The staring business has started again. What I mean by that is the fact that as a foreigner you’re always stared at wherever you go, as if you’re a rare exotic creature from a zoo which has been let loose.

It’s kind of like a celebrity effect, without having the benefits of actually being rich and famous! And to be honest, having spent the summer in Europe, I didn’t miss at all the fact that no one’s staring at you there, trying to find out what you say, observe what you do, what you place into your shopping basket etc, (and commenting loudly on what they see without ever considering the possibility that I might understand what they say)! So, the staring business has begun again, and I have to brace myself for my life as a celebrated non-celebrity!