--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Splendid to arrive alone in a foreign…" description: "\"Splendid to arrive alone in a foreign country and feel the assault of difference. Here they are all along, busy with living; they don't talk or look li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/frances-mayes-7779_assault_splendid-to-arrive-alone-in-a-foreign-co_850834.png" --- # Splendid to arrive alone in a foreign country and feel the… ![“Splendid to arrive alone in a foreign country and feel the assault of difference. Here they are all along, busy with living; they don't talk or look like me. The rhythm of their day is entirely different; I am foreign.” quote by Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/frances-mayes-7779_assault_splendid-to-arrive-alone-in-a-foreign-co_850834.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/frances-mayes-7779_assault_splendid-to-arrive-alone-in-a-foreign-co_850834.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/frances-mayes-7779_assault_splendid-to-arrive-alone-in-a-foreign-co_850834.png) > “Splendid to arrive alone in a foreign country and feel the assault of difference. Here they are all along, busy with living; they don't talk or look like me. The rhythm of their day is entirely different; I am foreign.” [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling isolated in a foreign place highlights cultural differences and personal alienation. **In simple terms:** Being abroad can feel lonely and strange. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity, seek connection. Themes culture alienation identity adaptation Mood reflective melancholy Type personal essay observational When to use this quote - travel - study abroad - expat life - language immersion Key Concepts exile otherness social observation Questions to Reflect On - How do you bridge cultural gaps? - What comforts ease foreignness? A Different Perspective Cultural immersion can be overwhelming without support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrive Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrive-foreign-748714/) [Assault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assault/) [Busy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-foreign-748715/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign/) [Foreign country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-country/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythm/) [Splendid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splendid/) ## Related quotes > [One certainty when you travel is the moment you arrive in a foreign country, the American dollar will fall like a stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/one-certainty-when-you-travel-is-the-moment-you-arrive-in-a-foreign/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [My ideal vacation isn't about complex maneuvers. I want to arrive somewhere foreign where I don't speak the language, go hiking, then plop down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosecrans-baldwin/my-ideal-vacation-isn-t-about-complex-maneuvers-i-want-to-arrive/) [Rosecrans Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosecrans-baldwin/) > [The interference of a foreign country in our elections is an assault on the government of the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/the-interference-of-a-foreign-country-in-our-elections-is-an-assault/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/the-first-condition-of-understanding-a-foreign-country-is-to-smell-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [A foreign country can best be understood through its literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/a-foreign-country-can-best-be-understood-through-its-literature/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [All of life is a foreign country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/all-of-life-is-a-foreign-country/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Since coming back from overseas, this is more of a foreign country than the places overseas. I don't understand it. It's like America has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mattis/since-coming-back-from-overseas-this-is-more-of-a-foreign-country/) [Jim Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mattis/) > [Both my parents moved here from Argentina before I was born, so they were in a foreign country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-morrone/both-my-parents-moved-here-from-argentina-before-i-was-born-so-they/) [Camila Morrone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-morrone/) > [The South is like a foreign country to me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lagravenese/the-south-is-like-a-foreign-country-to-me/) [Richard LaGravenese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lagravenese/) > [Where in the Constitution does it say that because we don't like a foreign country's leader, we should go in and topple the dictator?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-johnson/where-in-the-constitution-does-it-say-that-because-we-don-t-like-a/) [Gary Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-johnson/) > [I don't mind being by myself, even in a foreign country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-koepka/i-don-t-mind-being-by-myself-even-in-a-foreign-country/) [Brooks Koepka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-koepka/) > [The reality is, is that the military is full of native nomenclature. That's what we would call it. You've got Black Hawk helicopters, Apache…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/the-reality-is-is-that-the-military-is-full-of-native-nomenclature/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [It was very liberating, living in a foreign country, a place where everything was new and strange - the food, the customs, the climate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-moggach/it-was-very-liberating-living-in-a-foreign-country-a-place-where/) [Deborah Moggach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-moggach/) > [Being in a foreign country means walking a tightrope high above the ground without the net afforded a person by the country where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/being-in-a-foreign-country-means-walking-a-tightrope-high-above-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [There are not a lot of German players out there who are successful in a foreign country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-mertesacker/there-are-not-a-lot-of-german-players-out-there-who-are-successful-in/) [Per Mertesacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-mertesacker/) ## More by Frances Mayes > [If you've got a plot the size of a car or a tiny yard in Italy, you're going to be growing tomatoes and basil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/if-you-ve-got-a-plot-the-size-of-a-car-or-a-tiny-yard-in-italy-you-re/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [“Always, I liked the infinitive 'to go.' Let's go, let's go. let's really go. 'Andare' was the first verb I learned to conjugate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/always-i-liked-the-infinitive-to-go-let-s-go-let-s-go-let-s-really-go/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [ “\[As Garibaldi says,\] 'Sleep, my dear Chevalley, sleep, that is what Sicilians want, and they will always hate anyone who tries to wake them...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/as-garibaldi-says-sleep-my-dear-chevalley-sleep-that-is-what/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [All afternoon in the deck chair, I try to describe to my notebook the colors of the water and sky. How to translate sunlight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/all-afternoon-in-the-deck-chair-i-try-to-describe-to-my-notebook-the/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [Life offers you a thousand chances... all you have to do is take one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/life-offers-you-a-thousand-chances-all-you-have-to-do-is-take-one/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [The Only Thing More Surprising Than the Chance She's Taking...Is Where It's Taking Her!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/the-only-thing-more-surprising-than-the-chance-she-s-taking-is-where/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [The Italians have their priorities right: They're driven, they do their work, but they really enjoy the day-to-day and they don't put off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/the-italians-have-their-priorities-right-they-re-driven-they-do-their/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [Anytime the perfume of orange and lemon groves wafts in the window; the human body has to feel suffused with a languorous well-being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/anytime-the-perfume-of-orange-and-lemon-groves-wafts-in-the-window/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [It’s daunting to find the language so foreign, so distant, but also so thrilling. One is absolved of responsibility when the language is incomprehensible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/it-s-daunting-to-find-the-language-so-foreign-so-distant-but-also-so/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [“There are reasons we congregate in these hot spots- to worship beauty and to feel its effects light up the electrolytes in the bloodstream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/there-are-reasons-we-congregate-in-these-hot-spots-to-worship-beauty/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [“And my mother, whose radius of travel was short, tied the letters with ribbon and kept them in her desk, When you get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/and-my-mother-whose-radius-of-travel-was-short-tied-the-letters-with/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [I got the idea that to write books would be the best way to spend a life. I never thought of anything else that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/i-got-the-idea-that-to-write-books-would-be-the-best-way-to-spend-a/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [ “\[As Chevalley says,\] 'Sicilians never want to improve for the simple reason that they think themselves perfect...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-to-improve-for-the-simple/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [In America, people are just so straightforward when they dislike things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/in-america-people-are-just-so-straightforward-when-they-dislike-things/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [“At Bramasole, the first secret spot that draws me outside is a stump and board bench on a high terrace overlooking the lake and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/at-bramasole-the-first-secret-spot-that-draws-me-outside-is-a-stump/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) [Explore all 86 Frances Mayes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) ## More Assault quotes > [In an attempt to hinder, if not altogether halt, the next move of God, Satan has sent forth an army of faultfinding demons against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-frangipane/in-an-attempt-to-hinder-if-not-altogether-halt-the-next-move-of-god/) [Francis Frangipane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-frangipane/) > [There is an all-out assault now on the Christian community in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/there-is-an-all-out-assault-now-on-the-christian-community-in-this/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't know how I can feel safe with Donald Trump, who bragged about sexual assault having the most power of anyone in America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-pozner/i-don-t-know-how-i-can-feel-safe-with-donald-trump-who-bragged-about/) [Jennifer Pozner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-pozner/) > [At Ohio State University, to avoid being guilty of 'sexual assault' or 'sexual violence,' you and your partner now apparently have to agree on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/at-ohio-state-university-to-avoid-being-guilty-of-sexual-assault-or/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Their problem is not me and the Democrats; their problem is themselves. Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cuomo/their-problem-is-not-me-and-the-democrats-their-problem-is-themselves/) [Andrew Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cuomo/) > [I wrapped a movie called 'Zombieland,' in which I was constantly under assault by zombies, then flew to New York, still very much in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/i-wrapped-a-movie-called-zombieland-in-which-i-was-constantly-under/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [When a child hits a child, we call it aggression. When a child hits an adult, we call it hostility. When an adult hits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-child-hits-a-child-we-call-it-aggression-when-a-child-hits-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm the same guy at that podium preaching to the people on every single song. I'm not doing a dance for you on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/i-m-the-same-guy-at-that-podium-preaching-to-the-people-on-every/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [That tertiary education is under a sustained assault by a political and - it often seems - social consensus that equates all education with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/that-tertiary-education-is-under-a-sustained-assault-by-a-political/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [The biggest threat to any politician is an artist. Comedians unleashed can do a great deal of damage. David Letterman can do more damage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moriarty/the-biggest-threat-to-any-politician-is-an-artist-comedians-unleashed/) [Michael Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moriarty/) > [George W. 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What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-s-own-self-worth-is-tied-to-the-worth-of-the-community-to-which/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Where do find the most persecuted Christians in the world?... in the classrooms of our government schools, where the assault is not upon the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/where-do-find-the-most-persecuted-christians-in-the-world-in-the/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [The present assault upon capital is but the beginning. It will be but a stepping-stone to others, larger and more sweeping, till our political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-present-assault-upon-capital-is-but-the-beginning-it-will-be-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 565 Assault quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assault/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Splendid to arrive alone in a foreign country and feel the assault of difference. Here they are all along, busy with living; they don't talk or look like me. 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