There’s nothing wrong with you. You just haven’t learned the right cultural skills yet.
Deep cultural orientation for skilled immigrants in the USA looking for a stronger community and American friendships.
You worked hard to get here.
You earned your degree.
You secured the job.
You navigated all the logistics.
You figured out the immigration process.
You’ve worked very hard at trying to build friendships with Americans and connecting to your community. You know that it’s an important part of living in the USA.
But not working. You’re still lonely, depressed, and disconnected. You’re struggling to adapt to the local environment.
You may have tried…
Networking events
Bar crawls
Gym conversations
Being “more outgoing”
Putting yourself out there repeatedly, just like everyone tells you
and still feel disconnected, lonely, or confused. And you really want to make friends. You want to step outside your comfort zone with friendships.
You need to know that there’s nothing wrong with you.
You don’t need more effort.
You need cultural understanding.
At Beyond Tourism, we help you build the cultural skills you need, so you can be confident making friends.
How I Struggled While Living Abroad And What It Means For You
Hi, I’m Renae. I love nothing more than talking about, thinking about, and teaching about culture.
In my twenties, I lived in South Korea for a year teaching English to children. While many fellow teachers stayed within the Western circles, I tried to push myself to learn the Korean language, build friendships with locals, and connect with my Korean colleagues. It didn’t always work. There were plenty of awkward misunderstandings, but every attempt provided me with a lesson.
When I returned to the U.S., I struggled to put my experience into words, until I read a book by Geert Hofstede, an early researcher of cultural values. For the first time, I could name the invisible forces that had shaped my experiences abroad. I realized how understanding myself culturally could have helped me show up more aware, more empathetic, and more prepared.
Many years later, and thousands of cross-cultural experiences later, that realization became my calling. I founded Beyond Tourism. I have worked with American expats abroad, but my new focus is skilled immigrants in the USA. Because when I lived in South Korea, I experience the struggle of being a foreigner. Coming back to the USA, I knew I wanted to help people feel welcome in my own country. I’ve worked with refugees and immigrants for many, many years. Helping immigrants feel welcome in the USA is a deep passion I have. This country is what it is because of immigrants, including my own ancestors, who immigrated here in the early 1900s.
You can read more of my story here, including about my passion for music from around the world. I am certified by the Cultural Intelligence Center .
Me in Seoul in 2005.
That Lonely Planet guide got a lot of use.
Introducing my Cultural Orientation and Skills package. It’s 75 minute sessions, designed to boost your social skills in the USA, to help you meet whatever goals you have while you’re here. This is about improving skills and helping you understand what it means to adapt, not assimilate.
Session 1 – Your Cultural Story + Expectation Gap
Tell me about your immigration story, what you expected vs. reality, where you feel friction socially, identify key stress points. Ask the questions you don’t dare ask any other American. Ask about the mysteries that have always confused you. We’ll discover your unique situation and your unique needs. We’ll explore your interests so I can start building your Community Launch Plan. I’ll explain the program in-depth and answer your questions.
Session 2 – Your Cultural Lens
We’ll explore your home culture’s values and how they influence your expectations of friendship and belonging through a Cultural Intelligence assessment (included in the cost of the program). Explore cultural values in-depth and what Americans believe. Learn practical strategies for reading social signals, pacing friendships, and adapting behavior without losing yourself.
Session 3 – Cultural Skills in Action
Explore the 4 skill of cultural intelligence (motivation, knowledge, strategy and action). Learn how to leverage cultural intelligence for adapting in unfamiliar situations. Building upon your previous sessions, we’ll start to explore how cultural intelligence can help you build friendships.
Session 4 – Your Community Launch Plan
You’ll receive a personalized Community Launch Plan, where I outline resources in your city, highlighting aligned spaces, organizations, and entry strategies, so you know exactly where to start to build connections. All of this vetted by me to make sure you are going into spaces that make sense for you. We’ll wrap up with any final taboo questions you have, and any feedback you might have to help me make this service better for other immigrants.
What is the Community Launch Plan?
This is a very special service I provide my customers. I will dive deep into your American city to look for organizations, hobbies and places that will be interesting to you. I will vet them to make sure you will be welcome. In the plan, I will provide specific days, times, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and any other specific details that will help you immediately plug into your community.
In our first session, we will discuss your interests, hobbies, and what you have to give. Do you love bowling? Cricket? Book clubs? Fishing? Board games? I will look for it, and let you know what I find. Throughout our time together, I will be building your launch plan.
Yes, I am interested in improving my cultural skills. I know that life will be so much more enjoyable in the USA if I can learn to enjoy the community.
1️⃣ Email Renae with questions at renae@goingbeyondtourism.com. You can request a free consultation to get all your questions answered first.
2️⃣If you choose to proceed, we’ll set up the four sessions, which will take place via Google Meet.
3️⃣ At that point, you’ll pay for the program.
How much does this cost?
Right now, because this is an introductory program, you will only pay $250 for all four sessions. Prices will go up, and Renae only works with two customers per month.
If you are interested, reach out today.
If the training doesn’t meet your expectations, we’ll meet again one more time for free to make sure you are satisfied, or give you your money back.
Questions? Email Renae at renae@goingbeyondtourism.com
I’m deeply passionate about helping immigrants in the USA succeed. We need your skills and your perspective to thrive. Corporate America knows this, and so do I. Even with the anti-immigrant sentiment these days, the smart people know that immigration should and must continue for the benefit of the USA.
Schedule a free discovery call today.
What is the assessment like?
The assessment measures two key areas. First, it identifies your cultural values, for example, where you fall on dimensions like individualism versus collectivism. Second, it measures the four dimensions of cultural intelligence (CQ): CQ Drive (motivation), CQ Knowledge (understanding), CQ Strategy (planning and awareness), and CQ Action (behavioral adaptability). Together, these four dimensions reflect your overall cultural intelligence, which can grow with practice and strongly predicts your intercultural effectiveness.
See the power of the assessment to understand your cultural perspective. Download a free sample report here.
Can you work with a group?
Yes, I can work with a group. Reach out to talk to me about how we can alter the sessions a little bit to address your group needs.
What is Cultural Intelligence?
Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is what helps you thrive in today’s multicultural world. It’s the ability to relate and work effectively across cultures. It’s a skill that transforms how you travel, work, and connect.
Beyond Tourism uses the Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Model to assess your current abilities and cultural preferences, then helps you learn how to identify and adapt to cultural differences with confidence.
The CQ model is based on decades of research on intelligence and cultural exchange. Soon Ang and Lynn Van Dyne are the researchers that led this unique line of inquiry and developed the model. Follow this link to explore the research basis for the CQ model in more depth.
Your investment: just $250 to help you build the skills you need to build relationships in the USA.
It gives you an edge in your career, education, and life, wherever you land in the USA.
The skills to adapt our minds to be more culturally aware must be accessible to all people.
Who Is This For?
This training is for you if you are a skilled immigrant (or even international student) living in the USA, or will soon be moving to the USA.
It’s for skilled immigrants in the USA who want to build strong, deep friendships with Americans, and maybe have struggled with that in the past, and don’t know what to do.
It’s for professionals who feel successful in their work, but are struggling socially.
It’s for people who have felt confused or awkward while interacting with Americans, unsure of how to respond.
It’s for immigrants who are tired of putting themselves out there for so long with no real friends to speak of.
If you’re looking for structured skill building and orientation and a comfortable place to ask your taboo questions, it’s time to book the Cultural Orientation and Skills package.
What this is not…
This is not immigration advice.
This is not job or internship coaching (though it certainly could help in jobs and internships).
This is not mental health support, though if I think you need that, I will recommend it.
This is not generic networking advice.
This is targeted cultural skill building to help you connect with real friends and your local American community.
Final Message From Renae
You can belong here. This is a country of immigrants.
You do not need to change who you are. Immigrant identities are complex as it is.
You do not need to assimilate. Don’t let go of your beautiful culture.
You just need someone willing to explain the things that no one else does about living in the USA.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start understanding, this is your starting point.
Renae Ninneman
Founder of Beyond Tourism
renae@goingbeyondtourism.com
Our Story
In the Beyond Tourism logo, you’ll see a paper crane, a symbol of peace and hope inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki.
Sadako Sasaki was a young girl in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb fell. Like many others, she later developed what became known as ‘A-bomb disease.’ While in hospital, a friend told her that if she folded 1,000 paper cranes, she would be granted a wish. Sadako folded more than 1,000 before she passed away.
In 2017, I had the opportunity to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Children’s Peace Monument, which was built in Sadako’s honor in the 1950s. Seeing thousands of cranes from around the world left a lasting impression on me.
At Beyond Tourism, we believe that genuine connection across cultures has the power to change the world. It isn’t always easy, it’s far more comfortable to stay within our own cultural bubbles, but real growth happens when we step beyond them. The riches of the world are its people.
