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Silke Irmscher talks about transitioning from Saxony to Java
On this episode Silke Irmscher, founder of Culturenergy, tells her story of how she left Germany and fell in love with Indonesia and, in fact, found love on the island of Java. Silke has been living in Indonesia for more than 15 years and together with her husband, Ri Yanto, she is raising two bilingual and bi-cultural children. They live in Yogyakarta, the cultural center of Java.
Silke’s No. 1 rule for intercultural relationships
“You need to be able to understand each other. Sounds overly simple, yes. However, it is immensely important that you can communicate in a common language and that both partners are able to express their deepest emotions.”
Equally relevant, if you want to make a mixed marriage work: to develop an understanding of each other’s cultures, behavioral preferences, and value systems. During our talk Silke shares how challenging it can be for Westerners to adjust the indirect communication style of Indonesia.
Connect with Silke and her work via LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Please make sure to also check out her website, where she provides valuable information on how to master life and work in Indonesia.
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