NETWORKING SESSION
Breaking Barriers: Navigating Language Challenges, Cultural Differences, & Regional Mannerisms
When you travel to a country where you don’t speak the language,
what’s your go-to strategy for making yourself understood? Whether
it’s mastering a few essential phrases, relying on translation apps,
using hand gestures, asking locals for help, or simply going with the
flow, every traveler develops their own way of navigating unfamiliar
situations. Add cultural differences and local customs to the mix,
including differences in clothing, dress codes, and what is considered
appropriate to wear. Even the simplest interaction can become an
interesting, and sometimes hilarious experience. This session brings
together well-traveled people to share the different ways they
communicate, adapt, and connect when words aren’t enough.
Rather than looking for one “right” way to travel, this is an
opportunity to swap stories, compare approaches, and learn from each
other. How do you handle ordering food when you can’t read the menu?
How do you know when a gesture, mannerism, or clothing choice means
something different than it does at home? How do you navigate local
dress expectations without feeling out of place? What have you learned
from getting it wrong? Through informal conversation and shared
experiences, we’ll explore the creative and practical ways travelers
break through language and cultural barriers, and hopefully leave with
a few new tricks to try on our next adventure.
BIO
Jenna Pava was born in Russia and moved to New York with her family at the age of six, setting the stage for a lifetime of crossing borders.
A chemistry teacher by profession and passion, Jenna loves the impact she makes in the classroom almost as much as she loves the freedom of escaping it during school breaks. In 2023, she traded New York for Bangkok, where she now chases sunsets on rooftops and flights to places people can’t pronounce.
Jenna is also the mom of a 9-year-old traveler who has been unwillingly collecting passport stamps since birth, and is still waiting for her mother to discover the joys of an all-inclusive resort.
Jenna has visited 191 of the world’s 193 UN countries and is determined to collect the final two. She’s always plotting the next adventure, chasing the next passport stamp, and looking for creative ways to squeeze one more unnecessarily complicated itinerary into a school break.