When Juhn-Jong Lin relocated from Taiwan to Indiana in 1981, he had few problems picking up the culture of his new laboratory — but social events were another thing entirely. Conversations often centred on pop-culture icons, sports events or political figures — most of which were unfamiliar to him. The patience and goodwill of his labmates made his time at Purdue University in West Lafayette pleasant and productive, but he also experienced some awkward moments, such as when he went to see a classical play with a colleague. “I could not understand it at all,” he says. He remembers that the actors had strong accents — and he struggled to follow the plot.

Credit: Miguel Navarro/Getty

Science is an international language, and the assumption behind that cliché is that life beyond the bench will fall into place no matter where the scientist is working. But just because a scientist is fluent in next-generation sequencing does not mean that he or she will know the cultural protocols. For example, interrupting a lab talk with questions is common practice in the United States; in Germany, it is considered rude. And when researchers feel uncomfortable interacting with their colleagues, they will have a hard time doing their best work.

The international nature of science means that many researchers find themselves in a culturally alien situation at some point in their career. People who plan to work or study overseas can take steps to acclimatize: they can learn beforehand about any introductory programmes that their new institution has set up, and make sure to participate once they arrive. Socializing informally, taking language lessons and creating support networks inside and outside the laboratory can help researchers to navigate unfamiliar, unspoken norms and ease into a foreign culture.

Spurred by growing numbers of young scientists who arrive from other nations as postdoctoral researchers or graduate students, institutions, investigators and administrators are increasingly aware that they need to put out cultural signposts for foreign nationals. Many now provide formal and informal ways to make guests feel more comfortable (see 'Culture class').

There are a range of things that hosts can do to create a better experience for their recruits, say several scientists who were once 'fish out of water' but now manage expatriates of their own. Labs can help to alleviate a feeling of isolation by sponsoring social events. And institutions can prevent some awkward moments by preparing foreign nationals for their host country's cultural norms. Universities that provide logistical support, such as banking or transportation, help new arrivals to weather that first rough week. Places that make a foreigner feel at home in their new country — not just in the lab — are likely to nurture the happiest scientists.

Cultural pioneer

The most empathetic managers may be those who once had to find their footing in an alien land themselves. Ritwick Sawarkar remembers when he moved from India to do a postdoc in Switzerland and has used the experience to shape how he runs his cell-biology lab at the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg, Germany. “I try to make sure that people speak English in my lab as much as possible,” says Sawarkar, who has trainees from the United States, Asia and Europe. He wants everyone to have a common language for work and off-work hours. “I've seen what it's like when everyone's speaking German around you. You feel a little bit left out.”

Neurobiologist Martin Giurfa can relate. When Giurfa moved from Argentina to Berlin in 1991 to pursue a postdoc, he found the relative solitude stifling. He was used to chatting and socializing with labmates and students, but that was not what he found in Berlin. “You spend the days isolated in a lab, not speaking to anyone,” he says. Six months of learning German — paid for by his fellowship — could not bridge the cultural differences. In his home country, colleagues consider one another to be close personal friends, even if they have just started to work together. The Berlin lab was not like that. “The people were not necessarily there to be friends with each other,” he says.

Lack of contact coupled with the pressure to produce results made for a miserable first year. It also did not help that Giurfa's fellowship stipend was pegged to the former East German economy, so his income was scanty as inflation set in after the Berlin Wall fell. But scrambling for cash may actually have salvaged his postdoc experience. He began playing guitar at local nightclubs, which helped with his isolation, his German, his cash flow — and his mindset.

He went on to publish papers, win grants, form collaborations and forge friendships. He is now working at France's basic-research agency (CNRS) in Toulouse. “I am extremely thankful,” he says. “Germany made me, in a way.”

Giurfa thinks that the transition would have been easier had he known what to expect of his new colleagues. Sawarkar agrees: the cell biologist found that his labmates in Switzerland did not respond positively to his natural effusiveness. “I am usually chatty,” he says. “I ask a lot of questions.” A friend finally pointed out that his enthusiasm was being interpreted as aggressiveness. Sawarkar took some comfort from learning that he was not alone. “A couple of my American friends told me they had the same experience.”

Ritwick Sawarkar (left) and members of his laboratory, who came to Germany from many countries. Credit: Monika Lachner

Such shared experiences between outsiders can do much to relieve culture shock and create a social network both inside and outside the lab. These 'safety nets' can then help an expatriate to avoid or deal with a faux pas.

That is what smoothed the transition for Ramesh Pillai from India to Switzerland. His adviser recommended that he stay in a student hostel, rather than rent an apartment for themselves. Pillai, who is now a group leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Grenoble, France, says that was some of the best advice he ever received.

Hostel residents help each other to learn the local language as well as where to shop, bank and do laundry. His only misstep was that he focused on learning French so that he could chat with a romantic interest at the hostel, rather than German, the language of informal conversation outside the lab.

Pillai's four-year residence at the hostel also created a social circle for him beyond the laboratory. People from many nationalities mingled in the kitchen nightly to exchange recipes, horror stories and advice, and there were parties almost every weekend. “It was a great atmosphere for anyone coming into a foreign country to meet up with people in similar situations,” Pillai says. He tries to create a similar convivial atmosphere in his lab.

Building cohesion

Creating a sense of belonging for lab members leads to greater cohesion and a more effective laboratory. Giurfa has found that young scientists from some countries tend to be overly formal and deferential. “I want them challenging my views,” he says. “This positive confrontation could enrich our work more than just agreement.” Once lab members feel comfortable with each other, they can communicate more freely. “People are more engaged and productive.”

Giurfa also tries to recreate the friendly atmosphere of his native country in his lab team by taking students to vineyards, the Pyrenees and local chateaux. And food provides one of the best ice-breakers for his lab staff: he holds periodic potluck parties, in which lab members bring a dish from their home country and explain why and when it would be served in their culture. In this way, cultural differences form the basis of a shared activity.

Lin remembers how pleased he was when labmates in the US Midwest made the effort to invite him out for drinks. Now a physicist at National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, he tries to create a hospitable environment for visiting scientists. He says that the world has become more global since his days in the United States: most US and European visitors have already mastered chopsticks and know their way around all manner of Asian cuisine. Many have made an effort to read a bit about Taiwanese politics and culture, or at least read a few articles on Wikipedia. And if conversation stalls, he is ready with his own supply of stories of being a young scientist in an unfamiliar country.