Diversity--I LOVE IT!!!

I love this office that I work at. There is so much diversity here it's great. We have people from all over working here: France (Florence-that's her name), India (Vasudha), Africa (Ekow), American (of course). It really shows that this planet truly is such a small world.

And just about everyone here is either retired or works another job. Several of them work another job. For example one is a firefighter. Did you know it could be cold while fighting a fire?? This was a shock to me. Until I was told this I never thought fighting a fire could be cold regardless of it being the middle of winter. Apparently Larry (the firefighter) had been fighting a fire in an attic that was started by a fireplace. The water they were spraying kept clinging to their jackets and freezing!!! Yikes. And can you imagine how hot those outfits would be in the middle of summer? This is something else I never thought about again until Larry mentioned it. I just thought a fire is hot regardless. I have more new found respect for firefighters who risk their lives running into burning buildings in 100 degree temperatures or who stand out in the freezing cold in the middle of winter attempting to put out fires even though it's very difficult with everything freezing.

The other day I was speaking with Vasudha (tax professional from India) and she was saying how hot the summers get there. I guess she's here for like 16 years or something, probably to raise her kids here. I didn't get a chance to talk with her much because she had a client come in wanting their taxes done. However she was saying that several people there-actually most people there-don't have air conditioners and just have fans. And they can only afford to cool one room of their houses! I know someone else who is currently in India and hearing about and reading about the accounts of things that go on over there certainly give you a better idea of the things we have here and just how much we actually take them forgranted.

Honestly I can't say how much I love diversity. I love learning about different cultures and finding out how they live and their different customs. I could easily make a career just out of studying various cultures. Recently I've been enjoying reading about China's culture and customs. I also like Spanish culture alot. Spanish language especially. I'm finding Japanese culture is a beautiful language as well as sometimes I research that for use in some of my stories. I really do like learning different languages and customs. I'll never get enough of that.