IT’S nice to know if you are the son or daughter of a diplomat. You will surely have the opportunity to learn many languages. When I was still in first grade, my parent was assigned as the ambassador of Spain to Tokyo. It was in Japan that I attended an international school. But international schools there follow the norms of the regular schools. They have uniforms for students which I found weird because I was forced to don on micro mini skirts like they do in schools run by nuns in the United States.

It was really an awkward experience but my classmates made me feel comfortable as they come from various places and just like me, they are also children of ambassadors. Thus, I was sort of in a cocoon in Tokyo buffered by the many foreign friends surrounding me. In Tokyo, I was able to befriend Filipinos, Chinese and Americans and my English skills are honed. In fact, I admit that I have not even learned any single dialect in Spain such as Catalan and Basque but I have already learned quite a number of Niponggo and English words during my entire six years here.

In high school, my father was assigned in the Philippines and they opt not to take me to an international school anymore. Instead, they want me to experience the hard knock life and I was forced to mingle myself with Filipinos in an all-girls high school, the Maryknoll College. At Maryknoll, I was able to befriend lots of Filipinas who were enchanted with my brunette yet exotic Spanish beauty. They patiently taught me Tagalog which is the national language over there. They also taught me a few regional dialects such as Cebuano and Maranao, two of the dialects that my classmates speak as a native tongue. I also learned to be religiously sensitive as one of my chums was a Muslim. And she is a very friendly person.

It was in learning these different cultures that I have learned a lot of things about life. And it did not end in high school. I am grateful forever to the Almighty for sharing to me the beauty of His creation and its diversities. In college, I was made to go to Quebec where my father was assigned there as a consul. In Quebec, I took up the degree in international relations but I must first pass two electives – English and French. Quebec is the part of Canada where French is spoken. Thus, I was able to even tour France in one summer as part of my internship.

In France, I stayed in Paris and my French speaking skills were even honed there thanks to a very gracious friend who has assisted me. Marie was also very forthcoming and it was there and then that I had decided that French were really not just intellectual people but very accommodating as well. I also tried French food which was equally yummy as the dishes that I had tried in the Philippines such as fish paste, chicken fetuses, roasted whole pork, rice cakes and everything else in between.