I consider myself very lucky to live near Washington DC, because I live in such a diverse area. I have met people from all kinds of different countries in South and Central America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

I was first introduced to people from other cultures when I was a child. My mother was the manager of a restaurant and I worked in the kitchen making toast for the wait staff on weekends. The owners were Greek, the hostess was from Ethiopia, the cooks were from Morocco, the waiters were from many places, but mostly from Afghanistan, and many other people in kitchen were from Central America. Also, my family had many close family friends growing up who were Greek. I was intrigued and interested in different cultures from a very early age.

When I was single, I dated many guys from different countries for many years at a time. I dated guys from Afghanistan, Morocco, Chile, and Jordan. I finally married a wonderful man from Tunisia and that was definitly worth it. My sister married a guy from Thailand and my other sister married a guy from Bolivia. We are truly an international family.

As for my job, I studied English Linguistics in college and became an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher. I have students from so many different countries, and I learn a lot about their cultures every year that I teach. Just when I think I know a lot about a particular group, I learn something new. It is fascinating how diverse and different people can be from one country to the next. It is also amazing how much culture influences who we are and how we think.

I teach three classes. I have one class in which there are 14 students. Of those 14 students, 10 countries are represented. Currently, I have students from the following countries: Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Peru, Boliva, Colombia, Ethiopia, Eritra, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Thailand. I have also taught students from Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Egypt, Morocco, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador and Guatemala. Whew!There are probably a few countries that I left out.

Anyway, knowing about other cultures is definitely worth it. Keep an open mind and try not to judge, because some things you will learn may seem completely different from Western ideas of what correct and normal. However, that is what is fun about learning about different cultures and cherishing our differences. I doubt you will regret it if you keep an open mind.