ICYMI: Today's episode is a great one as we catch up with Dr. Mary Meares, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama. Have you ever traveled outside of the country, especially to a place where your native language wasn't being spoken? How did it make you feel? Were you challenged by the experience in a good one or did you find yourself looking for something familiar? In addition to having lived and worked abroad, her research dives into the effects of culture. When you think about how we learn what the world is and how we learn about other people, that learning comes from so many different places--personal experiences, what you might learn in the classroom and even from the media. Mary's research looks at all of these things as a mechanism of understanding intercultural competence and ways it can be taught to others. Fun fact: she is reading a book--Gullah Geechee--Lessons from the Matriach--by Emily Meggett from Edisto Island and that's where Mary's ancestors are from! This is such a fun conversation and it really is going to push you to think about how we learn about others the next time you travel. Don't miss it!