WISDOM OF CULTURES OR "MELTING POT"? WINE, CHEESE & WAGYU BEEF AT THE PORTUGUESE CONSULATE

For a while now I have trying to popularize the fact that the expression "melting pot" cannot and will not describe the complexity of Globalization. Not to mention that it can even feel offensive to suddenly be told that your culture is gonna melt in a pot if you live abroad. 

For example, would you like to be told, after moving to and living in California for a while, that you are not enough "acculturated"?!. That your culture of origin has not been sufficiently "melted" into the San Francisco Bay Area "pot"? And how would the 132 cultures of the Bay Area look like if their really were all melted in a single substance?What I envision is a mushy, grey and probably stinky goo, and this is definitely not my definition of cultural diversity and inclusion. 
 
Luckily, in reality cultures do not melt into an undifferentiated mass. Instead, they reveal their individual qualities and shine in a different way than in their country of origin. 
In fact, this is the essence of my everyday work: I help people and products be themselves while interacting optimally in unfamiliar cultures. 

The practical result of my work is that people do business, relate, and connect across cultures effortlessly and successfully. This results in a significant increase of products and services that are globally relevant. 

The best way to exemplify this is with a real story: the Portuguese Consulate in San Francisco hosted an event that reunited people from at least eight countries: Portugal, France, Brazil, Romania, China, India, Germany and of course, the U.S. 

And there is no better way of connecting cultures than through food and wine. The Portuguese Consulate evening featured:
- dry wines and Ports by Niepoort, a five generations independent family business created in 1842 in Portugal;
- cheeses imported from France and Spain;
- Wagyu ("Kobe") beef, raised responsibly in Montana. 

CLICK HERE FOR More about the Portuguese Consulate Event and other intercultural business stories.