“We are what we eat.” – Ludwig Feuerbach

Perfect command of a foreign language does not mean that one has truly become native to that country. So, what now?

The song A Little Confession (after the poem by Don Mee Choi) is a tribute to the foreigner who remains without a homeland for a lifetime and must communicate in another language. We often forget that this person is speaking a foreign language at all – as if it were completely natural. How paradoxical!

Do we eventually get used to it, or do we finally become native? The answer is: no. One never truly becomes native, even when one’s mother tongue begins to fade.

Language is part of culture. I enjoy eating Japanese food – but does that make me Japanese inside? As the philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach said: “We are what we eat.”

Our thinking, feeling, and speaking are inseparably linked to our culture, our food, and our surroundings. Language is only one part of this – we are also shaped by clothing, education, environment, music … all the many elements that make us who we are.