“Some years ago we had a foreign exchange student come to live with us. We found it very difficult to pronounce his name correctly, but he didn’t mind. He told us just to call him ‘Eric’. We had repainted the spare room, bought new rugs and furniture and generally made sure everything would be comfortable for him. So I can’t say why it was that Eric chose to sleep and study most of the time in our kitchen pantry. “It must be a cultural thing,” said Mum. “As long as he is happy.” We started storing food and kitchen things in other cupboards so we wouldn’t disturb him. But sometimes I wondered if Eric was happy; he was so polite that I’m not sure he would have told us if something bothered him. A few times I saw him through the pantry door gap, studying with silent intensity, and imagined what it might be like for him here in our country.” Link.