Anonymous Answer

When I worked overseas in Bermuda I had a manager who just didn't relate to me well, as an American working there. In the beginning, she gave me a really hard time about almost everything. I had to sit down and figure out what the disconnect was and how to bridge the gap between us. I asked a more experienced Bermudian co-worker, for advice and she explained to me the cultural differences and nuances that I was missing. This helped me to change my approach in small ways such as how I greeted her and how I worded things in emails. I became much more formal in my manner with her because Bermudians approach things in that manner. For instance instead of hello as a greeting they like good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. Instead of "uh-huh" in response to a question you would respond with yes and the person's name. So in a nutshell I had to learn and respect the customs and traditions of the person I was interacting with and adapt, which led to a higher level of professionalism and respect between us.