Pre departure language and cross-cultural training can reduce the uncertainty that expatriates feel,the misunderstandings that take place between expatriates and natives,and the inappropriate behaviors that expatriates unknowingly commit when they travel to a foreign country. Indeed,simple things like using a phone ,locating a public toilet,asking for directions,finding out how much things cost,exchanging greetings,or understanding what people want can become tremendously complex when expatriates don’t know a foreign language or a country’s customs and cultures. In his book Blunders in International Business , David Ricks tells the story of an American manager working in the South Pacific who,by hiring too many local workers form one native group,unknowingly upset the balance of power in the island’s traditional status system.The islanders met on their own and quickly worked out a solution to the problem.After concluding their meeting at 3 A.M., they calmly went to the manager’s home to discuss their solution with him (time was not important in their culture).But since the American didn’t speak their language and didn’t understand why they had shown up en masse outside his home at 3 A.M, he called in the Marines,who were stationed nearby,to disperse what he thought was a riot.