X is for...

Xenophile

I think of myself as a xenophile, a person who is attracted to that which is foreign, especially people, cultures and manners.

Now, the first thing to start with if you want to be a proper xenophile who will meet a lot of foreign people and experience the different cultures and manners is to learn a different language. The first language I learned was Dutch, which enables me to communicate with people from the Netherlands, Belgium, Northern France (yes, there are a few people still speaking Flemish there), South Africa, Surinam, Aruba, Curaçao, St Eustatius, Saba, Bonaire, St Maarten and even some older people in Indonesia. Later on I learned to speak German, English, French and a bit of Italian.

Speaking a different language doesn't mean a thing of course if you then don't use it. When I am in a country of which I do speak the language, I will use it. They know I am not from that country by my accent (Great Britain perhaps excluded) and will then help me if I get stuck, because I make the effort. I get to spend time with people I would otherwise never even have met and they show me where to go, how to do it. They give me little tips and tricks to do my job better, or just ideas for great days out for myself.

I've spent a week at an Italian friend's place, spending time with her family, eating the fantastic food her Mum prepared and even helping to make tortellini! I met her Nonna and Nonno (grandparents) and was invited to her wedding several years later. I have English friends where I have stayed. I've eaten their food and they have even asked me to become godmother to their lovely daughter A!

I lived in Yougoslavia (when it still was), Italy, France, Belgium and England and I want to move to Canada. I've met people through my work and through my blog and they all have a different story to tell. But in the end everyone's story is the same: everybody wants to be happy and healthy, no matter where they live. And whether they eat pickled cold cooked cauliflower or bangers and mash, whether they drink Palinka or Schnapps, whether they live in Paris or in Denver, they have stories which can be incredibly interesting!

For more X words from around the world, please check out ABC Wednesday and join in the fun!

PS: If you missed coming back to my blog for Christmas, here's the link for a variation on the well-known song: The Twelve Days of Christmas.