Renae’s Story
I’m Renae, and I’m passionate about fostering connections between cultures.
When I was growing up in western Michigan, I lived in a fairly sheltered, homogenous community. I didn’t see different kinds of people around me. But when I was in high school, I somehow knew that I wanted to travel and learn about the world. I didn’t know why or how yet. I had traveled to Canada in the past, but was excited to go on a mission’s trip to Mexico when I was in high school. It was a great experience, I learned a lot, and practiced my Spanish. It left me wanting more, and with a sense that I had missed something. I didn’t know what I had missed, and I think a lot of people can relate to feeling like they wanted more from their travel.
In college, I had a suitemate from South Korea. She taught me her alphabet one night. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I also studied Spanish and loved singing loudly to Shakira’s Spanish language music in my dorm.
After college, I got a wild idea to work in South Korea teaching English to kids. That year was transformative for me. I had adventures in cross-cultural communication daily. Each weekend I got to explore Seoul and learn about its history and people. I made Korean friends. I studied Korean language and became the person that always placed the order at the restaurant for the friend group. I learned to love kimchi and ate Korean food every single day. This all seems positive, but there were hurtful and difficult experiences, too.
Coming home was shocking. I had to re-examine who I was after a deeply significant cultural experience. My values were shifting. This is also the time in my life that I started learning about models and theories around cultural values. They were extremely helpful for me as I continued to process my year abroad. One thing I was sure of….I knew what it was like to be a foreigner, and I wanted to help people who were foreigners in my own country.
This led me to my next step of cultural transformation, working with refugees. I quickly volunteered to help newly arrived refugees in my city. I tutored people in English. I even taught one young friend of mine from Burundi to drive, using my own vehicle. I learned about our country’s refugee resettlement process, and the stories of the people who were coming here. Unbeknownst to me, I was continuing my lessons on cross-cultural engagement in my home town. This is how I know you can learn about the world without traveling.
Many years later, I worked in refugee resettlement and learned even more about the global refugee situation. And again, I learned more about the world. I worked with coworkers and clients who were Sudanese, South Sudanese, Somali, Iraqi, Kurdish, Yazidi, Bhutanese, Karen, Karenni, and even more nationalities.
I am deeply grateful for all I learned from the refugees I worked with. They taught me how to modify my spoken English so I could be understood by people of varying English abilities. They taught me about geography and language norms around the world. They demonstrated resilience in the face of extreme struggle as they adjusted to life in the USA while living in poverty.
I know that there are so many ways we can engage with the world, no matter where we are. I’m deeply motivated to share what I’ve learned and help others to shift their perspective about the world. What does the world want to teach you?
After all my learning about cultures and experiencing cultures, my favorite model is the CQ model from the Cultural Intelligence Center. I have been trained and certified by the CIC to debrief CQ assessments and provide CQ workshops. How do you want to increase your CQ?
I am also a certified travel advisor. I have the expertise and access to help you book a trip that will get you the cultural engagement you need at a price that you are comfortable with. What is your dream location or culture to explore?
Click the link below to sent up a free consultation. Let’s find out where cultural intelligence can help you, and make a plan to increase your skills and improve your ability to connect to the people of the world.
