Have you ever had an encounter with a person from another country that you found baffling? Perhaps you were traveling and had a puzzling experience. Maybe it was an immigrant right here in Virginia whose behavior surprised you. In this program, we’ll explore Hofstede’s model of cultural value differences and use it to help explain the wide range of human behavior. (We might even conclude that on the global stage, the weird ones are us, not them!) Along the way, we will also share a few tips on how to interact effectively with people who are different from us. Each participant will be expected to provide at least one personal case study of surprising cross-cultural interactions or differences that we can use for analysis in the class. Bill Weech has lived in five countries and visited 32 others. In his younger days, he managed to get himself in trouble in three languages other than English. During his professional career, Bill trained people from more than 75 countries in topics ranging from communication skills to supervision. Bill has been an exchange student, a Peace Corps volunteer, an English teacher, and a U.S. diplomat. Now mostly retired, Bill still indulges his interest in cross-cultural conundrums by teaching international management for JMU, serving as an interpreter at the Blue Ridge Free Clinic, and volunteering with CWS to mentor teenage refugees.