Why This Course Exists

Several years ago, a friend in Japan told me he was looking for an improv class designed for people like him—people living between cultures, navigating uncertainty, and trying to build meaningful connections in new and unfamiliar environments.

Neither of us could find one.

The more we talked, the more I realized I had been searching for the same thing myself.

After spending more than two decades living in Japan—and many years before that living outside California in places like New Orleans and New York—I came to understand that some of the most important skills for life between cultures are rarely taught.

How do you stay present when you feel out of place?

How do you build relationships when the rules are unclear?

How do you create belonging when you don’t fully feel at home anywhere?

These are the questions that inspired this workshop.

In many ways, Unscripted Abroad brings together the themes that have shaped my life: education, improvisation, intercultural experience, and community.

It is the course I most wish had existed when I first moved abroad.

WHO IS TEACHING THIS COURSE?

Vince Ricci is an educator, college counselor, and improviser who recently returned to California after more than twenty years living and working in Japan.

Vince currently teaches through Stanford Continuing Studies and has worked in higher education, international schools, university admissions, and intercultural communication. He has studied improvisation for many years and is particularly interested in how improv skills can help people navigate uncertainty, build relationships, and communicate more effectively in everyday life.

Unscripted Abroad combines the experiences that have shaped his career and his life: education, improvisation, and living between cultures.

The Five-Week Journey

Each week, we'll explore a different aspect of life between cultures through applied improvisation.

Drawing on Patricia Ryan Madson's Five A's—Attention, Acceptance, Appreciation, Action, and Abundance—we'll use experiential exercises, guided reflection, partner conversations, and group discussion to develop practical skills for navigating uncertainty, building relationships across differences, and creating a stronger sense of belonging wherever life takes you.

Week 1 — Attention

Noticing What Is Actually Happening

How often do we react to our assumptions rather than reality?

We'll explore how culture shapes what we notice and practice paying attention to what is actually happening instead of the stories we automatically tell ourselves.

Week 2 — Acceptance

Working With Uncertainty

Living between cultures often means living without clear answers.

We’ll practice responding to ambiguity with greater flexibility, curiosity, and ease.

Week 3 — Appreciation

Finding What's Already Working

When we're navigating unfamiliar cultures or uncertain situations, it's easy to focus on what's missing or difficult. Appreciation shifts our attention to what's already present.

We'll practice noticing strengths, opportunities, and moments of connection that often go unnoticed—and discover how appreciation changes what becomes possible.

Week 4 — Action

Taking the Next Small Step

Confidence doesn't usually come before action—it grows because of it.

We'll explore how small, intentional actions help us move through uncertainty, strengthen relationships, and build a life between cultures.

Week 5 — Abundance

Creating Belonging

Belonging is not something we simply find.

It is something we help create.

In our final session, we'll explore how generosity, contribution, and community help us create a sense of belonging—for ourselves and for others—wherever we are.

Who is this for?

This workshop is designed for people whose lives extend beyond a single culture.

You might be:

• An expatriate or repatriate

• A third-culture adult

• An international educator or student

• A globally mobile professional

• Someone in a multicultural family

• Someone who simply feels drawn to life between cultures

No improv experience is required.

The only requirement is curiosity.

What You’ll Leave With

• Greater comfort with uncertainty

• New ways to connect across cultural differences

• Practical tools for navigating unfamiliar situations

• A community of people who understand the experience of living between cultures

• More confidence creating belonging wherever you are

You may not leave with all the answers.

But you will leave with new perspectives, new connections, and new ways of approaching life between cultures.

Why people join

People come to Unscripted Abroad for many different reasons.

Some are preparing to move abroad.

Some have recently returned home and are struggling with reverse culture shock.

Some work across cultures every day and want to communicate more effectively.

Some are looking for community and connection with people who understand the experience of living between worlds.

Others simply want a space to reflect, learn, laugh, and explore questions that don’t always have easy answers.

Wherever you are in your journey, you’ll be joining a group of curious people who are navigating many of the same challenges—and discovering many of the same opportunities.

You don’t need to have traveled the world.

You don’t need to identify as an expatriate.

You don’t need to have everything figured out.

You simply need a willingness to show up, participate, and explore.

SOME reflections from past participants

"I finally stopped trying to get it right and started showing up as myself. That shift changed how I talk to people."
- Keiko, Tokyo