I'm a foreigner, too. But...

My wee one came up to me and said "Mummy, I don't like people from other countires". It was a surprise because she plays with a girl next-door, who is obviously from outside this country. AND I, her own mother, am from another country, you know.

Asked the reason. She told me, "Because they don't speak English. You are OK, Mummy. You speak English". I see. She seems very uncomfortable with people who are showing her the clear sign of "I don't care (or I'm happy) that you can't understand what I'm saying". The mother of the little girl next door extremely seldom speaks English in front of her daughter and my wee one. No wonder my girl felt uncomfortable. And we very often hear groups of people speaking in foreign languages when we walk home from school. Good for her to tell me how she felt.

I don't feel comfortable, either, when surrounded by a bunch of people talking in foreign language in loud voices. I'm not against people who use non-official languages of this country. But they sometimes sound as if they were bitching about the people near by who don't understand the language. Goodness knows what they are talking about.

This evening, there were several foreigners talking loudly in the next-door's back garden. I was having a bath, hoping to relax a bit. No, I couldn't relax at all because their voices were so loud and they didn't sound a language after 5 minutes. They were just pure noise to my ear. Of course locals speak outside but they don't do it in such a loud voice.

I wish I could think of something to make them feel uncomfortable for a change...