My name is Hanna Zacharczyk and I have lived in Aosta for several years. I was born and grew up in Poland, but as soon as I was old enough I chose to study abroad to improve my foreign language skills. I initially went to Germany and I graduated in Cultural Management at the Dresden University of Technology. From there I went to work in the Czech Republic, Denmark and Austria. Living abroad really opened my eyes to new other cultures and taught me to work, think and live in a different way. I learnt to adapt to new thing quickly and am now happily living in Italy. Whilst in Poland, I accompanied English, Polish and German speaking visitors on tours around Twierdza Klodzko, the imposing Prussian fort that is the most important monument in Klodzko. Life as a tourist guide is not just a job, it is a true vocation that calls for constant studying and I attended an extensive course here in Valle d’Aosta and successfully passed written and oral exams in May 2015. This career enables me to teach and learn at the same time… Living and working abroad has taught me just how important genuine, face to face communication is. I work with a number of other tourist guides in the local area. This network enables us to cater to a vast array of client needs and requests (specific times, languages, personalised tours etc). Flexibility is key to what I do. It is thanks to my dear friend, Remek, a talented restorer of Klodzko Fortress that I saw how enthusiasm and knowledge are key to capturing people’s attention on guided tours and make history come alive… Now it’s my turn to do the same… It might seem strange that it is a foreigner to take you round the sights of her adopted country but I really think that is what makes the difference… When I moved to Aosta I was (and still am) eager to take in all that this magnificent part of Italy has to offer. My job as a tourist guide enables me to build on and enrich my recently acquired knowledge. I am a native Polish speaker but my Italian is C2 level, my German is C1 and English C1 and I have learnt that the key to really appreciating another country is culture. I love meeting new people and would like to hope that accompanying visitors around this area may give them an excuse to come back again…