“You have such a beautiful smile.” 😊

I hear this often. I say thank you and sometimes I wonder if it’s partially because there were many moments when smiling felt like the only response I had, especially when language and cultural differences made it difficult for me to fully understand what was happening or know how to respond.
 
When I first arrived in the U.S. as an international student, I smiled often in moments of uncertainty. Smiling became a way to ease discomfort, soften awkwardness, and give myself time to observe before responding. As an international student, I learned (or had to learn) very quickly how to observe before speaking and how to adapt by watching how others interacted. In many spaces, staying quiet wasn’t disengagement. It was awareness. It was learning the room before entering the conversation.

In Korean culture, there is a concept called Nunchi👀, often described as “reading the room.” There is even a book titled The Power of Nunchi, and last summer I taught a course on this concept through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Years later, working in higher education, I see how often international students’ behaviors are misunderstood when viewed through only one cultural lens. Silence, hesitation, or careful observation are frequently misread as a lack of engagement when they are often culturally grounded ways of navigating unfamiliar academic and social environments.

Dr. Lemon Group is offering a workshop on Nunchi, not as a trick or technique, but as a practice of cultural humility: pausing assumptions, paying attention to context, and learning before judging. Through this work, educators are invited to learn how to view international students’ experiences through a cultural lens, recognizing how cultural norms shape behavior, communication, and participation.

🍋 [Free Workshop] Nunchi: Understanding Behavior Through Cultural Norms
📅 Friday, February 13 | 2 PM EST
🔗 RSVP: https://lnkd.in/g9sqsZft
📌 Website: drlemongroup.com

What behaviors do we tend to interpret quickly?
What cultural assumptions might be shaping those interpretations?
And what becomes possible when we approach international students with curiosity instead of certainty? 

Explore Nunchi—the Korean concept of social awareness—and examine how cultural norms shape communication, silence, and behavior in international contexts. Participants will gain a cultural lens for reexamining how international students’ behaviors are interpreted in cross-cultural contexts.

#Nunchi #InternationalStudents #CulturalHumility #HigherEdProfessionals #CrossCulturalLearning #GlobalEducation #DrLemonGroup