Taller than any other country in the world on average, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is the country with the world’s oldest national anthem. It is noticeable that the Dutch are very smart and innovative people as they are credited for creating many influential inventions such as the submarine, the telescope, bluetooth and chocolate sprinkles! I recently had the privilege to travel to the Netherlands, specifically Amsterdam and The Hague. It was absolutely gorgeous and I had to keep reminding myself that I am below sea level which is mind boggling. In this interview, I got to speak with my friend Floor who I was especially excited to hear her perspective coming from a very small city since when most people think of the Netherlands, Amsterdam is the first city people think of. After thinking about her international friends and observations while traveling, Floor notices that a huge difference between European children and children in the United States, is the independence and responsibility that kids have in their respective societies.

Having grown up in San Diego, a city with around 1.4 million people, I was shocked when I discovered that the Republic of Montenegro had less than half of San Diego’s population. I was fascinated to learn that I myself am older than this country. After the fall of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992, two member states, the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro maintained their political status as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which later transformed into the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. Then, the Republic of Montenegro gained independence and seceded from their political union on June 3rd, 2006 which makes me older than Montenegro by 1 year, 2 months and 28 days to be exact. Considering the small population, I was excited to meet my new friend from Montenegro, Dunja. My friend Dunja continuously described how Montenegro is geographically blessed with an incredible coastline and majestic mountains that would be covered in snow during the winter season. She even explained how in some parts of the country, one can find themself surrounded by mountains while swimming in the ocean! However, despite having incredible nature and delicious food, Dunja is worried about how many young people do not foresee a future in Montenegro which is resulting in hundreds of Montenegrin citizens wanting to move abroad.

Geographically the largest landlocked country in the world, the Republic of Kazakhstan was the last country to sucede from the Soviet Union in 1991 by 4 days. Legend has it that Kazakhstan is the birthplace of apples, specifically from the largest city, Almaty which when translated into English, means city of apple trees. As someone who has always been fascinated by the Central Asian region, I was very excited to speak with Dameli about her country of Kazakhstan. She informed me about some incredible places to visit while in her country such as Kaindy Lake where trees can grow underwater! We also did touch upon conflict that is occurring in Kazakhstan. Specifically, the events that took place in January 2022, known as Bloody January. There were protests and riots in regards to gas prices and human rights violations and many casualties. Dameli later describes cooking to represent a love language in Kazakhstan as the people are very welcoming and hospitable. They put a lot of effort by making homemade dishes from scratch packed with flavor.