A festival at one of UnTours’ home villages, Murlo is one way that you can see the strong bonds of community that are typical in an Italian community; it’s one hallmark of the Italian culture. In an attempt to better understand Italy, today’s culture clue is an overview of some of Italian culture’s more famous…
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Untourists of the Week: Rose & Ted McKenna
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Rose & Ted McKenna are our UnTourists of the Week this week. They’ve been on 19 UnTours (!) and have taken one cruise with us. Take a look at what these wonderful UnTourists have to say about their UnTours experiences. To Rose & Ted, thanks for sharing! 1. Tell us a little bit about your…
Foundation Fridays: Vote of confidence
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The foundation receives many accolades, both public and private. One accolade this week caught us by surprise. In with her regular loan repayment check, Brenda Davis, the “Iron Woman” of Ironman, Inc., included a donation to the foundation. Of course, I called her to ask the story behind the gift. She said that she’s looked…
What’s your definition of clean? Kehrwoche: a uniquely German cultural phenomena
Of all the variables you might find on the “cultural dashboard”, there is none more likely to spark a clash faster than the varying definitions of “clean” across cultures. The paradox is nearly every culture has strict rules about what is “clean” but in the complicated dance that is cross-cultural understanding, of course, the rules…
Michael & Hilda Cahn, Untourists of the Week: A Viking Cruise + an Untour
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Tell us a little bit about your most recent UnTour. We combined a Viking River Cruise (from Amsterdam to Basel) with a one week UnTour on the Rhine, in St. Goar. It really was a great combination. Our Viking Cruise was enjoyable, the times were well-organized and the excursions off the boat were interesting and…
Foundation Fridays: So Proud!
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One of the foundation’s newest loan recipients, Wash Cycle Laundry, just won “Best Laundry Service 2012” in the readers’ choice awards through the Philadelphia Magazine. We couldn’t be more proud of this dynamic, start-up company! And how does one run a laundry service on bikes?! Here’s how. We welcome your support of our work. “After…
“The way we do things around here”…Germany
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Today we offer our culture clue — how people might differ in displaying emotion in public in Germany (compared to other cultures) with the benefit of our Cultural Dashboard tool. 1. Can you guess the likely outcome? Do you know why you might guess that way? Is it based on direct experience? Old movies? A…
Foundation Fridays: Shaky Voices
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Photo courtesy of Gray Panthers of San Francisco One of my personal heroes is Maggie Kuhn, the feisty founder of the Gray Panthers. I had the delight of befriending Maggie when she was in her 80’s. We went together several times a year to do something that is not in my basic nature: clothes shopping!…
A Cultural Dashboard: figuring out where you’ve landed, in Germany, or elsewhere
To build a “roadmap for a culture” that is useful for the UnTourist about to go on a German UnTour (or any of our destinations outside the US) is a tricky thing. It is all too easy to stray into stereotypes and oversimplification, especially when we’re way outside our own culture. Things look deceptively simple…
Susan Croll: Untourist of the Week…at the Castle in Bavaria
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Tell us about your most recent UnTour: In August 2011, my daughter and I returned to the German Castle for a week. It felt as if we were coming home. The Baron and Moritz greeted us upon arrival, treating us like old friends stopping for a visit. We stayed in the Carola Apartment, as we…