We internationals have something in common, or at least this is what I think. No matter where is our home country when we are on foreign land we connect and we feel friends. Anyone who goes abroad and hears someone talking English will rejoyce and feel like the other person is an old friend.
I appreciated and felt so honored when our Professor of statistics invited us to his home at the end of semester to celebrate one more "end" of class. I don't know how my other colleagues felt but I felt so special :-)
Our Mrs. Karoleen each Thanksgiving had at her house an international Thanksgiving celebration where all of us brought traditional dishes and enjoyed the company. It was so special!
This end of semester I thought it would be a special gift to "give back" and invite my two international students from India for a dinner.
I am not too familiar with Indian food and had to learn already a lot. I knew that beef is a No-No. I know now that instead of mashed potato, better fried potato :-) but the Hungarian chiken was good. Cake is not something usual, but we have in common the rice puding.
We have also similar experiences related to communication in a foreign language, couple of common interests, and school experiences.
I find it interesting to learn about new places. I always dreamed about traveling around the world and seeing new places. But perhaps this will be another dream ...
I like the easiness of talking with other internationals, we understand each other's feelings, experiences, pains, and hopes.
Yesterday I was encouraging another friend, new teacher, who is broken hearted that her students gave her bad evaluations. I got bad evaluations also, my courses were not easy, were much harder than students expected, too much work, and some were upset that I do have an accent and only "English as a first language should teach at college level."
It did hurt me, a lot, but then I thought wherever I go I will never belong to the majority, or I will not be accepted. Then I have to live with it, or be heart broken. I choose to live with it and do my best of it.
In Romania I am considered a Hungarian and told to go to my people. In Hungary I am considered from Romania and told to go to my country. No matter in what other country in this world I go I will not be among the natives of that country. Attila is my ancestor, huns liked to travel and had their country in the hoofs of their horses.
Wherever I go my home is where I settle down and feel home.