Pete Docter Quotes

When I moved to Europe 12 years ago, my biggest concern was whether I'd ever speak decent French. Practically every American I knew came to visit, many saying they dreamed of living here, too.

When I was thirteen years old, and we had just moved to Germany, I definitely felt I was missing out on normal teenage life. I was watching my old school friends from Canada grow up without me while I was in Germany trying to learn the language and trying to pass each year without failing.

Moving to France is not the hard part. Living here is more difficult. Of course there are many benefits but it's not always easy especially if you don't speak the language.

When I was 13, I moved from New Jersey to Germany with my family. The high school was so supportive of my dream to continue with my theater training; instead of taking PE, I would get credit for dance lessons.

It's fascinating when you're from another place, but you don't speak the language.

It took me a year to really learn the American lingo. I really feel for people who are coming here and don't speak English at all. It must be hell.

As a child, it was really hard because I'd be thrown into a new school and have to make new friends, or I'd sit in class for months without speaking the language, but as I got older, I welcomed the possibility of discovering new cultures and languages.

When I came here I moved to London and I was meeting so many new people and had to speak only in English, which is not my native language.

I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country.

My dad is an ob-gyn - he's retired now - and he wanted to come to the States to make a better life, for opportunity. My mom said that, on the plane ride here, I did not want to speak a word of English - I spoke Tagalog. And then, after the first day of school, I didn't want to speak anything but English.

When I first came to this country, I didn't know how to speak English.

I didn't speak English until I came to Pittsburgh.

From 1 till 7, when we moved to England, I spoke only Portuguese.

It's always overwhelming when you come to another country and you're embraced in such a positive way.

Mum and Dad sent us to a bilingual school, so we had half the lessons in English and half in French. But I remember being hugely lost.

It's hard when you are trying to ingratiate yourself in a completely foreign world. It takes a long time.

As an immigrant, I learned by watching other people.

When I moved to Bombay, it was very harsh. I was nothing like what I am today. I couldn't speak a word of English. In England, people might be very understanding about that, but in Bombay, they're not very forgiving. 'If you don't speak English, how do you expect to work in Hindi films?'

Never far from my thoughts are memories of being a little girl in Queens, N.Y., our family of five crowded in a small one-bedroom apartment, struggling to learn English and survive a new life in a new country, America. We humbly and gratefully still recall the kindnesses shown by strangers and neighbors who became new friends.

I think I have improved a lot since I arrived in England.

Leaving home early is always complicated. But when I arrived in Germany, I encountered an incredible structure built by the company that takes care of my career. They did not leave me wanting for anything. The most complicated thing was really the language. Otherwise, everything was taken care of.

When you go to a new country, you don't have the same facilities as you had in the one before. You adapt very quickly to the circumstances.

I know that if I have come to Britain, I must adapt, and I will try to.

When I was 14, I came to school in London. I remember it was very cold, but also having to adjust and become fluent in English.

When I arrived in the U.S., I knew little English and didn't have any friends. The neighborhood and school kids were so welcoming. They made me feel at home very quickly.