Pardon my French: Part 1

Last week, I was finally able to meet up with my conversation partner for the first time.  I was a little nervous prior to him showing up and even had thoughts running through my head about him standing me up.  Luckily, Julien-Pierre, or as he introduced himself JP, showed up right on time. To my surprise, JP spoke decent English which made our conversation easy. With it being our first meeting, JP and I were both a tad awkward at first; however, we both became comfortable quickly.

Our conversation start with JP telling me all about where exactly he is from. JP was born and raised in New Caledonia, an island right off of France. He explained to me that while New Caledonians speak French, they are more educated in speaking English than your average person from France. I was quite fascinated by his homeland. JP was able to tell me all about where he grew up, what the weather was like there, and even showed me many of his favorite pictures. Here are a few....

JP showed me this naturally made spot of vegetation which resembles a heart.  He explained that people from New Caledonia are quite proud of their geography, and landmarks.

JP called this mass of rocks, the Big Hen. If you look at it closely you can see the outline of a hen.

This picture of the beaches in New Caledonia was my favorite. JP explained that he visited the beach often with friends.

After we discussed his homeland and some of the differences between the French and people from New Caledonia, he began telling me about his journey to TCU.  JP had to go to several different countries to prepare for the SAT, but he finally made it to Texas this January. He is currently swimming on the TCU club team and is trying to earn a spot on the TCU swim team.  One of JP's favorite things about TCU is the uplifting and encouraging environment.  He really appreciated how "everyone wanted everyone else to succeed, like teachers and coaches." We ended our conversation with him telling me about a girl he has never met and has a crush on. However, he has high hopes for finding out her name and even narrowed down his search. He thinks she is on the Equestrian team because she wears riding boots with tights most days. I didn't have the heart to tell him that most girls, horseback riders or not, wear riding boots to class. I couldn't crush his optimism that quickly so I agreed to help him find this girl! 

I really enjoyed talking to JP. He was easy to understand and pretty funny. He had my laughing a few times during some of the stories he told. I am interested to talk to him about humor next time we meet and see what makes him laugh. I am also excited to share American culture with him, including our current trends in fashion. In all, I left my conversation with JP with a renewed sense of pride and appreciation for my own country and school. JP showed me how lucky I am to be involved in such a great community where people are welcoming and want the best for one another.  I loved getting to find out his perspective on certain areas and can't wait to learn more from him.