The upside down world (They see things differently in Australia)
Give yourself a few seconds to look at the picture below. Is it a map of the Great Lakes? Is it Tolkien's Middle Earth? Nope. In fact, it's a map of the world from Australia's perspective! It's an upside-down world. However, if you were looking at the Earth from outer space, it would more than likely look more like this picture than our usual map, with the United States right in the middle, and everything revolving around it. This is just one way to think of your world. This is a good way to see that not everyone has the same view of the world that you do.
But this is just the problem of perception based on maps. What about language, culture, politics, religion, and business? Each and every one of us has a predetermined worldview that we have "inherited" from our culture, our family, and our economic class or regional affiliation. If you grew up in the Southern part of the United States, you very likely have a differing view of many aspects of culture compared to, say, someone who grew up in Detroit, Michigan or Honolulu, Hawaii. And the further out you go in concentric circles culturally, the greater the distance in worldview similarity. From the USA to Mexico is a short trip culturally because there are some similarities of heritage, background and language, compared to going from the USA to China. In this scenario there is no common heritage, history, language or culture. The differences are so vast as to be almost insurmountable in their complexities.
Having a clear understanding of your own worldview and the potential worldviews you may come in contact with can help you negotiate yourself through the great complex maze of differing ideas and ways of doing things, both abroad and even right there in your own neighborhood.
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