But most of all, this book aims to show you how best to break the ice and get a better understanding of the infinitely resourceful Cuban people, who despite severe hardships and shortages over many years remain optimistic and fiercely proud of their heritage and culture.

Cuba is a land of contradictions that is easy to enjoy but difficult for first-time visitors to decipher. The largest island in the Caribbean, it is a tropical paradise that Christopher Columbus called "the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen." It is famous for the romantic charm of its crumbling colonial cities, the beauty of its white sand beaches, and its irresistible Afro-Cuban dance beats. But it is also a land of shortages and tight government control, which has been in a sixty-year political standoff with its superpower neighbor, the USA. The homegrown version of single-party socialism created by Fidel Castro has kept Cuba in a Cold War time warp that only now is beginning to change. As travel restrictions are relaxed US tourists can once again visit the island. Greater flexibility toward private enterprise is opening it up to boutique hotels and high-quality home-based restaurants. There is a boom in special-interest tourism for cyclists, hikers, birdwatchers, and scuba divers, while foreign entrepreneurs are eagerly exploring investment opportunities. Culture Smart! Cuba will take you beyond the usual descriptions of Havana nightlife, vintage cars, and hand-rolled cigars and give you an insider's view of an island that is teetering on the brink of historic change. It offers insights into Cuba's fascinating history, national icons, unique food, vibrant cultural scene, and world-renowned music. Practical tips help business travelers gain an edge on the competition. But most of all, this book aims to show you how best to break the ice and get a better understanding of the infinitely resourceful Cuban people, who despite severe hardships and shortages over many years remain optimistic and fiercely proud of their heritage and culture.

An exploration of Havana's history and its paradoxes: a city where architectural treasures survive among the crumbling tenements; where a vibrant street life takes place amidst shortages; and where revolutionary politics, machismo and a thriving black market co-exist.

The people, architecture, cuisine, and natural beauty of Cuba come to life in this gorgeous, one-of-a-kind tribute to this fascinating island country This rich, visually stunning book gives a full and unprecedented look at the once forbidden island of Cuba. From the bustling city streets of Havana, to the rushing waterfalls of the lush, verdant countryside, to the fishing communities that dot miles of azure coastline, in Cuba an entire jewel of a country opens up to us as never before. Large, full-color photographs adorn every page and showcase the landscapes, cityscapes, and seascapes, as well as the faces of the Cuban people. Organized by topic including: The Cuban Character, Havana, The Jungle and the Sea, Tastes of Cuba, Cuban Hospitality, Celebrations, and more, each chapter is framed by an introduction that offers some history and explains about Cuban culture as it exists today. As the U.S. government begins to lift restrictions on travel, more and more Americans are becoming interested in visiting and learning about Cuba, bringing about an increased fascination with the island.

This comprehensive, step-by-step guide is designed to prepare you for your move abroad and to enable you to manage the transition effectively. Alone in the market, it combines the practical, cultural, and psychological aspects of relocation, and helps to allay the fears and reduce the stresses that accompany this major event in a person's life. Preparing For Your Move Abroad follows a typical relocation timeline, taking you from your first step – the decision to move – to your integration into the host society, and through every step between these two points. Uniquely it offers: * A strong knowledge base for every stage of the relocation journey* A strategy to manage the issues at hand* Psychological preparation* An action plan, presented through exercises, practical steps to consider, checklists, and many easy-to-use tools It deals with the challenge of change by pulling together the practical, cultural, and psychological aspects of relocation and addressing them at each phase of the process. This distinctive approach helps you to develop three essential skills: systematic organization, cultural flexibility, and psychological resilience. These skills are crucial for successful change management, and can be put to use in any new culture, anywhere in the world. Moving to a new society invariably induces a degree of culture shock – largely the result of “change overload.” Preparing For Your Move Abroad presents a tried and tested strategy to help you manage the experience and quickly recover. No other book addresses this phenomenon, or attempts to help readers develop the skills to cope with it. The book aims to turn the challenges of relocation into opportunities for growth. By equipping you with essential knowledge, tools, and skills, it will help you to anticipate what lies ahead, address the challenges presented by your move with clarity and confidence, and make your transition successful, stress-free, and much more enjoyable.

Don't just see the sights—get to know the people. In the popular imagination Spain conjures up a picture of rapacious conquistadores, fiery flamenco dancers, and brilliant artists. All true enough but how closely does everyday life in modern Spain conform to these dramatic stereotypes? Culture Smart! Spain explores the complex human realities of contemporary Spanish life. It describes how Spain s history and geography have created both strongly felt regional differences and shared values and attitudes. It reveals what the Spaniards are like at home, and in business, how they socialize, and how to build lasting relationships with them. The better you understand the Spanish people, the more you will be enriched by your experience of this vital, warm, and varied country where the individual is important, and the enjoyment of life is paramount. Have a richer and more meaningful experience abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on history, values, attitudes, and traditions will help you to better understand your hosts, while tips on etiquette and communicating will help you to navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Elizabeth B. Schwall aligns culture and politics by focusing on an art form that became a darling of the Cuban revolution: dance. In this history of staged performance in ballet, modern dance, and folkloric dance, Schwall analyzes how and why dance artists interacted with republican and, later, revolutionary politics. Drawing on written and visual archives, including intriguing exchanges between dancers and bureaucrats, Schwall argues that Cuban dancers used their bodies and ephemeral, nonverbal choreography to support and critique political regimes and cultural biases. As esteemed artists, Cuban dancers exercised considerable power and influence. They often used their art to posit more radical notions of social justice than political leaders were able or willing to implement. After 1959, while generally promoting revolutionary projects like mass education and internationalist solidarity, they also took risks by challenging racial prejudice, gender norms, and censorship, all of which could affect dancers personally. On a broader level, Schwall shows that dance, too often overlooked in histories of Latin America and the Caribbean, provides fresh perspectives on what it means for people, and nations, to move through the world.

Georgia lies between Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East, on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea. This small Caucasian country is used to playing a significant role in global geopolitics, and its strategic location at the crossroads of different civilizations has been a curse as well as a blessing. Once a battlefield of the Christian and Muslim worlds, today it is caught between its NATO aspirations and its location in Russia's backyard. The Silk Road brought the best of the world to Georgia. Its ancient Christian culture shows the influence of Arab, Persian, and Ottoman conquerors. Combined with this is a southern, "Mediterranean" feel, traces of the Soviet legacy, and a strong Western influence. What awaits the visitor is a unique culture that goes back thousands of years. Georgia has a rich historical heritage, wonderful food and wines, unforgettable scenery, authentic folk music and dances, an attractive business climate, and an educated and hospitable people for whom indulging a guest is more a religion than a duty. Culture Smart! Georgia offers invaluable insights and practical tips for tourists and business people alike. The author, Natia Abramia, guides you through the past and present-day realities of her motherland, explaining what makes people tick, how they live and feel, and how to get on with them. You will discover that the Georgians will not let you down. Learn how to reach their hearts, and they will charm you back.

Tracking Cuban history from 1492 to the present, The Cuba Reader includes more than one hundred selections that present myriad perspectives on Cuba's history, culture, and politics. The volume foregrounds the experience of Cubans from all walks of life, including slaves, prostitutes, doctors, activists, and historians. Combining songs, poetry, fiction, journalism, political speeches, and many other types of documents, this revised and updated second edition of The Cuba Reader contains over twenty new selections that explore the changes and continuities in Cuba since Fidel Castro stepped down from power in 2006. For students, travelers, and all those who want to know more about the island nation just ninety miles south of Florida, The Cuba Reader is an invaluable introduction.