The pressure to have a boyfriend in those days was not as intense as it is now. I went out with several attractive and fun friends of mine but I never considered myself dedicated to one person. While I treated each one of them as special and felt varying degrees of emotional connections, none of them truly swept me off my feet or won my heart. I did not care much for it, though, because I was always optimistic about the future and believed that my life then was only a transitory phase before I moved to a bigger and better world.

Our family was more international than most others in the area. My parents were regularly bringing goodies from their overseas trips and my parents spoke a bit of Italian and French, mostly picked up during their trips to Europe and hanging out at fashion shows in Milan and Paris. We often watched foreign movies and videos related to fashion and style. To maintain her connections with the rest of the world, my mother was active in local international activities sponsored by the town hall. The local schools often invited her to give an account to students about countries she had visited. 

She was also the hostess for all area activities related to welcoming foreigners into our community. When foreign delegations wanted to visit the countryside, the Government often contacted out town hall and my parents were asked to join the delegation for a meal or we often took these people for a visit to a local farm, show them the animals, and give them packets of the local butter and cheese. Since I often participated in many of these events, I was very comfortable being with foreigners and it also enhanced my sense of pride in American culture. 

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