Leaving your own place of birth means leaving your own culture. When God asked Abraham to leave his country, it was mentioned at three different levels: leave your country, leave your natal place and leave your father’s home (Genesis 12: 1). The fathers home represents your culture. Meeting a new culture sometimes leaves you in a vacuum that, if for some reason is not filled with a new one or you haven’t adjusted the old one with new discoveries, can lead to a lack of a sense of belonging.
One very important component of culture is language. Verbal and non-verbal languages provide us with an excellent way to learn a new culture, to understand new norms and to feel more at ease meeting and exchanging with other people, thus avoiding embarrassing situations.
So, my tip is for all newcomers: learn the local language, ideally where they also teach you its cultural aspects.
If you need further guidance for cultural learning, please contact me and I will help you to find ways to better understand your new surroundings.
Dr. Efrat Tzadik
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