“As I live in a pretty small town, I haven't had the opportunity to meet many people from different countries or cultures, but I've had the pleasure of getting to know James, an English teacher from the UK.  James hails from London, and moved here about 2 years ago to work as an English tutor in one of the local high schools. I guess he’s in his mid-twenties, and being one of the few foreigners here, has become a kind of local celebrity.  The first time I met James was at an English corner, which was held at one of the local coffee shops in town. I saw it advertised, and decided to go along, as I really needed to brush up on my English speaking skills. I remember, I was the first to arrive, and introduced myself to James, and was immediately taken aback when he started to introduce himself in the local dialect!  We got chatting, and hit it off from the start, getting along like a house on fire. Not only did it turn out that we were both football fanatics, but also shared the same taste in music.  We have since become the best of mates, and hang out at least once or twice a week. I really love chatting to him, and getting to learn all about English culture, as well as sharing different aspects of my own culture with him. I have great respect for James, as he has really made an effort to immerse himself into the local culture here. On top of that, getting to know him has been a real eye opener, and helped to dispel any negative cultural stereotypes.”