| Using lessons from movies to improve your life is a | | | | business take advantage from the hundreds of |
| good thing that proves that movies can be more than | | | | movies made in the countries you visit. Pick some up |
| entertainment: they can be our teachers, mentors and | | | | before you leave home. They can give you insights |
| friends, keeping us on track especially when we are | | | | into how people interact at home and work, how they |
| away from our familiar surroundings. This is how | | | | dress, what their values are, and how they face |
| movies can help you battle the stress of business | | | | conflict, competition and challenge. |
| traveling and help you overcome loneliness, | | | | 3. Watch an American movie in a theater when you |
| homesickness, and the worry that creeps in when | | | | are in a foreign country--just make sure it's not dubbed, |
| things go wrong with your flight. | | | | but with subtitles. The benefits from this activity are |
| 1. Carry your favorite movies with you--and a set of | | | | plenty. First, you get out of the hotel and explore the |
| good earphones. Create your portable DVD library, | | | | city. Second, you get to see how big an influence |
| and pop a movie in your laptop when you flight delays | | | | American culture has outside the U.S.A. Third, you |
| keep you stuck at the airport; after a long day of | | | | observe how people abroad react to a movie made in |
| meetings with nothing to do in the evening except | | | | America, about Americans. Fourth, you get to see a |
| drinking at the bar; when you need to cheer up with a | | | | piece of your own culture shown in the context of a |
| good, "alcohol-free", comedy; when you need | | | | foreign country. And fifth, you have a safe adventure |
| inspiration from your favorite movie to face next | | | | that gives you perspectives, keeps you entertained |
| morning's meetings; when you miss your kids or | | | | and soothes your homesickness. |
| spouse and the movies you watch together, back | | | | Loneliness and homesickness on business trips are |
| home. | | | | inevitable. The best ways to face them is by being |
| 2. Watch international movies to learn about the | | | | prepared for such challenging moments and by |
| cultures you visit. If you travel internationally for | | | | knowing what to do when they come. |