I have recently joined a consulting firm, (thanks to a few tips from this forum:-)).This is my first experience working in a country outside my own and I am finding it difficult to build relationships in the office. Consequently, the lack of relationship building may have resulted in less work or assignment to projects. Given that I have very few projects to work with , I am concerned about how I can prove myself and win work internally. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to turn the situation around?

This is arguably the hardest part of consulting especially if you are new with no relationships.Offer to help wherever you can. Offer to help with bids. Also project managers like extra bodies to help out if they are not charged to the project. Offer to do some of their legwork, tedious tasks. Hopefully that will lead to stronger relationships and a proper project.

The advice by 'ed' is good. It might be worth explaining your predicament to someone more senior so that they can look out for you and get you more involved in projects - probably a mentor. It helped me a bit when I did it.Growing up in one culture and working in another is a very difficult experience. Normal office jokes may not make sense to you and yours may not make sense to others. Make no mistakes about it, it is nobody's fault - just a natural difference in cultural/social background and would happen to anybody outside his/her natural domain.But whatever you do, do not take the back sit. Get noticed by all means reasonable!

You should be honest with yourself. Consulting firms these days are very diverse places with lots of people of all kinds of nationalities and backgrounds. So the reason for feeling excluded may not be in your upbringing but in your personality. If you are a 'strong and silent' type you will be left behind by outgoing and chatty individuals, regardless of how much you’ve got to offer.