Thursday night I went to dinner with Gilles Maurice, a newly arrived CIES student from the Côte d'Ivoire. He has been studying English for a year and just got to Tallahassee about three weeks ago. His voyage he told was very long, from Abidjan the capital to Paris, Paris to Miami and finally Miami to Tallahassee. about 15 hours of travel! He was very far from home, and understandably a little shy, but in good spirits. His communication skills seemed to me to have a solid foundation. Naturally I slowed down my speech and sometimes had to repeat myself two or three times. It didn't hurt that I told him I was a French major, which when looking back, might not be good because sometimes if it got to difficult instead of figuring out new vocabulary in English I would just say the word in French..
I took him to Mr. Roboto, and like with my other conversation partners, he was a little timid in a restaurant setting ordering food. He got what I got, chicken, fried rice and salad. He liked it a lot, but didn't really touch his vegetables too much. I tried to show him sriracha and spicy yum yum sauce, but he approached them both with the upmost suspicion, slowing showing some acceptance. unfortunately I didn't ask him what the food is like in his hometown of Abidjan and some popular dishes from his country..Next time.
Our conversation ranged from sports, to school, home life, jobs, video games etc. He told me that he wanted to stay in the United States for at least five or so years to study math or business management. In his free time he very much enjoys playing football (soccer) and keeping fit. He is curious about FSU's soccer program and would like to play for the team if he could. He was excited to see the soccer game on Friday night. He was also very interested in being able to be mobile. He asked me about getting a license so that he can drive, and also told me that he was going to buy a bike soon. Gilles has a wide smile and an air about him that is calm and inviting. I look forward to getting to know him and his culture better, and as well to show him mine here in Tallahassee.
Although this was not overtly a language lesson, Gilles was no doubt exposed to a lot of new American language and culture. This is truly language learning in context.
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