My husband and I enjoyed our summer vacation in the Maldives last month. We chose Bathala, an island in the Ari Atoll of the Maldives, which my husband had wanted to visit for many years. With a drop-off nearby and a carpet of white sand covering the entire island, you can go anywhere barefoot all day long.

I had a lot of experiences talking with people from different cultures. That was actually the goal for my English adventure.

First of all, at the hotel where we stayed before the flight to Bathala, I talked with four Indian staff about the Indian movie "RRR." One of them pointed out that India is a huge country full of mostly peaceful people, and assured me that Indian people aren't aggressive as portrayed in that movie. I was very happy to have such an interesting conversation.

Next, the first staff member we met on Bathala was a young lady from Switzerland. We chatted on the boat when she picked us up from the seaplane. A few days later, she praised my English which really encouraged me.

We stayed in a bungalow on the island for 7 nights and in the bungalow next to us there was a femail couple from Southern France. One of them was interested in my 15 trips to the Maldives, and the other was confident, intellectual, and cool.

I should mention that this island is very popular among Italians so most tourists are from Italy. The island is under contract with an Italian event company which provides three staff members to the island. Among them was a very talented young man that seemed to have a passion for entertaining tourists. Thanks to his support, I was able to mingle with the other guests and enjoy the events even though I couldn't speak Italian.

The highlight of my English adventure was getting to know a family from Germany. There was a friendly lady that always smiled and said hi. I told her she had a beautiful smile. She was with her husband and their granddaughter. I taught their granddaughter how to make an origami crane. Then she gave me small shells in fish-shaped origami that she made the next day. She also gave me a beautiful picture that she drew herself, and signed the back of it, how lovely! It was a heartwarming experience.

Long story short, This trip was absolutely magical!!

I had prepared some stuff to help me mingle with the other guests like some snacks and origami sets. They were very helpful, but I found that the most important thing was to greet people with a BIG SMILE on my face. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉[email protected] *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1