As a foreigner’s first gateway to the local culture, if you work in a hotel, then you are truly an ambassador of national heritage. Russians are Europe’s fastest growing outbound travel group, so make sure that you know how to greet your guests with a few well-chosen phrases.
36 ways to make them smile coming up…
How to Leverage Cultural Intelligence in the Hospitality Industry
According to CNN Travel, a record-breaking 1.2 billion tourists traveled abroad in 2015. Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific all recorded a nearly 5% increase in international arrivals. This number is predicted to double by 2035. As a foreigner’s first gateway to the local culture, hotelier staff serves as ambassadors of national heritage. If around 8m people are employed in the...
Learn Kirghiz and Let Loose the Nomad in You
Kyrgyzstan is a Central Asian country weaving along the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean, a land of incredible natural beauty and proud nomadic traditions. The Tian Shan mountains, which surround the ancient caravan route and tower over the country, are home to snow leopards, lynx and sheep. Its ancient trading history and semi-nomadic, yurt-dwelling shepherd...
Halloween is here – Get your Language Treats with our 7 Simple Tricks
So, it’s been a while since you started learning a foreign language and the time has come to practice your skills in the ‘real’ world with other speakers of the language. “What if I get the grammar wrong? What if the pronunciation is completely off? Or I use the wrong word and get mocked?” Have you started thinking along the lines above? Has the fear or anxiety kicked in yet? Well, let’s stop you...
What is Diwali? Spotlight on the Festival of Light
Imagine rows of candles adorning the path from the entrance of your home all the way up to the bedroom, the warm glow, the serenity, and the soothing yet powerful feelings they evoke. It’s a beautiful scene you’ve likely seen replicated by many in an effort to create a similar atmosphere but Diwali takes that image and magnifies it several thousand times over. It’s absolutely breath taking. Our...
12 Reasons to Start Freelancing Today
Currently, 55 million Americans are freelancing, a number that has increased by 2 million since 2014, according to the study ‘Freelancing in America’ (2016). The study also estimated that 63% of them chose to switch to freelancing by choice and not out of necessity. Randy Duermyer, author of the article ‘What is a Freelancer and what is Freelancing?’ (The Balance, 2016), defines the term...
The Quick Guide to U.A.E. Business Etiquette
The United Arab Emirates is one of the fastest growing destinations for business and leisure visitors, with its fascinating mix of the ancient and modern. Huge investment in the economic and tourism infrastructure has reinvented it as a unique strategic hub between East and West. Make sure you know how to navigate the fascinating cultural waterways of this desert country, as Expo 2020 looms. From...
Quirky Slang and Phrases from Around the World
When the Sherman Brothers wrote, “It’s a small world after all” for Disney, they probably never dreamed that it would (arguably) become one of the most widely used phrase in the world. It is a small world indeed, and it very likely it won’t be long before you pack your bags for your next holiday or trip abroad.
Top Foreign Movies in 6 Different Languages You Need to See
So you’re learning a new language. Sitting in front of your course book, practicing your phrases, and it’s just not doing it for you? There you are, wishing you could just curl up and watch a movie instead; you can almost taste the salty explosion of homemade popcorn…Well, doing both at the same time could just be the ideal way to light up your lingo skills. One of the reasons...