Economy

The Best Commute in the World

It starts early in the week when I type an appointment in my work calendar for 4:30 p.m. Friday: “Bike ride home.”  Just the act of typing those words puts a smile on my face because I’ve just blocked that time from any meetings and I’ve got all week to look forward to a glorious bike commute home over San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate Bridge.

On the commute home via the Golden Gate Bridge

Friday morning I get my gear ready: the bike pants, the windbreaker, the gloves, the iPod, the helmet, the Camelbak, and the sunglasses.  Since I live 25 miles away in Marin County and there’s no shower at work, this is only a one-way commute. I jump on the bike-rack enabled commuter bus in the morning and head southward towards The City by the Bay with all the other gas-guzzling suburban commuters. (more…)

Why is your French colleague being formal?

Test your cultural expertise with our weekly quiz question. This week’s question is from France.

Your close French colleague takes on a formal tone in his written notes and emails to you. This is because:

A. Close friendship has nothing to do with business
B. The relationship is probably cooling
C. Writing is highly prized by the French, and style is important.

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Bicycle culture (and subculture) in the USA

Abroad, a lot of people conceptualize America as a “car-culture”. And they are, in large part, correct. It’s estimated that as many as 1 of every 6 jobs in the US is either directly or indirectly related to the auto industry. America’s rise to global economic stardom can be tied to the auto industry as well, along with the fossil fuel, agricultural, and arms industries. It’s hard to say for certain which came first, Americans’ propensity towards ultra-individualism, or the car, but they definitely are a marriage made in heaven.

Something that doesn’t get a lot of press internationally is the growing number of people in the USA who don’t own cars at all. Especially in larger cities, where public transportation is available, the combination of higher gas prices, parking fees, maintenance fees, inevitable parking tickets, road rage, and environmental impact are making it more and more attractive to explore non-auto options for transportation. As of 2009 35 million people in the USA took public transportation of some kind every weekday, not including people who walk or bicycle. Bicycle commuters in the USA are becoming a larger and larger demographic. In fact, in Portland Oregon, over 5% of commuter trips are taken on a bicycle. In the city of Chicago, where I reside, the number is much lower (1.15%) but that’s a 129% increase between 2000 and 2009, and all indications are that the number keeps going up.

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Is it easy to learn Malaysian culture?

Test your cultural expertise with our weekly quiz question. This week’s question is from Malaysia.

The cultural uniformity of Malaysia makes learning business and social protocol relatively easy to learn.

True or False?

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My English is not your English

Is ‘disorientated’ a word? Ask someone from the USA, and they are likely to say no. But it’s absolutely correct in British English.

Languages change constantly and English is no exception. That causes confusion sometimes, and not just if you’re learning English as a foreign language. The variations of English which have developed in the USA, Canada and Australia have been around for some time. But other world regions have also developed their own brand of English. There are regional variations of English within the UK itself. Singlish, Hinglish, Chinglish and others are all becoming more commonly heard. When two non-native speakers communicate in English, they are likely to use a kind of ‘International’ or ‘Global’ English.

English is sometimes described as ‘the world’s second language’, and the ability of people in many different parts of the world to communicate using (International) English undoubtedly helps global trade and communications. And as global interaction increases, so does the use of English as lingua franca.

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Would you like to have tea?

Test your cultural expertise with our weekly quiz question. This week’s question is from Australia.

Having arrived at the Sydney airport late in the afternoon, your host who has come to fetch you asks if you would like tea. You should interpret this as an invitation to:

A. Drink some tea.
B. Enjoy a late afternoon snack.
C. Have dinner

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