In the end, we all fruit!

Anyone who's seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding will remember this line at the end of the movie, where the obsessively Greek dad finally accepts that people are similar (and acceptable) irrespective of where they come from. Over the past four months, I only find myself agreeing with him.

As an exchange student, I've spent my fair share of time discussing cultural differences, having a million conversations that begin with "So how do you say this in (insert language)..?" But once you get past all of that, once you start discussing childhoods, families and lives, you start connecting with people. I'm the last one to seek friends exactly like me; however, we all love our parents, our hometowns, our siblings. All of us have an idea of where we want to go and none of how to get there. Our hopes and dreams may differ in details; but when I start talking about them, I can see that the eyes of my friends light up too. I grew up in Pune, but with the same family values as Stefania. I may be an engineer, but I have political views I can discuss with Therese. Cultural differences start conversations; it is the food, drink, Disney movies, boys, music, philosophy and embarrassing stories that sustain friendships.

I love the differences between our countries! And at the same time, I celebrate the similarities. It's a mix of the two that makes study nights very unproductive because of the long talks. I don't care though. It's totally worth it! This is what exchange is about :)