Re: my first experience....
In my case its probably a Muslim thing which is more of an issue...I used to date a girl and religion never used to pop up as a conversation and there was a bit of a void in that respect...however as with language its not neccesarily the where they are from that matters its more to do with the person...one non Muslim girl i dated filled that void very well as it was quite often a topic of discussion...
Show interest in their culture and give them some of yours...