Blog, Book Reviews, Articles & More
Trapped in Time
Have you ever listened—really listened—to the stories your mother tells about you? They can seem to trap you in time. Like the story…
The Glass Ceiling of the Heart
There is a different glass ceiling that can prove hard to crack—the one that separates your head from your heart…
The Wood Chipper of Love
I’ve always gotten a chuckle at the term “falling in love,” as if love were an accident, like falling out of a tree. Instead of risking a broken arm, falling in love risked a broken heart. ..
A Questionable Business
Have you ever noticed how asking a question moves you forward, toward more questions, more depth, and a wider range of possibilities? Having an answer narrows your options
Artsy Smartsy
I have a friend whom I turn to when I need insight into the burning questions of my life. She’s great at all things intuitive, though not in a Tarot-card reading sort of way…
Filet of Soul
Borscht isn’t what springs to mind when you think of soul food, but borscht was on the table the first time someone sliced right through his heart and offered up a sliver of soul for me to savor…
About Kristine
Kristine Madera is an Amazon #1 bestselling author who writes fiction and nonfiction shaped by travel, culture, and lived cross-cultural experience.
Inspired while volunteering at Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying in Calcutta, her novel God in Drag examines what happens when spiritual faith fractures in the sacred city of Varanasi. Read the first chapter of God in Drag HERE
She birthed her upcoming novel, The Snakeman’s Wife, as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Papua New Guinea.
Be on the lookout for her Etiquette Express Guides, a series of short, practical travel guides that help readers understand the customs, social expectations, and everyday dos and don’ts that make travel smoother and more connected.
Her travels have taken her across India, Asia, Europe, Australia, and Papua New Guinea as both a backpacker and Peace Corps Volunteer. A portion of her book proceeds supports cross-cultural education scholarships.
You don’t need to “master” a culture to move through it well.
You just need a few steady skills:
- How to stay curious,
- How to adjust without performing
- How to recover gracefully when you miss a cue—because we all do.
This free PDF guide gives you 12 simple, human skills you can use anywhere: whether traveling abroad, navigating a new city, joining a host family, starting a new job, or even re-entering your own life after a trip.