I have studied the French language since high school and can communicate with native French speakers on a conversational level. J’adore la langue française!

I have also recently picked up learning Mandarin from a private tutor. Currently, I am still at the beginner level – 你好 !

I believe learning a secondary language is such an important skill for everyone to have. Regardless of your area of study or future career goals, being multi-lingual will benefit you in life. Not only does it come across as an impressive resume builder, it’s also really fun!

In today’s society cultures are meshing more than they ever have before. It is a fun and exciting time, but education is such a necessary component to these interactions. When you learn a language, you communicate a mutual respect and understanding for that culture and are able to forge a dialog that can bring you close with people you would have otherwise never been able to understand.

Going to France and having the ability to converse with the local people was a really fun experience. However, my favorite opportunity to communicate in another language occurred when I was at the botanical gardens in Cape Town, South Africa. My classmates and I had spotted a gigantic owl perched on a tree branch (see picture at right), and as we took pictures a group of people came over to see what we were doing. I immediately recognized they were tourists from France and spoke to them about the owl – “C’est un hibou!” They were impressed and carried on a conversation with me for several minutes. We were both half a world away from home, but with this small interaction, we instantly bonded.

FR 0002 Elementary French 2

FR 0003 Intermediate French 1

FR 0004 Intermediate French 2

“C’est un hibou!”