Nous vous souhaitons de beaux échanges !

Stéphanie & Souhila

She has been studying French seriously for three years. Although she studied it at university before, she isn't learning the same way she did then. She also feels a sense of blocking when speaking in front of people, which she wants to improve in the future. Her dream is to live in Paris and work in the arts.

She currently lives in Rome. While she thinks the city has a beautiful history and a rich cultural past, she finds it too quiet and feels there isn't enough culinary diversity. Finally, she doesn't want to work in video game animation because she believes she would spend too much time working for a low salary.

I’m really looking forward to having another session with her. She is very kind !

Mélodie PLAULT

Voici un exemple :

Si je pouvais vivre dans un monde où l'argent n'existait pas, j'aurais une vie différente !

Je/J' ... [+ conditionnel] parce que ....

Si j’avais tout le temps du monde, je/j ...

cuisinerais du/de la/ des …

voyagerais en/ au/ aux …

lirais …

regarderais …

prendrais le temps de …

vivrais une vie …

irai rendre visite à ...

Rappel :

Si + imparfait + conditionnel présent

ou

Conditionnel présent + si + imparfait

En français, la construction :

"si + conditionnel présent" dans ce contexte n'est pas possible, contrairement à l'anglais.

Et si vous avez besoin de réviser vos conjugaisons, voici un outil incontournable : le Bescherelle bien sûr !

Then we found that we have something in common: we both study neuroscience, but with different specialties. He studies computational neuroscience. He explained to me exactly what he does during his classes and during internships, and how he uses computers to apply their capacities to neuroscience, which I find extremely difficult to do. On the other hand I explained that I do more cellular neuroscience with a lot of wet labs work, which he found difficult to do because spending so much time in a lab can make the time feel longer to him. 

Then we switched to French and we talked about the different sports we practiced. He told me he doesn’t like to play football, neither soccer nor American football. He prefers sports, such as swimming, running and tennis. He doesn’t like sports with too much physical impact, because they can be dangerous and you could easily get a concussion. 

To finish, he explained to me why he is learning French: he will be spending the next semester in Paris. He wants to practice to be able to handle conversations once he’s here. French is very difficult to learn but I believe he can do it, its French level is already very good.

07.02.2026

Hoping our next sessions will be just as interesting!

He quickly explained what he has been studiyng and why he chose this field of study and what he would like to do after obtaining his bachelor’s degree.

I also explained why I chose biology and which master’s degree I am planing to pursue after my bachelor’s degree.

I learned that in the United States, a bachelor’s degree lasts 4 years. I also realized that it seems less common there to continue studying immediately after completing a bachelor’s degree.

Just like my teletandem partner from last semester, Terrell is not planning to pursue a master’s degree at the moment.

He has been learning French for about 3 or 4 years. He chose this teletandem project to improve his speaking skills because he is planning to take part in an exchange program in France for a summer semester.

Overall, this first session went very good !

08/02/2026

After that, we talked a lot about our ideal place to live if we could choose. We also both discussed the type of house we would prefer to live in. As for me, I told her that, given the choice, I would much rather live by the sea than in the mountains, even though I loved skiing, I needed to stay by the sea.

As I have to keep up in the news for my english exam in june, I asked her if she read the news, and we discussed on the recent things that happened in the USA.

Then, I asked her about her best childhood memories. She told me about her trip to Thailand with her family, where ten of them went together to explore the country. We were then able to talk about that because I have actually never been to Thailand, but I would love to visit it someday!

That was really nice to talk with Nitya and I can't wait to call her again !

Yesterday was my first call with Clay and it was really cool.

To start, it’s easier to talk with someone who already did this program last semester and as for me last year, so it was like two friends just chatting. We started by present ourselves, talking about what we love outside of school and where we are from. Clay has a good french and he explained that he is from Louisiana and some members of his family talk french. To add, he study french in college. About this, we talked about what he do in french classes and he showed me his books he has to read so we talked about which books I did loved like “petit pays” and “jacaranda” from Gael Faye. It leads us to speak about some politics and the show of Bad Bunny in the last super bowl.

Then we talked about music ‘cause he is a member of a band in Brown and that’s so cool.

Then, Clay, as me, is not from the city where he studies so we talked about our perceptions of people there in Marseille and Providence. It can be very different from where we are from. We recommend to each other some cities you have to visit when we come to France or US.

And especially what’s really interesting with this program is how college can be very different in France than in US. Like where we lived. I live in an apartment by myself but in Brown he has to lived with someone else that he didn’t know in September and he has to lived on the campus. Living in Luminy can be more difficult especially to go in the center of Marseille. That’s why we talked about transport. In US everyone has a car and it’s because it’s easier he said ‘cause they don’t have a lot of public transport. This is one of biggest difference I think than Marseille and France where I take public transport everyday.

To finished, we talked about fraternity and sorority and how be part in a “group/association/sport team…” is very important for him and for student in US. That’s a really good way to meet people and create real friendship. I have to say in France and especially in public university a lot of peoples aren’t part of something inside college other than our own classes.

Anyway, this first call was really nice. I loved it and I’m so excited to learn others things about US, Brown and Clay and of course improve my speaking ‘cause it’s been a long time since I didn’t speak english.

Bisous,

Mahée

Overall, it was a great first meeting, and I look forward to our future conversations.

15.02.2026

During this hour we began to know each of our personalities, Patcha and me. 

• She comes from Thailand but she is studying environmental sciences and international affairs in Brown for her graduate studies because the program they have fit exactly with what she wants. Thus, it's been four years that she has lived in the USA. I explain what I study because it’s biology, however I have a lot of different classes to prepare for a big exam to integrate a vet school, which is really competitive.

• Patcha decided to learn French because she wants to be a diplomat and some institutions in the EU speak this language. Her French is already near to perfection since she did a semester in Paris. She seems to love this city as she loves travelling and discovering new places!

• We talk about your hobbies: travelling and cooking (for eating) for Patcha. Me too, I LOVE cooking and eating (my favorite part). It makes us proud to know doing that with our own hands. I also dedicate a lot of time to horses (I’m a horse rider) and since 2025 to improvisation in theater and that’s really fun! 

• We exchanged about our cities of origin because I came from Briançon in the Alps and she came from a town near to Bangkok. Therefore we discussed skiing (I was born in a mountain town but I hate skiing).

• She never visited Marseille however she heard about the special accent we have! And we talked about all the different accents in English and which ones are easier to understand!

First of all we talked about our break ‘cause friday we are in winter break and I’m going as a teens animator in skiing camp. So the beginning of this session was about winter sport and how we would love learning snowboard. However, even if he doesn’t have a winter break in February he has a long weekend where he’s going to Texas for a wedding.

We gave our opinions about how many break we have in France and what we think about partying during spring break in US.

Then, we talked about movies and what we did watched this past week. He recommends me “Marty Supreme”, I think I’ll go watch it. We talked about books and how hard i’d the french language, like the conjugation…

We talked about music, especially french music that he listened. That was the moment I talked about Jul (of course, I lived in Marseille). We talked about l’Olympique de Marseille and the difference of cultures in sport. Like foot and rugby in France and in lacrosse, hockey and basketball ball or american football in US.

In french, he asked about Valentine’s day and how we celebrate it in France. We had fun comparing how they really celebrated something in US and here in France.

We talked about restaurants and what do we like and which restaurant and food do we find most.

In France, we have many kebabs street food whereas in US it’s more mexican food or burgers. We talked about our consummation of meat in each country which I think it’s really interesting in a society where being vegan or veggie is common.

It’s fun how much are countries are different even if the American is present in France.

I was tired during this call because I had a concert last night! Thus, obviously we began to talk about music 🎶! It's was Calema and as she really like Tayc (french singer) so we made ourselves some musical recommendations (-> "Dit le moi" Tayc and Calema). Patcha loves music especially Jazz 🎷and she went to the concert of a mediterranean jazzman called Ajar and it’s fun because I already saw him during the first part of another concert! It’s the third time I won tickets for concerts; the last time it was for Ed Sheeran!! Naturally, she asked me my secret but shh! My family loves music, we have radio on, every day. However I played the clarinet when I was little, just for two years. I hated that! I prefer to listen to music, but I need to learn how to play guitar, Patcha said that she knows.

After that Patcha told me that she learns bachata and salsa with the dance club of the uni. It reminded me of Bad Bunny’s music and we discussed his power against ICE police. She explained to me the different clubs you have at Brown like the cultural club. I think in amU we lack the club atmosphere to make new encounters. Patcha has links with other people who come from Thaïland thanks to this group.

And about school : her projects for her last semester in Brown. She seems sad to quit this happy place but I’m sure she will be happy to do a master in England! 

I can’t wait for our next call!

Terrell told me about the countries he has visited: Japan, Toronto in Canada, and Mexico. He said that he found Japan very clean and well organized. He would also like to visit Brazil one day, especially for its nightlife and festivals.

He has visited around 30 states in the United States, mostly with his family, and he told me that his goal is to visit all of them one day.

Since he is coming to France this summer, I asked him if there are other European countries he would like to visit. He told me he would love to go to Switzerland, mainly for the mountains and panoramic train views.

We also talked about movies and books. I told him about the last movie I watched at the cinema, The Housemaid. We discussed the last books we had read: he read a book by Stephen King, and I read The Alchemist.

We agreed that movies do not always stay true to the original story of the books. However, I told him that I still enjoy reading a book first and then watching its movie adaptation to compare it with how I imagined the story.

Finally, we talked about French food. He did not have specific specialties he wanted to try in France, so I recommended some traditional French pastries such as macarons, choux, croissants, and pain au chocolat.

15/02/2026

She explained me that there was going to be a blizzard in a few days and it was expected to snow about 20 inches !! Here in Marseille the weather is so mild it is so different !

since it was our first call we spend a lot of time talking about ourselves and getting to know each other.

We talked about our academic lives as well as personal lives. He is studying law sciences but he is also on the pre-Med school which will allow him to continue Medical studies.

Originally he is from India but it's been many years that he and his family have moved to the United States, thus we spent some time talking about this multicultural experience that we are both living and it was so fun.

in the meantime we also discussed somt of our favorite hobbies and as it turned out we both love watching sitcoms show, so we continued talking about how cool they are and how they help us go through difficult moments and make us feel way better...

I was also able to tell him about different aspects of French language and how it could be hard and complicated at first, in addition I explained some stories that i had in these past years and some fun facts :)

That was all about this first episode ^^

16/02/2026

Anna really wants to come study in Paris next year, and she’s been dealing with all the administrative steps or rather, fighting against them, if I can say so.

She told me about the platform she’s using for her application (possibly the one for PSL), and how absolutely unusable it is. She’s supposed to upload her letters of recommendation, but the platform simply gives her no place to upload them. No button, no field, no instructions. She emailed them, but of course, no one replied. Honestly, classic French administration.

We also talked about her grades. At first, she uploaded her transcripts, and someone in the admissions office wrote back saying her marks looked “strange.” She laughed not because it was funny, but because it was absurd. She explained that at Brown University, there is no GPA, something actually well-known in the U.S. academic world. They use letter grades instead. Technically, anyone recruiting American students, especially from major universities, should know this, it’s clearly common knowledge. Yet the person reviewing her file clearly had no idea. I told her it felt like “incompétence programmée,” like the system is definitely designed to make things harder.

Then she told me about the translations she had to get. The official translation service produced something so badly done. We both agreed that everything was ridiculous.

After getting all of that off her chest, we switched to something “lighter” : she told me she was still working on her mémoire, with the book she’s translating, Tenir sa langue, by Pauline Panassenko.

She mentioned a passage she finds absolutely hilarious, one that many Russian readers may love because it plays on very Russian linguistic references and a kind of humor that doesn’t fully translate.

For her, as someone who knows the language (she’s basically Russian) and the context, the joke was obvious, while for me, the joke had flown straight over my head. I told her I hadn’t understood why it was supposed to be funny, and she broke it down for me. Even once explained, it still felt like the kind of humor you appreciate only if you grew up with it, but at least I finally understood (even a little bit) why she laughed so much !!

From there, we naturally drifted toward other books she’s been reading for her French courses or just for fun. She talked about Enfance, and we extended the conversation to Nathalie Sarraute in general, her writing style, her narrative strategies. We also discussed Les Fruits d'or. It’s always nice to talk with Anna because she’s basically so knowledgeable in literature that I always finish our sessions with numerous new titles in my PAL.

As always with her, we eventually shifted to politics.

We talked about the current situation in the U.S., especially the local elections in New York, and she explained the Andrew Cuomo situation to me, if I can say so. That led us to compare political climates again, as we often do.

I almost forgot, but we ended up talking about the Heated Rivalry that she had watched two or three times I think, and the very last season of Bridgerton, obviously (I understand now all the Benedict drama and the Rozanov hype !!).

Friday, February 13th, 2026

Katherine and I had our first session. We began by introducing ourselves, sharing what year we are in, what we study, and where we are from. Katherine is a freshman at Brown University studying in the STEM field, and she is originally from the Bahamas. I introduced myself as a freshman studying Economics at AMU, and I am from Algeria.

I was very intrigued to learn that she is from the Bahamas, so our conversation started with her telling me about her country. She explained many aspects of life there, including the school system and the importance of tourism. I also shared my experiences and perspectives related to both France and Algeria. We had an interesting discussion about how tourism can impact countries both positively and negatively, using Spain as an example. Katherine mentioned that the situation is similar in the Bahamas, where the government sometimes seems to prioritize tourists over local citizens.

We then talked about our accommodation situations, Katherine lives in a university dormitory with 2 roommates, while I live in an apartment with 1 roommate. We discussed both the good and the bad side of having roommates.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable first session. I feel that we connected well and Katherine seems like a very kind and intelligent person, I am looking forward to our future sessions together.

We started speaking in French for the first 30 minutes.

We talked about the things we did during the week. This week in the USA and especially in Justin's city, there was a snow storm. It was really aggressive which made it complicated to get around and go out so the classes have been cancelled. Otherwise, Justin and his friends had an incredible time together, each one cooked a dish from their country.

We talked about out favourite hobbies and what we would like to do in our free time. We literally didn't have many things to say since we barely find time because of university.

We switched to English and we played a game called ( two truths and one lie ). We each say two truths and one lie, and the other person guesses which is the lie. It was fun actually and we got to know each other even more.

Unfortunately, Justin had to leave 20 minutes earlier because of the storm so he could get back home safely.

First of all, even before I speak when I heard her voice, I was struck by her accent, which sounded really french (I even told her "You're sure you're not fluent ? lol").

We then exchanged information about our fields of study and our passions. As for Scarlett, she's passionate about art and cinema, she even studies in the art field!

After this, the conversation moved about movies, recently she watched a movie called "Marty Supreme" (In France the movie released 9 days ago), of course I havent seen it yet as the movie wasn't released, but she really recommended me to watch it (she thoroughly enjoyed the movie).

I promised that I would watch the movie ! (And she will get my review on our next session).

I learned that he is studying something very similar to me , he is in finance and I am in economic engineering so it gave us the opportunity to discuss the different difficulties we encounter in class.

I also learned that at his university they have something called “office hours,” where students can go to their professors’ offices to ask questions. Here in France, we don’t have that at all haha! But I think the concept is really cool.

I’m looking forward to our next call!

Kamelia

11.02.2026

We also talked about the different subjects we have and the upcoming midterms, but we quickly changed the topic to food!

I was very shocked to learn that he hates olives! But olives are life! Then I think I shocked him in return haha ! I confessed that I hate fruit, and to eat some (because I have to for my health), I’m forced to buy fruit purées haha!

It was a very funny conversation. We ended up making each other hungry by the end of the call, and we both left to go eat.

Calls with Blaine go by so fast! I really can’t wait for our next session.

Kamelia

22.02.2026

For example, he asked me: if it were possible, which person (dead or alive) would you like to have dinner with? He said he would choose either Keke Palmer or Barack Obama. We briefly discussed why he admires them and what kind of conversation he would like to have with them.

We almost spent the whole hour answering and discussing these “Would you rather” questions ! It really made the session interesting, and the hour went by so fast.

Finally, we talked about pets. Terrell told me about his dog, Jax, and even showed me a picture of him. I also showed him a picture of my cat.

This led us to talk about the differences between dogs and cats. We discussed how dogs are often considered loyal and expressive, whereas cats are sometimes seen as more independent and less demonstrative.

22/02/2026

He told me that it had been snowing all week there and that they didn’t have classes for two days haha. Then he said they also had to switch to online classes for one day, which was so weird for them because they haven’t had online courses since COVID (true story).

I also told him that this week was our break and that I was doing an internship for a week. I explained to him how the break schedule works in France and the fact that we actually have a lot of vacations :)))

Then we talked about my internship for a bit, and I told him about my experiences and how cool it was to be in a real science lab and to carry out different experiments.

That actually led us to talk about science for the rest of the call. He told me that he’s working with one of his professors on a research project about the effects of environmental factors on children’s growth, which I found so interesting!

Then we talked a lot about the world of research and how it works in the U.S., and I found out that most of their projects are actually paid, which is so cool. There are also many opportunities that we don’t really have in France (I guess I’ll start looking into whether I can work remotely on some of their projects ^^).

Long story short, it was a really “science-y” session and I loved it.

I’m so excited to continue getting to know each other.

I then introduced myself and talked about my studies in biology, including subjects such as biochemistry, physiology, and cellular biology. This led us to compare our daily lives at university. We discussed how student schedules can differ greatly depending on the country and the institution. Nigel was particularly surprised by how dense my schedule is, as I usually have around four classes per day, whereas he generally has only two to three.

We also talked about languages and cultural background. I told him that I am originally from Tunisia and that I speak Arabic, which made us consider practicing Arabic together. I agreed to help him by dedicating a few minutes during our future calls to language practice.

Later, we discussed everyday topics such as the weather. Nigel described how snowy it was in Rhode Island, which contrasted with my environment. This naturally led to a conversation about travel. We talked about how traveling is much easier in Europe than in the United States. I explained that living in Marseille makes it easy to visit nearby countries such as Italy, Spain, or Andorra, while international travel in the U.S. is more complicated due to distance and the current political situation.

Nigel also shared his plan to travel to Morocco during the summer to practice Arabic, which I found very exciting. Finally, I told him an anecdote about traveling in Europe, explaining how my family once decided to go to Italy for the day just to eat pizza for lunch. This story particularly surprised him and highlighted the contrast between travel opportunities in Europe and the United States.

In French, we talked about what we did during the week. He told me he was at a science event the last day. He had to take the train to go there and he was scared to miss the train. But overall it went well so he was happy, he even met a friend there. We finished the call by talking about a book he is reading in French, which I find very impressive because it’s not an easy book to read. 

Justine Gandaho

Then I introduced myself and told her about my life in Marseille and my job as a teacher. We also shared a little about our families.

She speaks French very well and spent as a student a semester in Paris at Saint-Denis University.

The first session went by so fast, we connected easily. She is very friendly and cheerful and I'm happy to be doing this exchange with her.

I asked her about her new life in LA and whether there were aspects she missed from living in Providence. She immediately talked about the lack of seasons in LA : the weather stays pretty much the same throughout the year, whereas Providence has disctinct seasons, especially winter and she enjoyed that.

She also talked about how housing density differs between Providence and LA.

Indeed, LA is very spread out while East Coast cities are much more compact. Consequently public transportation is better developped on the East Coast than LA where you really need a car to get around.

Then we moved on to another topic namely accomodation options and how to find places to stay while travelling and how to find economical and ethical alternatives to Airbnb, like Home Exchange.

Going-off topic for a moment: she shared about this amazing story about randomly meeting a guy in LA whom she had noticed on the campus of the university of Paris 8 ! So they swapped numbers and were planning to go to the beach with friends right after the call.

Then I was asked quite a few questions about my work as history and geography teacher and about some of the topics I cover with my students, like societal issues. She was curious about the concrete examples I present. Talking to her even gave me ideas for organizing certain parts of my lessons. Here's to collective intelligence !

We spoke about music and I learned she already assisted to a concert of Taylor Swift and she met some famous people such as Olivia Rodrigo or Sabrina Carpenter. With the music we talked about piano and violin.

I also learned she speaks Hebrew.

I was so excited to speak to her because I told her some french movies recommendations that I've seen and which are very good !

We speak about our climbing experiences because I went climb during my holidays.

These calls really improve my level of english because it allows me to learn some new words. We talked about bowling and I learned the word to say bowling pins and I told her the french word.

We also talked about school schedules, the ways of the courses and the size of our universities.

I also made pratice for my english oral presentation I will have in some days.

We spoke about french specialities dessert like crème brulée.

And I'm waiting our next call to talk about every others things in life !

We also discussed the market and the economic situation in the USA. She explained that the situation is difficult for her because, to find a job after her studies, she needs to have professional experience in the US. She dreams of a different environment, something more European, because she loves European history and culture. She has already been to Luxembourg and France, specifically Nice, and she adores how beautiful the city is.

Her real dream is to live in Paris. I am currently in Marseille, but I know Paris very well, so I spoke to her about the living conditions there. She said that for two years, the tourists would not be a problem. I told her about the 15th arrondissement, the beautiful atmosphere, and the many things to do. However, I warned her that you need money because in Paris, you quickly become a consumer.

Finally, we talked about films. She mentioned a famous movie in her country, Atonement (starring Keira Knightley), and I told her about Asterix & Obelix. Following her advice, I watched the film in English. It was very romantic with many moments of silence, which made it very interesting and surprising. However, I had some difficulty understanding certain parts at different moments during the movie. I also spoke to her about Parc Astérix and the unique vibe of those stories.

Thank you for reading !

I was very surprised because she told me that in America, they speak the real story now. She said that when Christopher Columbus came, the country was already populated with many Indians. To respect the other cultures, in America, they don't say that Americans are the discoverers because it is very disrespectful to the people who were already there.

I was very proud of her for explaining this to me and I was also very ashamed about my manners and my way to speak about this. It was a big shock for me because in France, I just learned it like that since I was a child. I never thought it could be disrespectful before. This discussion with Erna was very important for me because it changed my vision of history.

Thank you for reading !

I continued by explaining that there are not enough natural areas in the center, so to breathe, I take a tramway to go to the Domaine de Saint-Cloud. I adore the panoramic view of Paris from there. I also spoke about another park, André Citroën, which has a hot air balloon that is a must-see. I told her about a specific mall, Beaugrenelle and I sent her images of this place because it is very big and colorful. In Paris, we have a big diversity of places to buy things for all budgets, whether it is perfume, dresses, food, or going to the cinema.

I also reminded her that in all big cities, we have pollution, theft, and some insecurity for women. But there are also fantastic things, and we can never be bored in Paris. In just one street, you can find the same type of store in three different ways, like bakeries for example. There is a lot of competition, but it is very pleasant to have so much choice. Also, we can stay outdoors until 1 or 2 am because there are almost always people in the street.

Thank you for reading!

It was a nice call to get to know each other. We talked about our university career, wich implied our disponibility for the next call..

Basic subject such as bad bunny super bowl performance, trump....

I can't wait to get to kow each other better!

Ambre MARQUET

Like usual we introduce ourself, I asked her the basics questions like "where are you from ?" etc. She's 21 and she will turn 22 like me, and also fun fact she studies mathematics, she's on third year of her bachelor, like me. We spoke about our studies, the difficulties that we meet. In mathematics, there's a field which called "Algebre linear" and it was funny because this is my first time I meet someone who loves Algeber linear, in general no one likes it !

Then, she told me that she loves traveling she's been already in many countries in Europe, Asia and South America but she will hope that her next travels will be in Africa, like Morocco, when I asked her if she has already been in France, she said yes when she was in high school, there was a exchange program so she came in France, in Le Havre, but she would love to come back in the southest. Of course ! I did the propaganda, the propaganda to visit Marseille. Then, I told her that I would like to visit one day India, because it's beautiful country with beautiful cultures, oh yes ! she's from India too, and I told her I'm comorian and we're a mixeed people, and a lot of our culture and legacy from India. We spoke about families because I asked her if she has family in France, she said perhaps, in fact in Asia and Africa it's usual to have a lot of families, for example her grand mother has several children, more than five and mine she had 10 children ! So yes ! Sometimes we have too much cousins, nephews, nieces, etc.

After, we spoke about the situations in USA, what happen rigth now with ICE, Trump, and etc, how do they live in this anxiety-inducing climate.

It's time to leave, it was a greatful conversation and it was a pleasure to meet Antarra.

Thanks for reading and see you next week for new adventures !

When we switched to french, we talked about our favorite colors, which are blue and pink, and our favorite artists and their work. It was really nice to talk to someone who also shares a love for art and creativity, so we had that in common. We also talked about what we do for fun, since we both are in pretty small cities. Finally, we ended our conversation with talking about our schools and what our future careers would be. It was very interesting to hear about the differences in the American school system and the French school system.

Our first call went really well, I was initially nervous that I wouldn't be able to understand Merrylee, but she was very understanding and patient with me.

Katerina is in her third year of doctorat in comparative literature. She is from Puerto Rico. She studies Caribbean authors and some French authors like Maryse Condé or Edouard Glissant. She likes the department of literature where she studies because there is a very good atmosphere. She is 28 years old and her birthday is tomorrow! She lives by herself in a flat near the University. Katerina have been in Aix for a summer school in July 2023 and she went to Marseille every week end. She said that she loves very much this city. Because she is from Puerto Rico, she was very happy to see the Mediterranean Sea all around. She likes hiking in the Calanques and specially in Sormiou.

We exchanged about ours needs and desires about the tele tandem and we decided to have a call every Wednesday.

She is very nice, pleasant and smiling.

I'm happy to be able to know her because she looks very interesting and happy.

Marie et Yaenjae

We share some fun facts about our winter break. I was a camp counselor, working in animation with teenagers during a ski camp for one week. And I learned that he do the same job than me during the summer. He works in summer camp with kids and teenagers and I worked with teens on surf camp especially, so we worked in animation. We shared what we want to do this summer. For him is working in summer camp and for me is to work in animation in a hotel-club like Club Med. He didn’t know what was Club Med so I showed him some photos and try to explain what is animation in Club med.

He showed me that it’s still snowing in Providence ! Like a memory of my ski camp… Then we talked about some school stuff. He is currently revising for his midterms like me as well. We compare our different school schedule during high school. Like finishing at 6pm in France and earlier is US so they can have extracurricular activities especially sports practice. He said that having a sport practice was obligatory in his high school and having to do some art classes as well. So i asked if some of them do some sport outside of school like in club, ‘cause here in France, not so many people do sport on the campus. The answer was “if you want to be good in your sport you have to practice more so outside of school”. We talked about specialities in high school and choosing our studies in an age where we don’t really know what to do. He explained to me how application for college is and the importance of extracurricular activities to be accepted in your dream school. We talked about law school in US, they start law school after doing a bachelor where you can choose every subject you want to let you the time to decide what you want to do with your life ( and that’s really great !! ). And medical studies in France which are really complicated so a lot of people go outside of France to become a doctor.

So yeah, we talked a lot about our summer job, what we will doing this summer, school and extracurricular activities.

Terrell told me that there had been a snowstorm where he lives and that it was really cold outside. I told him that it rarely snows where I live, maybe once every 5 to 10 years and when it does, the snow melts very quickly.

After that, we played the game of « 20 Questions ». The idea was to think of an object or something, and the other person had to guess what it was by asking several questions. I made him guess in French, and he made me guess in English. It was fun and helped us practice asking and answering questions in both languages.

01/03/2026

The third call with Patcha happened last Sunday, the 8th of March.

Two weeks without calling, thus we have some story to tell about!

I was on holiday, however I was very busy like her. She had to work on her thesis and me on my chemistry🧪…

We discuss music because she is learning Spanish this semester and it’s partly for the Bad Bunny’s music: I understand, I looove “Dtmf”, Patcha prefers “Baila Inolvidable”. She told me that she went to her friend’s concert, they make a little group and I find that amazing!  And we also are super excited by the new album “The Romantic🌹” by Bruno Mars. I miss the day to get tickets for his concert as I removed social media from my phone to my studies. Therefore we talked about social media and phones🛜. Patcha grew up in a big town so she needed a phone earlier to keep contact with her family. For me, school was just next to my house so I had my first phone lately, at 15 years old. I was a little bit angry at my parents for that decision however now I’m thankful because I’m not an addict. She uses the most Instagram, I told her that it was not so hard to remove, I keep an eye on it sometimes on my computer but it’s less addictive! She have to try but for her social media is a way to keep contact with her friends from Thailand because they are spread everywhere on the planet🌏. So she has contacts in multiple countries (perfect to travel!) However, it’s difficult to see everybody!

We also talked about our family: my brother who is renovating an old house🏚️, and the jobs of her parents.

For this call we had the fun idea to compare our google research on our computer, as respectively "french data" and "american data", for the same key words.

I was wondering if there would be some kind of censorship or propaganda around Donald Trump in America, or maybe around Macron in France as well.

But the result were actually quite similar.

We also talk about our family to get to know each other better

Ambre

We also speak about her birthday, some years she had a spring birthday and some years she had a summer birthday because her birthday is on 20th June.

I learn a new way of speaking to speak about clothing it's handmedown to speak about second hand to limit fast fashion.

I'm excited for our next call session !

Then we talked about our day and how our midterms were going. He told me about his math midterm, and I felt like we were studying roughly the same concepts in our classes. That week, I actually had a kholle in mathematics scheduled, so I explained to him how kholles work and how we are graded during this kind of oral assessment.

After that, Blaine asked me what my favorite TV shows were. After explaining that I actually watch very few series because I prefer movies , I still mentioned Game of thrones and The 100. He was quite surprised by The 100, which he considers a rather “niche” show.

He was also curious to know whether Marseille is really as dangerous as people sometimes say. To answer him, I compared it with Paris, a city he knows and has already visited.

I told him that, personally, I feel less safe in Paris than in Marseille, while also acknowledging that my opinion might be biased, as a woman, I experience certain situations that he will probably never encounter.

Finally, Blaine wanted to test my English listening skills! We talked for a few minutes using his southern accent, and it was honestly very difficult. I think I only understood about half of what he was saying. He had a great time watching me look completely lost! 😅

I'm looking forward to our next call !

And of course I really liked the story, the persuasion of the main character, funny moments that happened, yes I think it was worth it. (Again thanks Scarlett for the recommendation !)

We moved about our internships, as Scarlett said previously (I know I'm late to post lol), I'll start working for 2 months (it begin the 1st of April) with my game theory former teacher, the theme will be about individuals rationality (I have to get my hands dirty to fully understand lol).

I think that's all for this session !

​Then my cat joined the conversation (for a few minutes because he couldn't stand me that day 😭)

​We talked quickly about a potential exchange abroad that she could do (Because I've been pre-selected but I'm not 100% accepted yet)

​Then I asked her she had ever been to Marseille, she said no (she had already been to France), it's not in her plans to travel for the moment.

​So I showed her some photos I took (The Calanques or the beach under a shining sun) and then she really wanted to come strangely looolll.

​So she promised me she would visit Marseille if she ever comes back to France !

We especially discussed the idea that you truly get to know someone when you travel with them. I told him about a very bad experience I had with the person I traveled to South Korea with.

However, I made it clear that it didn’t stop me from fully enjoying my stay there! I absolutely don’t regret that trip. On the contrary, I would really love to go back. In fact, I’m going to do a one-semester exchange there next year (Fall semester).

During our conversation, I also found out that he knows a TikToker from Marseille! I was really surprised that he knew him haha. He’s a TikToker who sings in the metro and does small performances around the city.

Blaine even asked me what his chances were of running into him if he came to Marseille this summer haha ! I told him that he would probably have a good chance of seeing him if he spent some time around the Vieux-Port or in the Saint-Charles metro station.

We spent half of the call sharing small personal anecdotes, and it was really funny.

I’m already looking forward to our next call! 😊

Since it was the first time we met, we decided to introduce ourselves, so I told her my name and that I come to Marseille either by train or by bus, depending on the traffic, from a village next to Aix-en-Provence. I also told her that I'm in my first year of college in a biological program. I told her too that my principal subjects were biology, math, physics, English and chemistry, and she told me that she’s from Brazil, her name is Julia and she’s also in her first year of college in a law program.She also has classes on the history of the United States and other related topics like the exams...

Then,we talked about our class schedules; I don’t remember her exact schedule, but she has a timetable that is much less organized than mine. She asked me which superpower I could choose among all of the above, and I told her that I would choose to fly because I wouldn’t have traffic and I could create my own path. She told me that she would love to avoid traffic too.Too, we talked about the trips we wanted to do. She told me that she would like to go back to Brazil right now because it was Carnival season and she liked the fun and colorful vibes of the Carnival cities. I told her that I don’t want to go to a specific country, but I would prefer to travel to another continent, for example to go to India, because life is completely different there than in France.

For our hobbies, we both go to the gym, but not as much as we would like, and we both love pop music, like for example Dua Lipa...

And we talked about a lot of other things like our visions of french cities like Paris or Marseille, politics, films and TV series and we ended this conversation by talking about how she speaks several languages.

Can't wait for get to know each other better!

Thanks for reading

Patcha was in the preparations for her last birthday in Brown with a sunny☀️ day! She had to prepare decorations in her apartment and she showed me a lot of beautiful flowers💐. She seemed really excited to welcome all her friends.

As they come from different groups of friends she was preparing some games to make some link between us. We discuss about our experiences with society games🃏, I explained her a game that must be really fun (it’s called Esquissé in France)  :

• First, everybody takes a card and has a word, you write it on the first page of your little notebook.

• You give your notebook to the person next to you and he has to draw what this word means.

• He gives the book to another person and he has to guess a word with the only draw !

• You repeat that until the notebook returns to its owner and you discover how your word evolves!

It’s funnier when there are a lot of players! However we discuss about another game which is really fun in group in France we call it Loup Garou🐺. 

After that I explained to her my horse riding lesson of the day and she was curious about my passion so I taught her the basics to drive a horse, what type of horses I prefer (the younger one because you can progress with them, and you feel the discovery on the saddle), all that stuff. Besides, I rode Kool, my favorite horse for a jump session🏇 !

It was a week of sport for me because I also do a night of sport with uni! It was really fun especially the Zumba part and I laughed a lot with my friend even if it was a little bit hard!

Then, Terrell showed me a camera he had thrifted, he mainly uses it to take photos, but sometimes he also records videos.

Then, we talked about university. I told him that I am currently applying for master’s degree. I explained him how it works in France, with the website MonMaster.

This led us to discuss the differences between application process in the US and in France.

I also mentionned that in one of my English classes, we had talked about universities that are trying to innovate by asking students to submit a video instead of the usual written essay. Terrell told me that he actually had to do this when he applied to Brown University. We agreed that this type of application seemed more original and less academic.

This conversation led us to talk more generally about the differences between the education systems in the US and in France.

Finally, we discussed how the Covid-19 pandemic affected our high school years and our experience as students.

08/03/2026

Nigel told me about a film program at his university where students receive four tickets to watch French movies and have to see at least two of them. He plans to watch a French thriller from the 1960s and another film that’s more of a drama-comedy. I thought it was really nice that they organize activities like this to encourage students to discover French cinema.

We also talked about how busy we both are with exams right now. Nigel has a lot of exams at the moment, and I shared that my week has also been quite intense. Since it’s Ramadan and my mom has been abroad, I’ve been cooking every evening for my family after my classes, which has been stressful while also preparing for multiple exams.

Another interesting part of our conversation was comparing university systems. We talked about how different higher education is in the United States, the UK, and France. For example, Nigel explained that his major costs around $90,000 per year, which is very different from the French system. In my case, because I have a scholarship, my tuition is covered, but even without it I would only pay about €200 per year, which shows how accessible public universities in France can be.

I also shared a bit about my personal experience as an international student. I told him about moving to France with my family, adapting to a new country, and learning how to build a life here, making friends, getting used to a new culture, and going through the administrative process of obtaining residency and eventually citizenship.

At the end of our call, we talked about languages. Nigel recently started learning Arabic, so I told him I could help by recommending books, series, movies, and music that might help him practice. I’m planning to ask my parents for suggestions so I can send him a list of things he can watch or listen to as a beginner.

Overall, it was a really nice conversation, and it was interesting to see how our student lives are both similar and very different at the same time.

This time, I had some time to cook at home, so I made sushi! I also found out that Blaine absolutely loves sushi ( who doesn’t like sushi?).

However, I was surprised to learn that where he lives it is quite difficult to find good restaurants that serve good sushi. Here in Marseille, I can easily think of at least four different places that make excellent sushi.

The conversation then went in many different directions. We talked about cinema, especially horror movies, which I personally love but he really doesn’t like at all hahaha. So he had to spend a little while talking about horror movies, somewhat against his will!

We also discussed the political tensions between the United States and the European Union. Since I have learned about this topic through my studies, I was able to share a kind of “economist’s perspective” on the trade deficit that the United States has experienced for about 25 years.

Donald Trump blames the European Union for being partly responsible for this trade deficit. I explained that, in his discourse, he mainly targets Germany, which has a very large trade surplus that largely exceeds the limit recommended by the European Commission (around 6% of GDP). One of Germany’s arguments is that the country is experiencing very rapid demographic aging. Therefore, it tries to maintain a trade surplus in order to finance future consumption when a larger share of the population will be retired, which is expected to happen around 2040.

At the end of the hour, Blaine asked me quite a few questions about French grammar, and honestly they were really relevant! Even though I sometimes struggled to explain certain things clearly, I hope I managed to help him at least a little haha.

We started the call talking about laundry because we had both coincidentally just finished doing it before calling. From there, we started talking about how much laundry costs. She mentioned that in her dorm it recently became free, but she thinks it’s probably included in the tuition without students really noticing. That’s how we ended up comparing tuition fees in the U.S. and in France. I was honestly shocked when she explained that at some American universities, especially Ivy League schools, tuition can go up to $100,000 per year. That’s even higher than the average salary, which explains why so many students rely on financial aid or student loans. I told her that in France it’s completely different because public universities are almost free. We only pay around 105 euros for the CVEC, and scholarship students don’t even have to pay that.

From there, we started talking about taxes. I explained that the reason university is “free” in France is because we pay for it through taxes. But at the same time taxes are everywhere. Groceries are taxed and even makeup is taxed. I told her that the last time I bought makeup I paid a 21% tax

Later, we switched to French and talked about public transportation. I explained that in Aix, I pay 100 euros for a yearly student bus pass, which is affordable, but it only allows me to travel within the city. She told me that in Rhode Island public transport is free, although she prefers walking most of the time.

We ended the call by talking about video games. She really enjoys Minecraft, while I admitted that I’ve never been very into video games. I think maybe I just haven’t found the type of game that suits me yet.

She had just arrived on the East Coast, In New Jersey for a family birthday. She told me about her plans for the long weekend including a trip to NYC.

I learned the expression "red-eye flight" as she had just flown in from LA (6-hour flight).

We moved on to some pretty serious topics. I told her about my day last March 8th during the Women's Rights International Day In Marseille and about an organization I know that runs self-defense workshops for women.

Then we talked about politics more generally like the impact of Trump's policies on international students and among people close to her.

I also told her about the current local elections in France and what the 1st-round results were in Marseille. She asked a lot of questions about how the French political system works, since it's very different from the US.

We agreed to talk about lighter topics next time !

Her birthday was a success! Everybody laughed a lot, and they had a good time with delicious food!

Patcha prepared the stuff to go to Porto Rico! OMG It will be amaziiiiinnng. The holiday’s plan for her and her friends: visiting the city and chilling out on the beach… 

Unfortunately, I don’t have the same plan for next week: I have to revise chemistry🧪…

During this call I was sneezing* because I’m allergic to animal fur* (perfect when you want to be a vet 😂) and in Spring, horses lost their fur!

I explained to her a lot of specific vocabulary for horses because for example we have a word for their hair: “crinière” for all hairs but if you take just one it’s “crin(s)”. I also proved to her that in the French language, horses are luckier than other animals. For others we say they have “pattes” for legs, however for horses, it’s the only animal for which we say as for humans, “jambes”.

We also discussed about my oral of science & society I had during the week, it was about a trial* between TotalEnergies and four charities, it was hard because I don’t know a lot about environmental justice! Thus we talked about the power of these big companies that make pollution… She asked me my favorite topics in science & society: it’s when it deals with genetics because it is impressive all we can do with genes but it’s also an ethical question, can we change all, as we want? I loved this discussion!

*= new vocabulary learned thanks to Patcha ♥️

Today, I had my third call with Nigel. As usual, we started by talking about how our week had gone and what we were planning for the upcoming week.

Nigel told me that his university, Brown, is currently on spring break. He plans to visit his grandmother in Texas for three days, and afterward, he is considering traveling either to Boston or to Vermont, which he described to me during our conversation.

We then discussed our academic schedules, particularly exams. I explained that I have six exams scheduled in one week in May. Nigel was very surprised by this and thought it was a heavy workload, which I found interesting because, for me, it feels quite normal.

After that, we moved on to discussing languages and accents. Since Nigel is learning both Arabic and French, we shared our perspectives on different accents. I explained that I can understand the American accent quite well, mainly because of its strong presence in media such as films and music. I also mentioned that British accents are generally understandable, although some regional accents, especially those from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales can be difficult for me. For example, I find the Glasgow accent particularly hard to understand. On the other hand, I told him that I find the Australian accent relatively easy to follow, as it sounds somewhat similar to the American accent to me.

Nigel then asked me about the differences between Arabic dialects across countries and why people do not all speak Modern Standard Arabic (Fusha). I explained that these differences are largely due to historical and cultural influences. For example, in North Africa, Arabic spread during periods of conquest and cultural exchange, and it blended with existing languages such as Amazigh. In Tunisia, the dialect has also been influenced by Italian and French due to historical interactions, which is why many words from these languages are used in everyday speech. Similarly, Moroccan Arabic (Darija) includes Spanish influences, while Algerian Arabic is heavily influenced by French.

Finally, we talked about language learning. Nigel told me that he is currently learning German and Spanish. I shared that I would also like to learn German and Russian, although I feel that both languages can sound quite harsh to my ear. We laughed about how, sometimes, these languages can sound as if the speakers are arguing, even when they are not.

Overall, the conversation was very enjoyable, and we had a great time exchanging ideas and learning more about each other’s cultures and experiences.

We started the call in English like always, and i got a chance to talk about our new year which was on March 20th, I always love explaining this culture to different people from different cultures and surprisingly everyone loves it ^^

Then we talked a bit about some slng phrases in French and English and I could add to my vocabulary list some cool phrases that mostly students use.

We then switched to French and he told me about this new French movie that they have seen with his class and that he had to do a presentation about.

We spended then the last part of the call talking about travelling as it a commun hobby for both of us, he told me about his trip to Portugal last year and I also shared my experience on my trip to portugal and we both agreed that it was amazing and so beautiful. He told me that he will be travelling to Porto Rico after his last exam which was the day after pur call and he told me how exciting he is to spend some time chilling after a week of exams ^^

Let's see what bring us the next call

During our one-hour phone call on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., we first got to know each other. He told me that he is studying International Relations in his second year of university, which is equivalent to my second year as well, and that he still has two years left before finishing his studies.

He also told me that he would be on holiday for the whole last week of March for spring break. He said that he was planning to go away somewhere with friends on a spontaneous trip, although he did not know yet where they would go.

He told me that he was very happy to speak with me in English and French because he really wants to improve, even though he still finds it difficult sometimes.

We also talked about politics in the United States under Donald Trump’s presidency. He said that he was shocked by the situation as well. He explained that he would like to get involved in politics in the future, work in embassies, and campaign for human rights, justice, and democracy.

As for me, I told him about what I would like to do after my studies: become a field ecologist working with tropical ecosystems. I also said that one of my dreams would be to live in Costa Rica and study biodiversity there.

I mentioned that a friend of mine is studying the same subject, except that he is already doing a Master’s degree. During his third year, he had the opportunity to do an internship in the mangroves of Madagascar. I said that this would interest me a lot too, and that I hope he will put me in touch with his recruiter in the coming months for next year.

Finally, we also talked about the fact that we both enjoy running. We thought it could be a good idea, after he comes back from spring break, to focus on a specific topic during our next phone call. Since we both like sport, we said that sport could be a good theme to discuss.

Marie ROUSSEAU. L2 SVT.

After, we spoke about our respective universities. We compared the schedule and the student life, such as the differences between the university’s cantine.

We also talked about our favorite movies and TV shows. Thanks to that we were able to each discover some new ones. We realized we had the same taste.

Next, we talked about the weather in each of our cities.

After that, we talked about how much we missed our families because of the distance.

Then, we talked about cuisine from each of our countries. We presented some traditional dishes, which made us want to eat lots of different foods.

Finally, we talked about the stereotypes that the French and Americans maybe have about each other. We laugh a lot.

But I remember of what we spoke.

Last monday she told me she will be on vacations next week, so in the time I'm speaking she's already in vacations. She's supposed to be in New York with her sister this week so we won't have conversation this week.

But during our call, we had a discussion about politics because I went to vote the sunday before for the mayors elections, it was my first time to vote and I was happy to vote in my parents' city. She told me she'll have to made a vote by mail soon.

We spoke about our parents job, her mother is a pedetrician and her father is a journalist, her parents' jobs are really interesting!

And we spoke about her time changing because it has change in her country and I told her the next time we'll have call it will be my country's turn to change time because we change time next sunday in France. So I couldn't tell her if we will have an hour more or an hour less because I don't understand if we change time forward or backward.

Then I told her I'll have an oral presentation in english so it was last week and I think it went well.

I'm excited for our last call and a little bit sad because our calls were way too fast but I think we'll keep contact for when she'll come to France and I'll come to USA.

This led us to talk about how quickly time seems to pass. We both felt like this year had gone by incredibly fast. He mentioned that his spring break felt far too short and that one week wasn’t enough to really enjoy it. I shared that I had had a similar conversation with my classmates the day before, where we were all surprised at how September feels like it was just a month ago, even though the academic year is already nearing its end.

We continued discussing Les Misérables, especially how massive the book is and how impressive it is that such a long and complex story has inspired so many adaptations, including movies and Broadway productions. From there, we moved on to exams and grading systems. We compared how much our final exams count toward our overall grades. For him, they represent around 30 to 45 percent, while for me, they can account for anywhere between 60 percent and 100 percent, which makes them much more stressful.

Toward the end of our conversation, we talked about travel. I told him about a trip I took to Turkey in 2016, when I was 10 years old. It was a road trip through the southern part of the country, during which I visited cities like Istanbul and Izmir, as well as the countryside. I also had the chance to visit Cat Island and try many new dishes that I don’t usually get to experience in Tunisia or France. In return, he told me that he will be going to Morocco this summer for a university program to learn Arabic.

We then discussed how easy it is to travel within Europe compared to the United States. I suggested that after his program in Morocco, he could take a ferry to Spain and then travel across Europe by train, visiting countries like Portugal or France. He pointed out that in the U.S., traveling internationally is not as simple, and most trips involve moving between states because of how large the country is. He also shared his interest in visiting several European countries, including Germany, Italy, France and Spain.

Finally, we talked about our own travel experiences. I realized that despite living in Europe, I haven’t explored that many countries yet, mainly Italy, Spain, Andorra, Monaco and France, and possibly Turkey depending on how you see it. It was a really interesting conversation that allowed us to compare not only our academic lives but also our perspectives on travel and time.

We talked about what we were up to, and I told him that I celebrated our new year after our last call, and we talked about our classes and exams.

We talked a bit about the different types of schedules that we have and how we have different exams and all.

He also told me that he was accepted for a summer program with a team working on chemistry, and it was so cool, so he will be joining them for 2 months in Puerto Rico.

We spent some time where he gave me some of the coolest English slang that he had noted while he was on the trip, and it was so cool, so now I have a list of fun English slang ^^

Then he told me all about his trip with his friends to Puerto Rico. They had taken a flight, and apparently there are some governmental issues in the USA right now, and most people are not really working, so they had to wait for a long time at the airport. But fortunately, they could board the plane on time, and they had a 4-hour flight. He told me how the weather was good and that they spent a lot of time at the beach. They did a city tour the first day, and the rest of the trip was just having fun and everything.

He was saying that he couldn’t really rest haha because they were always up to doing something ^^

So that was it for this call.

LEZGO for the next one 🔥

As I told her what I had been doing over the past few weeks, I explained that my chemistry competitive exam is slowly approaching and that I can’t wait for the day to come, even though it will be stressful. We also talked about the weather and the fact that here in Marseille, it already feels like summer. I told her that I love studying outside when it is sunny because it makes me feel like it is summer.

We also discussed our plans for the summer break. I told her that I will probably visit Scotland, as my boyfriend is moving there for a semester in September. She told me how hard it is to find a job during the summer when you are a student. I reassured her: it is just as hard here in France!

However, something striking that I learned is that in the US, when you work as a student, you often do something related to your studies, which is not necessarily the case in France. I found this really interesting because it means that even during the summer, you can do things that will help you with your studies or make it easier to find a job after you graduate.

I really enjoyed talking to Nitya and we promised that we would stay in touch !

Mélodie PLAULT

So, during this short session, we firstly talked about the parties we went to and how she often does parties with her friends or other people, and I told her that I'm not much of a party person, so I only went to parties organized by or with people I liked a lot.

Then we talked about a lot of different things, for example languages. She told me that she speaks Portuguese, English, French, German, and Spanish. I told her I only speak English, French, and a bit of Spanish, but not very well. Then we talked about trying a language totally different from European ones, with a different alphabet, like Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic. She said she would like to learn Japanese, but neither of us has started because it could take too long. To finish the language part, we talked about French. She asked if I prefer French or English, and I said English, because it’s easier and French is complicated, easy to make mistakes and not speak properly.

We also talked about what our lives would be like if they were movies. She told me that hers would be like her favorite film, which is a Brazilian movie about children and crime in the favelas. She loves it because it has a really good plot. Then, we naturally started talking about Omar Sy, a French actor she knew, who plays in the series Lupin on Netflix, where his character is like an inspector. We also talked about movies in general. I told her I don’t really have a favorite film, but I tend to prefer dystopian or fantasy movies, like Avatar or Star Wars, which she had never seen.We realized that even though we don’t live in the same place, it was about 10 degrees where I live in Marseille and where she was, near New York City. She told me she was about to have two exams and that she enjoys her classes because some parts include Mexican history, which is interesting for her since she is Mexican. The week after our conversation, she was going on vacation to New York for the first time, and she was really looking forward to it because she needed a break.

I really enjoyed talking with her and I’m looking forward to our next conversation!

Anaïs

We called with Clay for almost the last one. We started in english where we talked about easter and day-off. We talked about our mid terms and very soon finals… He explained to me how they choose their subjects for theirs bachelors. He wants to keep French studies and political sciences. For his exam, he has to do some essays about one of many laws in US government. Really interesting ! Almost all his exams are essay. Then we talked about cinema. In one of our call, we discussed about Marty Supreme and I went to watch it this week so we shared our opinions. We really loved it and we have to say it’s a really surprising movie. I think movies are a really good way to tell about difficult subject or history. So even if I am not a big cinematic fan I am gonna try to watch more movies. Anyway, we switched in French and we talked about his future concerts with his band… And we talked about sports and world cup and basketball. Then we finished by talking about his choice of fraternity and the difference between each one and the advantages to be a member. Like always it was a good call.

See you soon,

Mahée 🌞

We began by following up on our conversation from last week about the movie Les Misérables by Ladj Ly. Since he had watched it, he explained the plot to me. He described it as a modern reinterpretation of Les Misérables, set in the Parisian suburbs, particularly in the banlieues of the Île-de-France region. He found it very interesting and quite different from the original story.

Then, we moved on to a grammar discussion about the difference between “connaître” and “savoir.” Nigel was unsure when to use each verb, and although I wasn’t completely certain either, I tried my best to explain it. I told him that “connaître” is generally used for people, places, or things. for example, “tu connais ce film ?” or “tu connais cette personne ?”while “savoir” is used for skills or knowledge, like “tu sais conduire ?” or “tu sais cuisiner ?” We spent some time discussing this distinction and practicing examples.

After that, we talked about exams, since the exam period is approaching for both of us. Mine are in about a month, while his are at the end of April, so we’re both feeling a bit stressed. I told him that I have six exams this semester, which really surprised him. We discussed how, in France, students don’t choose how many classes they take, whereas in the U.S., especially at Brown University, students have much more flexibility. From what I understood, they can choose their courses as long as they complete the required credits for their degree.

We also compared our workloads. I explained that in my experience at university in France, we don’t have much homework and are mostly evaluated through exams. For example, I only have one project this semester, and I had just one last semester. In contrast, Nigel has many assignments and projects. He told me about a major group project in international affairs, where he has to simulate representing a country. There are over 70 students involved, and he has to manage multiple group chats at once, which makes it very time-consuming and stressful.

Later, we talked about transportation differences between France and the United States. I explained that even cities like Marseille, which aren’t perfect, still have a relatively developed public transport system, including metros, buses, and trams. This is quite different from many American cities, where public transport is often less extensive. We also noted how easy it is in Europe to travel between countries by train, which is much less common in the U.S.

Towards the end of our conversation, I mentioned that I was having a barbecue with neighbors and family friends because the weather was unusually nice, while Nigel told me it was rainy and cloudy where he was.

Finally, we returned to the topic of university systems. I explained that higher education in France is relatively affordable, especially for me since I receive financial aid. I also mentioned that when I was applying through Parcoursup, I was contacted by several American universities encouraging me to apply. However, I ultimately decided not to pursue those options because of the extremely high tuition fees and the complexity of their system, which felt overwhelming to me.

We ended by talking about what we would study if we had to choose freely. I told him that I would probably choose mathematics or physics, since those fields open many career opportunities in areas like engineering, finance, and science. Nigel said that he would choose a combination of mathematics and philosophy.

She said she loved it, and she even sent me some pictures of the place (she has family there).

Then, we started talking about my own travels.

Basically, I go back to my home country, Algeria, every summer, Scarlett told me she’d love to discover the Maghreb by visiting Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. Of course, I sent her some amazing photos to give her a taste of it (From Algeria because first I used to travel to it, second, it's the least touristic country from these 3).

I also told her that people there are very welcoming and warm-hearted, and that if she ever visits one day, she won't regret it at all!

Angela just came back from a little trip from Mexico city so she gave her impression about the city, she loved her trip.

After that we talked about our music taste and then shared our spotify account. I learned that brown uni organised each year some kind of festival with five artist, must be so fun!

Ambre M

As it was Easter last weekend so I told her a story from my childhood when my family celebrated Easter : My uncle was in charge of taking my cousins and me for a walk in the neighborhood, during this time my mother and my aunts were supposed to hide chocolate eggs and when we came back from our walk my grand mother used to say " the bells have passed" we searched the eggs and ate all of them.

For Easter Talia celebrate Passover with her family and went to Georgia, she ate dinner near a lake!

For me I didn't celebrate it this year but I went hiking because it was very sunny in Marseille.

She told me she envisages to go to Paris this summer and maybe to Marseille too!

It was fun because we talked about our weather of the day and I was like it's 20 degrees Celcius and we didn't understand eachother because her air temperature is in degrees Fahrenheit so we had to convert the temperatures.

we speaks about our plans for the next weekend and she told me she will run. I think she's brave because I will never think of running like that for no reasons it's too tiring.

I also told her I'd finished my spanish serie so I recommended her some spanish serie because she's interested in spanish too. So I recommended her a classic La casa de papel but also control z, Olympo which is a serie based on athletic sports ans the one I finished earlier in the week was esa noche it's a thriller really captivating and interesting.

We talked about my dream to go in South America, in Argentina in Colombia also in Chile and she told me she already been in Chile and saw the rocks of easter island and I confused these rocks with the mount Rushmore because in the beginning she told me she saw the big rocks with faces on it so I made the connection with the mountains of the face of the presidents of the US but then she showed me photos and I understood.

Then I told her I made a clean walk in my campus to pick up waste and after that I ate crepes it was so cool.

In the end of the call I asked her if she knew Percy Jackson because in these books there is a character with her name but I'm not sure if the spelling is the same as her name, she told me she knew it but didn't read the books.

It was fun talking with her I'm gald to have met her!

In french, we mostly talked about food. She recommanded me Krapao, her favorite Thai dish. Then, we switched to litterature. She told me about the books she read for her french class and asked if I knew some of them.

Finally, we ended the call on a mutual hatred for Collen Hoover's books (Sorry Not Sorry if any of her fans are passing by!!)

In french, we talked about the content we consume the most on social media and YouTube, for me it was TrueCrime podcast but with specific podcasters or Youtubers, mostly the ones that don't sympathize with the killers (yes some of them sound like they are rooting for the killer to be freed actually). She told me that she, on the other hand, prefers to watch vlogs, especially the ones made by tourists in Thailand because she likes to see her country from someone else's point of view. We ended the call by talking about parties again.

20/03/2026

We started by talking about our day, especially what we had eaten. We discussed about American food, particularly the fast-food chains we’d like to try, like Cane’s or Wendy’s. We also compared French and American supermarkets: she explained that those in the United States are much larger and that you can find absolutely everything there, especially at stores like Costco or Walmart. We also talked about the famous Crumbl cookies, which look particularly appetizing.

After that, we talked about student life and college parties. She explained how fraternities work at American universities, a concept different from France.

For my part, I told her about my involvement in a student organization. I also showed her examples of the student Apero we organize, as well as the related Instagram posts.

Finally, we discussed our plans for the upcoming vacation. She told me about her upcoming trip, describing the beautiful weather and pleasant temperatures, which really made me dream.

She also told me where her university is located. I think it’s a great location, she can visit lots of places.

After that, we shifted to lighter topics, like the flowers she always keeps on her desk. Right now, she has these really pretty narcissus flowers she got from Trader Joe's. She explained that it's actually a cultural thing for her to always have flowers around on her desk.

Then we got onto the infamous topic of revision during the holidays. I honestly believe it’s a conspiracy, every university seems to do it on purpose. They give you a break, only to hit you with the worst exam right after, so there’s basically no chance to relax.

Somehow, we got onto the topic of Thanksgiving. I confessed that my entire image of the holiday is just a massive cliché straight out of The Princess Diaries, a book series I absolutely devoured when I was younger. It was truly iconic to me ! This naturally led us to talk about holidays. She explained that New Year's Eve is a huge family holiday in Russia, whereas in the US, it's more about partying with friends. Anna also got a bit nostalgic talking about Orthodox Easter when she was a kid, and how much she loved painting eggs. I told her the only time I ever painted eggs was during a school trip to Germany… I’m not even sure that I actually painted them, I think they were pre-painted, so I just ate them.

We also talked about Pashka, which is a traditional Russian dessert made of cottage cheese that they make a lot for Easter in Russia.

Towards the end, we started talking about food and realized we're both pretty picky eaters (well, me more than her). We had a debate about burgers because Anna absolutely hates ketchup. She’d rather eat her burger totally dry, or maybe just with a little mustard or mayo. I'm not a huge fan of ketchup either, but I argued that you kinda have to put some in a burger ! I mentioned that I don't really eat burgers anyway since I don't eat meat, only fish. Anna pointed out that this makes me a pescatarian. I told her I really don't like that word, but I guess technically she's right. She said she could never do it because she really needs her macros, especially proteins and carbs (contrary to what it sounds like, she’s not a gym bro).

Tuesday, February 17th, 2026

Anna always does our sessions sitting at her desk in her student room, with a window right in front of her. So she can literally see the weather while we’re talking. As usual, she started by telling me what it looked like outside in Providence, and I answered that it was probably nicer where I live anyway. The south of France has that advantage (sorry, not sorry).

After that, I asked her if she had a good weekend. She told me she had actually gone to Boston to do some shopping. Apparently Boston is quite different from Providence in that regard. According to her, Boston has basically all the shops she is used to, so when she really wants to buy things, that’s where she goes. Providence is nice, but clearly not exactly a shopping paradise.

At some point she also mentioned that she might be travelling during spring break. I think she said March, but honestly I’m not completely sure anymore. She told me she was planning a trip to Spain, probably to Barcelona and Madrid, with one of her close friends. It sounded like a very classic but very good plan.

Then, somehow, we started talking about Germany. I don’t even remember exactly how we got there (conversations with Anna tend to work like that). She told me that she had travelled to Germany a few years ago, which reminded me that I had technically been to Germany too… although my experience was slightly less impressive. I told her that I had gone there once during a school trip when I was in middle school. The funny part is that we stayed extremely close to the border, so sometimes we would literally cross back into France during the trip. So yes, I have been to Germany, but let’s say it wasn’t the most immersive cultural experience.

That naturally led us to talk about languages. Anna seemed a bit surprised when she realized that I had studied German for years but still don’t really speak it. I explained that I had started learning German in elementary school (at 9), but somehow almost none of it stayed in my brain. She told me she had a similar problem with Italian. She had studied it for quite a long time too, but because she almost never practices it now, she feels like she has forgotten basically everything.

Later, we started talking about transportation between cities in the U.S. Anna explained that she sometimes goes to New York from Providence, either to visit family or friends. She mentioned a train line that goes along the East Coast and stops in several cities between Boston and New York. I don’t remember exactly which train it was (Northeast Regional or Northeast Corridor, I can’t remembrer), but apparently the tickets can be ridiculously expensive if you don’t book them very far in advance. She said buses are usually cheaper, although even those can get expensive if you buy the ticket at the last minute. I told her that for me, anything above thirty or forty euros already feels expensive for bus transportation. When I travel, especially to Italy, I often take long-distance buses, and sometimes the tickets are ridiculously cheap if you book early enough, I've definitely travelled for less than ten euros before.

At some point we returned to the topic of her applications to study in France. I asked her if she had applied only to Paris or if she had also considered other cities. She told me she had applied to a few other places as well, including Nice. That was the perfect moment for me to introduce her to a very important concept of French geography : the infamous diagonale du vide. I explained to her that it’s basically the large, less populated area in the middle of the country. We both laughed at the idea that if she was particularly unlucky with the admissions process, she might end up there.

That led us to a small debate about cities. She told me that if she ever ended up completely broke while studying in France, she would probably rather be broke in Paris than in a smaller city like Nice. Her argument was that big cities offer more opportunities and resources.

I wasn’t entirely convinced. I explained that smaller towns sometimes have stronger social connections and that people can be more supportive of each other. In big cities, people tend to be much more anonymous. In the end, we realized that our perspectives probably come from our backgrounds. Anna has spent a lot of time in very large cities like New York, whereas I mostly grew up in smaller towns.

Then, for reasons that remain completely mysterious, the conversation suddenly turned to cheese. I honestly have no idea how we got there. Anna told me that she absolutely loves Saint-Nectaire, a French cheese she had tried before. Apparently she doubts she could easily find it there, and if she did, it would probably cost a ridiculous amount of money. Unfortunately for her, I had to confess that I’m really not a big fan of cheese in general. I told her that I can tolerate things like mozzarella or parmesan, but mostly when they’re melted in a dish. If they’re part of a sauce or something hot, the taste is a bit less aggressive for me.

Toward the end of the session, I told her about something that had happened in one of my classes. We were discussing the COVID period, and the professor warned us that it might bring back some bad memories. One student casually said that it wasn’t so bad for her because she had spent the entire lockdown riding horses. That comment honestly made me smile and realize how different people’s experiences of the pandemic were. Spending the lockdown riding horses definitely suggests a very particular lifestyle. That observation somehow led us to talk about our “dream homes.” I told her that realistically, I’m not even sure my generation will be able to afford houses very easily in the future. In a completely unrealistic scenario, I told her that my dream would be to own both a riad and a traditional Provençal Mas. We briefly talked about what those houses look like and why they are beautiful, and also why they are completely out of reach for most people (me).

Unfortunately, the session ended a bit abruptly because Anna had another class right after ours. She had to leave quickly to go teach it, so we said goodbye rather fast before she disappeared to her next commitment.

Tuesday, February 24th, 2026

We had to report this call because we have a lot of work to do : she finished her thesis, however I still need to revise my chemistry!!

She have a project for this week, 

I loved revisions with my friends last week and this week-end I saw my family so it was nice but I am beginning to stress about this exam. To calm down we talked about what I love : horses. Indeed Patcha wanted to know the muscles that you worked when you rode a horse because last week I tried archery 🏹 and my arms hurt me! I’m making a short answer but actually it depends on the horse you ride.

I asked her how her trip to Puerto Rico was and you know what? She loved the old city and she danced salsa (soooo amazing!). For my fun with my friends, we went to karaoke🎤 and I lost my voice, it was worth it!!! 

Good news: next year she will move to London for her studies! I have to visit her because I never went to England and she has to visit Marseille too. I was curious how difficult it is to find an apartment in London… She is trying to find something with a friend and we discussed roommates. Personally, it will be hard to not turn crazy if I had nobody to speak to so I can’t live alone! 

We enjoyed living outside last week because the sun came back🌞! And that is the reason why I went shopping this weekend🛍️!

It was our last call (officially) but we will continue to practice our language !

I made the mistake of suggesting it could be the flue, which she immediately rejected… She made it clear, she absolutely refuses to manifest the flu again because she already had it recently and has suffered enough. This led her to explain that ever since COVID, she feels like her immune system has never fully recovered. She’s had COVID 3 times, the first time in 2022, and apparently it was awful : intense headaches, and at one moment she genuinely couldn’t remember anything (maybe brain fog, with inflammation, cytokines, and the blood–brain barrier… well, I explained things while simultaneously realizing I might not fully understand them myself).

At some point, I asked her a question that had been living rent-free in my mind since the first semester : do people at Brown actually cook ? Anna talks about campus dining halls so often that I started to suspect cooking might simply not exist there. She confirmed that kitchens do exist, but almost nobody uses them because the dining halls offer so much variety that cooking becomes unnecessary. That day happened to be taco day (at least I think), which she seemed genuinely excited about; apparently, students can check menus in advance (like before eating).

The conversation moved to her Depop activity, basically an American Vinted sibling. She needs shipping boxes and plans to go collecting in the central hall, where students pick up packages since deliveries aren’t allowed directly to dorm rooms. She explained that in regular U.S. housing, packages are usually just dropped in front of your door (???). She told me that she had just sold some of her figurines (I do think they were some cute little nativity figures).

I showed her my Sanrio keychains. I explained that my collection started with a random keychain I once found on a bus and has since evolved into a full personality trait. I proudly presented Kuromi, My Melody, and Hello Kitty. Anna warned me I was about to be jealous, and she was absolutely right, because Brown apparently has Sanrio university merch. I experienced immediate emotional damage… I don’t think I could one day recover from it.

This somehow turned into a discussion about capitalism and consumption. I admitted that buying cute merch and tiny objects is probably peak capitalist comfort behavior, but also deeply enjoyable. I usually say “Un peu de réconfort dans le capitalisme <3”.

Naturally, we then solved the global debate about artificial intelligence. We talked about environmental concerns, especially water consumption linked to AI systems. I told her about a conference project my class is organizing and how frustrating it feels when people generate ideas with AI first and only afterward try to “humanize” them (curation manuelle). Even when intentions are good, it sometimes feels like creativity is happening backwards. Anna said that at Brown, many students and professors are quite critical of AI use.

Toward the end of the conversation, we drifted into languages. I mentioned that I find Russian beautiful to listen to, while she likes Ukrainian too. This turned into a mini linguistic discussion about the difference between a language and a dialect, and how political borders often decide that distinction more than actual linguistic distance.

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026

Today’s exchange was really interesting because we talked about topics like school systems and traditions.

We started by comparing timetables in France and in the US. I explained how in France, our schedules are quite fixed, and we don’t really get to choose our classes. Everything is decided for us, and the days can be pretty long. In contrast, in the US system, students have much more freedom. They can choose their classes and organize their schedules based on what they want to study. It feels more flexible and honestly less rigid than what we’re used to.

Then I told her about my day at the airport which was kind of chaotic... The X-ray scanner kept beeping for no reason, and it turned into one of those awkward moments where you don’t know what’s wrong but everyone is staring at you. Definitely not my best moment xD

After that, we talked about traditions. She introduced me to Junkanoo, a traditional festival in the Bahamas. It’s a huge celebration with music, dancing, and incredibly colorful costumes. She showed me pictures, and I was honestly amazed by how vibrant and detailed everything looked. It seems full of energy and culture, and I’d really love to experience it one day.

She also explained the meaning of the Bahamian flag: blue represents the sea, yellow the sun, and black the strength of the people. I found it simple but really meaningful.

Then I shared my own background and talked about the Algerian flag. The green represents hope, the red crescent and star are linked to Islam, the white stands for peace, and the red can symbolize the blood of our martyrs. I also talked about Yennayer, the Amazigh New Year celebrated in Algeria and other North African countries. It’s an important tradition in our culture, often celebrated with family gatherings and special meals like couscous. We also have a tradition where sweets and candies are poured over the youngest child in the family, which symbolises prosperity and good luck for the year to come.

To finish, we listened to each other’s national anthems, which was actually surprising. The Bahamian anthem felt very calm and peaceful, almost giving tropical vibes. I had never heard an anthem like that before. It was really different from what I’m used to, and it made me realize how much culture can influence even something like music.

Overall, it was a really interesting exchange, and learning more about the Bahamas honestly made me want to visit one day.

There was actually a lot to say because we both had very busy weeks.

In my case, I had two midterms and two oral exams, including one that counts as a final grade, so I really couldn’t afford to fail it.

My midterms went quite well, I hope everything will be fine, as for the oral exams honestly, I didn’t have much to say (thanks to my two group teammates).

Scarlett also had a busy week with the projects she had to complete and going back to classes after her holidays.

She really enjoyed her break and did some pretty cool activities.

Finally, there were only five minutes left so I quickly told her about my internship.

However, the session was almost over, so I said we would talk more about it for the next (and last) session !

He told me that he was on spring break this week, while I explained that I only have 2 weeks of classes left before my exams. We briefly talked about our course organization before the summer holidays, and he mentionned that he still has some lab sessions to come.

Then, we talked about an oral presentation he had to do in his French class. He had to present a French book and compare it with its English translation, focusing on possible differences. He chose Tintin and explained that some puns (I learned that word today!) especially character names, are less funny or do not have the same meaning when translated into English.

I also told him about the topics and the content of my upcoming oral exams, such as aspartame, a sweetner and cocoa fermentation and industrial processes.

After that, we discussed accents. I told him about the differences between accents in France, for example between the South and Paris, and I taught him the slang word « tarpin ». We then talked about English accents, such as Australian, British, and differences between the South and the North of the United States. He mentioned the expression « y’all » and explained that he feels like accents are becoming less noticeable nowadays, partly because of the influence of media.

22/03/2026

To start, I picked up the conversation from the previous session about internships.

Scarlett told me that she has normally found one.

As for me, I explained mine to her : it involves creating a protocol for an experiment that will be organized around Game Theory and the study of individuals who think like Kantians (that is, people who want everyone to act the same way as them and aim to achieve the best outcomes for everyone).

With my limited vocabulary, my explanations were probably not 100% accurate.

However, Scarlett understood everything, so I was proud of myself lol.

Then, we talked again about what is coming next, especially our exams, which are getting very close.

In my case, they are already starting next week.

We finished the last session with this sentence, and for sure, we’ll keep in touch in the next few weeks (as I’m doing with Katherine).

After that, I told him that each Wednesday I have a sports class called ( body sculpt ) at the university, I'm loving it. I met different people, some of them are students while others are teachers, so It was lovely meeting them.

He also told me what he did. Lately, the weather is so nice in his city so he is spending quality time with his friends.

He has two weeks left and then he's going back to his hometown, his city, which is New York. He showed me his room and he has a roommate. His room is quite nice, he has pictures of New York.

It was good to be back and to share what we have done recently.

I told him that my English exam this semester was to create a podcast! With my team, we chose the topic of the happiness paradox, and we explored it from an economic perspective, discussing the Easterlin Paradox and the paradox of choice. It was a really interesting subject, especially since we had the opportunity to interview a researcher whose specialty is human behavior (including game theory).

It was a very enriching experience, and to lighten the serious tone of the podcast, I added a blooper reel haha! My teacher definitely wasn’t expecting it, it was really fun.

Blaine also told me about his future plans and that he might come to France this summer. And of course, if he does, we’ll definitely meet! In the meantime, we’ll stay in touch on social media to share our lives and have calls from time to time.

The teletandem was really great this semester!!

We then discussed our preferences regarding living in big cities versus smaller towns. I explained that I have always lived in large cities, such as Tunis and now Marseille, whereas Nigel said he could not imagine living in very large cities like New York or Washington, D.C., mainly because of the strong presence of tourism and the focus on visitors rather than locals. We both agreed that Marseille offers a good balance between tourist activity and local life. Finally, we compared the university application systems in France and the United States. I explained how Parcoursup limits applications and guarantees at least one placement, while he described the American system, where students can apply to many universities but are not guaranteed admission. I found this difference quite surprising, especially the concept of GPA, which I still find somewhat difficult to fully understand. Overall, this conversation was very engaging, and we agreed to continue our calls next week, even though the initial requirement has been completed, as we both appreciate these exchanges

Then, we turned in French. We talked about our study. I asked him if next year, he Will stay on the same course of this year or he Will change. He told me that he hesitated between law or stay on the same course (litterature). He asked me the same question and I told him that I wont change and stay on the same course (psychology). And finally we talked about our future job. He want maybe to work in the Field of law or of the litterature. I told him that I want to study in France, and work in the US as criminal psychologist.

This time, the exchange felt more natural, personal, and truly engaging.

From the start, I could tell the discussion would be different. Running is a genuine passion of mine, and I was glad my partner was open to exploring it. I began by explaining why I love it—not just as a sport, but as a personal moment to disconnect and clear my mind. As I spoke, my partner grew increasingly curious, asking thoughtful questions about how I started and what keeps me going.

The conversation naturally shifted toward personal experiences. I shared one of my favorite memories: the day I got to run with Mathieu Blanchard. He had come to train with my club, SCO Sainte-Marguerite, and I remember feeling both excited and slightly intimidated. However, once we started running, everything felt surprisingly natural, and we even managed to chat a bit. I told my partner how happy and inspired I felt that day; it made my passion feel real and gave me even more motivation. My partner seemed genuinely impressed and asked many questions about him and trail running in general.

Throughout the session, we switched smoothly between French and English, helping each other whenever needed. We discussed the benefits of running, both physical and mental. I explained how it helps me manage stress and stay focused, especially during busy periods. This led my partner to reflect on their own habits, admitting they had never really thought about running in this way before.

Toward the end of the session, something meaningful happened: my partner said our discussion actually made them want to try running. Hearing that made me really happy, as it felt like I had shared something personal and significant, not just information. We then talked about how they could get started, offering simple and realistic advice.

Overall, this session felt less like a formal exercise and more like a genuine conversation. Preparing a theme in advance clearly helped us connect better and go deeper into the topic. It also made the discussion more enjoyable and memorable. I look forward to continuing in this way for our next sessions.

Marie ROUSSEAU.

We started by discussing what studying this field involves, which quickly led us to Donald Trump and his controversial foreign policy. We dove into specific tensions, like the situations in Iran and Venezuela, and debated the U.S. role in global affairs.

I’ll admit, this felt trickier than our usual chats. Politics is sensitive, and with the language barrier, we sometimes hesitated, carefully choosing our words to avoid misunderstandings. This slowed us down but made the exchange more thoughtful.

Despite the initial awkwardness, we realized we agreed on many fundamental points. As we relaxed, we openly criticized certain American interventions and discovered we share similar values on these global issues.

Ultimately, the conversation flowed much better than expected. It felt like we weren’t just practicing English, but learning how to navigate complex topics with nuance. This session was challenging but incredibly enriching, proving that meaningful discussions are possible even on sensitive subjects.

Marie ROUSSEAU

He shared his "Emily in Paris" vision of elegant cafés and architecture, while acknowledging it's only part of the reality. This allowed us to honestly compare expectations with real life. When the topic shifted to the South of France, I described Marseille as authentic and charming, but also lively and chaotic. I mentioned local staples like panisses and Ricard, and brought up the rapper Jul. This led to a funny moment where he initially thought Jul was someone I personally knew!

Things got even lighter when I tried to explain that Marseille isn't the typical "postcard" South compared to places like Cassis or Sanary-sur-Mer.

He struggled with the pronunciation, and we both ended up laughing while repeating the names. We also tackled Marseille's somewhat negative reputation in France (dirty, noisy, unsafe). He wisely pointed out that this sounds like many large cities, adding nuance to the discussion. We agreed that despite this image, the city is attracting more visitors than ever, especially since the pandemic.

Switching between French and English created a few small misunderstandings, but instead of hindering us, it made the exchange feel more natural and often hilarious. Overall, this was our most relaxed and enjoyable session. It felt like a genuine conversation where we could laugh, share perspectives, and learn from each other without pressure.

Marie ROUSSEAU.

During our final session, my partner and I had a much more personal and heartfelt conversation than usual. We talked for about an hour, and even though we hadn’t planned a specific topic, the discussion naturally turned to the experience of being far from family.

At one point, my partner shared his own story. He told me he was originally from Mexico but moved to New York State as a child. Even though he grew up there, he said he doesn’t see his extended family often now, which he sometimes finds difficult. He also mentioned his recent concerns about immigration policies under Donald Trump, especially with ICE’s actions.

Because of this, he tries to call his family more frequently to check in on his aunts, cousins, and other relatives. I could tell this was a meaningful topic for him, even if he didn’t go into great detail.

His words made me reflect on my own situation, and I felt comfortable enough to share it with him. I explained that I’d be returning to Nantes soon for the holidays to see my family and spend time with them. I told him that living in Marseille makes it a bit challenging, wee only see each other during school break...but we try to stay close by calling each other every week.

As the conversation grew more personal, I also opened up about my relationship with my father. I shared that my parents are separated and that I’ve been a bit upset with him lately, so we haven’t been in touch much. It wasn’t easy to talk about, but I felt I could trust him. I added that I hope to reconnect with my father at some point, even if I’m not sure how yet. My psychologist suggested I try writing him a letter as a way to process my emotions and move forward, even if I don’t end up sending it.

This part of our conversation was definitely deeper than our previous ones. At first, I hesitated, but my partner was attentive and respectfully curious, which made it easier for me to open up. He didn’t judge; instead, he shared small parts of his own experiences, creating a real sense of connection and exchange.

Marie ROUSSEAU.

Then, our conversation turned to internet memes. We shared American memes and French memes . It made us laugh a lot and made the conversation even more enjoyable. We discovered we had a pretty similar sense of humor.

Finally, we talked about a BTS album and our favorite songs. We noticed that their new songs are quite different from the old ones, with more autotune and more English-sounding lyrics. We compare them with their older tracks, which we still love. We discovered that we both knew the choreography for various South Korean music groups, and we even tried to recreate a few of them together, which was a really fun moment.

Then I told her that I had dinner with a friend. We ate at McDonald’s and watched a really funny reality TV show, which helped us have a good time and relax after class. I also told her that I had gone on my first cours with this friend and that it was a great experience that I really enjoyed.

Then, our conversation turned to the games we play. We mentioned several mobile games like Candy Crush, Subway Surfers, Temple Run, Magic Tiles, Fruit Ninja, and Knife Hit. We also talked about computer games, especially the hair-styling games we used to play when we were younger, which brought back memories.

Finally, we discussed Animal Crossing and how much fun we had playing it, especially on the Nintendo DS. We shared our nostalgia and affection for this game, which remains a very fond memory for us.

Next, we talked about her trip to Europe. She’s going to visit Paris, a city in Germany, and some cities in Spain. I gave her a recommendations in Paris, and for Madrid, I also shared some useful tips. I showed her some photos from my travels.

She also asked me for recommendations on French movies. I was a bit stumped because I mostly watch foreign films and very few French ones. Then I remembered that France is well-known for its comedies, so I recommended movies to her, like Brice de Nice, Les Tuches, and Papa ou maman. I also suggested Intouchable, which she had already seen and really enjoyed. We also realized that we both love romantic movies, and I had really like to go see the movie Materialists with Anne Hathaway.

In this second session, Antarra shared too that she's very busy, since she's volunteer of autombile classes. I was surprised because it's my first time, I see someone to be volunteer in autombile classes, like how does it work ? Then, she explained all the concepts etc.

It was Sunday, so in the US it was the morning, Antarra was cooking for her brunch. We found out that it was an another common point, we love cooking, trying new recipes etc. She asked me if I cook traditional dishes or common things like pasta or something else. Then, I told her that the last night, I tried to cook a comorian dishes the "pilao" it's like biryani but definitily, I will take some classes with my mother ! For her, she cooks more italian dishes, something we have in common, we love both their cuisine !

After, we spoke about how it was funny the difference between our countries. For example, She drive an authomatic automobile and mostly of them drive authomatic cars while here it's the opposite we drive manuals vehicles. Something else, the public transports aren't useful and many like in Europe. So, they're in forced in a way to get a drivers license.

To finish our call, we planned an another session, and we spoke about our revision.

Thanks for reading and see you soon !

We started by talking about our finals we are going to pass in May. I asked if they have some evaluation all along the semester and like me he says it is only in some classes. We talked about his fraternity and the challenge to join the fraternity. And he talked about his music group and his last concert in Brown and other club where is a member. Then we shared our summer plans. He will work as camp staff and then he hopes he’ll go to holidays with his loved ones. As for me, I officially joined Club med as an activity leader. We shared our opinions on this teletandem experience. For him, it’s a perfect opportunity to speak french. Especially, because I talk in a fluent french with our own french expressions. Otherwise, in his french class, the teacher takes his time to speak and articulate and people who talked during class are not native so it’s easier for him. That the moment, where I shared with him some french expressions or what we called “ref”. For me teletandem is a beautiful opportunity to meet new peoples, learn more about US college and cultures and have a different perspective of what is happening in US or in the world. Of course, I’m improving my english and I’m more comfortable now than in the beginning of the semester. To finish we talked about our project to study abroad in third year.

Thank you for this beautiful program and I hope I’ll see you next year.

Nagham then said that if she could only eat one dish for the rest of her life, she would eat sushi. She loves sushi with salmon and some sushis with mango. I learnt that people could bake sushi, something she has done 5-6 times. I recommended she try a Sunday Roast, one of my favourite meals as well. It was a wonderful conversation.

I chose Adele and so is he.

Then we picked a dish we could eat for our entire life, mine is sushi and for him is a Sunday Roast. I have never tried it before but I would love to try it one day!

It was lovely asking these types of questions.

As for me, I’m heading to the Haut Vercors with friends for some hiking at the end of May—can’t wait to be in the mountains. Come July and August, I’m planning to waitress in Marseille to gain some experience while enjoying the city. June is still up in the air, but camping and a festival are likely on the agenda, just haven’t picked the spot yet.

Honestly, I really enjoyed our call. It was great to practice speaking and get to know each other’s plans better. I’d love to keep in touch and maybe hop on more calls now and then, even outside the formal language exchange.

Marie ROUSSEAU.

Chill call, Angela was sun bathing on Brown University's lawn and I was in my couch while my stencil on. We talked about the end of the university year, Angela is finishing her thesis about lesbian chinese woman, wich is kind of a special choice. After that she will be litteraly ending university. I am waiting to receive her thesis and really excited to read it!

She didn't had enough battery so the call endend roughly, but even if it was our last official call I'll guess we'll continue this friendship ;)

Bye teletandem! It was a nice experience

Ambre Marquet

After the 30mins,  we started to speak in English, so she was joking with me by saying she was relieved that we started speaking in English because she was struggling with today's session. Antarra made a point that we didn't have a chat on WhatsApp this week so she said she is going to send me messages because it helped her a lot. Last time,  I talked about my sport activities that  I practiced the running, so she asked me  about how many times I was practicing it ? And how many kilometers I do ? She was surprised when I told her I like running to 3AM, and she asked me if was not scared to run at night and I said that I was not scared at all. 

Consequently, we had a conversation about the security in Marseille, if Marseille was a safety city ? obviously I answered her that Marseille isn't a safety city. For example last year, 22 people were shoot in Marseille. So Antarra asked if in France, the guns were free to people. Together, we read an article about the safety in France .

I also talked about my dream job and my own ambitions. We both realized that we are very ambitious and motivated about our futures, which made our conversation even more interesting.

Then she showed me the drawing she’s working on, and i thought it was beautiful, even with just the first few draw. After that, i told her i’d created a LinkedIn account: we connected, and she explained how to use it and make the most of it.

We also talked about movies, and she told me she’d seen La La Land, which i have never watched.

Then we talked about Coachella and the artists performing there. We sang Justin Bieber songs and talked about the time Billie Eilish joined him on stage, which made us feel a little nostalgic.

She taught me some new slang terms used by young Americans, and i taught her some of my own. We ended the call by sharing memes.

We agreed that we would keep contact and continue to call each other.

To begin with, I told her that I already have a neck tattoo, which was quite surprising for me because it did not hurt at all, even though I had been told that this area is very sensitive due to the presence of nerves and bone.

I also mentioned that I already have several piercings, and I personally prefer tattoos. In my experience, tattoos are easier to heal compared to piercings, which are much more painful and more difficult to take care of during the healing process.

We then briefly discussed the meaning of our respective tattoos, as she also has a small tattoo on her collarbone.

She told me that she already has three tattoos, which represent women’s rights and reflect them very well, and that they were not very painful. For example, one of them is a bee, which is very meaningful to her. She also has more natural-themed tattoos, like a bird and other simple elements from nature. We talked about their meanings and how important they are to her.

Finally, we talked about our pets. She told me that she has a cat because her brother found a kitten in the street, which originally came from the house of her neighbour who had many cats.

I’m looking forward to discussing more topics with her.

Anaïs

We also talked about why we are learning English and French. She told me that she speaks several languages, including Portuguese, which is her native language, French, Spanish and German. She mainly uses English because it is an international language and many people expect her to speak it. But she said she does not really like English as a language, even if it is useful. She also said she finds the American accent less nice.And I told her I want to learn English because I want to live in an English-speaking country and experience English-speaking culture, like the United Kingdom or Australia.

We also talked about our daily life preferences, like living day by day or planning things in advance. She does not like unexpected situations or surprises. She prefers to plan her day in advance and organize everything as much as possible. Even if she does not always follow her plans exactly, she feels more comfortable when she knows what she is going to do. She does not like doing things without thinking about them before, because she feels it can create unnecessary stress. For her, it is better to be prepared and know in advance how her day will go.

Then we ended this conversation by talking about stress management.

I’m looking forward to discussing more topics with her.

Anaïs

I really enjoyed learning more about her background. It was interesting to hear her talk about Jamaica, because it seems like a very beautiful country with a rich culture. I liked listening to her and discovering more about her life.

This conversation helped us know each other better. I enjoyed talking with her a lot, and I think she enjoyed talking with me too. It was a very nice and interesting exchange.

Then we moved on to Master’s applications. I mentioned my deadline was on the 17th, and she said hers was on the 16th since she’s applying to programs in France. We briefly bonded over the universal joy of application deadlines…

The conversation drifted into ghosting and modern dating chaos. Anna told me about a guy from one of her classes who was casually dating multiple girls, with everyone kind of aware of it. She compared the situation to a Dorothy Parker short story, which is apparently a dramatic mix of waiting, overthinking, and emotional suspense.

I mentioned that this situation reminds me of John Tucker Must Die, a movie that I saw back-to-back with Lola Montès… I liked them both, to be honest.

Anna then talked about how busy she is right now: thesis due soon, exams, and she even had to cancel a figure skating competition. On top of that, it’s Francophonie Month in Providence, with the French and Francophone Film Festival happening at Brown, focusing a lot on the French New Wave (À bout de souffle, Godard, … I hate la nouvelle vague PARISIENNE).

We briefly talked about series (she’s more of a series person than films), and somehow landed on Bridgerton. I confessed my disappointment with the recent season, too predictable, not enough stakes.

We also touched on ChatGPT and how it might slowly change the way we structure our thoughts and write. I think it’s starting to become a recurring motif, because we always end up discussing ChatGPT at the end of our conversations, and we’re both kinda not fans, I would say…

Anyway, as usual, she had to leave for class…

Tuesday, March 10th, 2026

Then she told me about her roommate, who apparently kind of lost it recently. There was some messy situation involving sleeping with a gay she wasn’t supposed to (to be fair I’m not totally sure of the exact configuration anymore, like who was  the boy, but it was connected to someone in her circle of friends). In any case, it turned into a pretty chaotic emotional situation. At some point, the roommate even paid someone on Etsy to do some kind of witchcraft or spell. And she’s also apparently an extremely wealthy international student, which made the whole story even more surreal.

We then talked a bit about international students more generally.

After that, we moved on to nationality. I mentioned that I have multiple nationalities, and we talked about the idea that identity isn’t necessarily tied to one country, and that you can feel connected to more than one place at the same time.

Then she joked that, to properly represent America, she had bought herself a pair of cowboy boots. We talked about the price, I found it a bit expensive, but she said it was actually reasonable, especially since a friend of hers had paid even more for the same kind, so in comparison it was a good deal.

From there, we drifted into aesthetics and branding, especially this kind of “American” aesthetic and how it gets represented or performed through clothing. For example she owns a sweater with an American flag on it, more in a joking, slightly ironic way than anything else.

After that, the conversation shifted toward childhood cultural references and early perceptions of America. I mentioned that when I was younger, I had a very idealized vision of the United States, largely shaped by Disney Channel. We ended up discussing how Disney Channel was really aimed at pre-teens rather than actual teenagers, and how that specific stage (around 12 or 13) feels less culturally represented today. We talked about how there used to be media, fashion, and cultural spaces specifically designed for that in-between age, before adolescence fully begins, and how that category seems to have disappeared.

I brought up French equivalents of that pre-teen culture, mentioning brands and influencers that once targeted younger audiences, such as Pimkie or Jennyfer, with Léna Situations collaborations, I mean, the collaboration was designed specifically for early teenage girls.

She said that, for her, a comparable figure representing that era in the U.S. would probably have been JoJo Siwa.

This led us into a discussion about objectivity and taste in pop culture. I argued that there’s a difference between something being objectively good and simply liking it. Some works can be technically strong without resonating personally, while others can be enjoyable despite obvious flaws. We joked about Karma by JoJo Siwa, which felt bad both objectively and subjectively, which opened a broader discussion about how impossible true objectivity in art actually is.

From there, we moved into cinema and artistic judgment. I explained that not liking something doesn’t automatically make it bad, for instance, I don’t particularly enjoy every film by Steven Spielberg, even though I recognize their quality. They can be objectively well-made while still feeling emotionally flat or simply not aligned with my taste.

Another example I mentioned was that I understand why people love Taylor Swift even though I am not personally a fan.

After that, we talked about the French duo Videoclub. She said she liked them, and I argued that Adèle Castillon’s solo work is better without Mathieu, whose voice I have always found atrocious, even if I didn’t really listen to them back then.

The discussion then turned to newer French artists, and I brought up Théodora, who has recently gained significant visibility in France. I explained that I really appreciate her because she embodies a kind of “weird Black girl” archetype that rarely has space in French media. We talked about how POC and specially WOC are often confined to very specific expectations, and how difficult it is to exist publicly outside those predefined roles. Even fitting the expected mold can already be challenging, so occupying a more alternative or unconventional identity becomes even more marginal.

I argued that POC are often perceived as culturally monolithic, as if there were only one acceptable aesthetic or lifestyle. When someone deviates from that image, being more alternative, artistic, or simply different, they are labeled as an exception rather than understood as part of the normal diversity within those communities.

The conversation gradually expanded into broader reflections on identity, aesthetics, and social perception, moving between personal experience, cultural observation, and obviously humor until the session eventually came to an end… the last one this time.

March 20th, 2026

I told her that if she ever comes to Paris, it would be nice for us to meet in person. We both thought that it would be a great opportunity to spend time together and continue our exchange outside of our calls. It was a very nice conversation, and I enjoyed imagining this possibility with her.

This discussion made our exchange feel more personal and friendly, and it helped us get to know each other better.

I enjoyed this conversation because it was simple but very nice. It helped us continue getting to know each other better.

She told me that she had to do registrations to get a room on campus next year. I found their rooming system a bit funny. From what I understood, it is based on a lottery but the older ones were a little privilegied AND they all have to pay the same rent even if the rooms are different. She told me that she lives above fratboys who love to party and that on St. Patrick's day, they started their party at 6am. I told her about the rooming system here, I specifically talked about le crous and how it was only based on availability and how rent was based on the surface of the rooms. We ended our conversation while teaching eachother different words that people our age use from our respective languages.

This program was a great experience that led me to meet such a nice and wholesome person! We got along since the first day and it kept on getting better.

Both sessions were great, and we just discussed our daily things and updates.

In the fifth session, we talked a lot about different languages and how sometimes it's cool that we can switch from one language to another (because I speak three languages and he speaks English and Hindi).

In our last session, I told him about my one-week internship that I had during the break and how it was so cool to work in a real lab and do some experiments myself, but outside the academic field. He told me about his exams and how he had so many big exams in the past weeks. We also talked about language tests; he mentioned that he passed DELF a week ago and really hated the speaking subject, haha. I also shared my experience of the IELTS exam and how my speaking subject was also a mess, and that I never thought I could actually get a good level out of it. We also talked about different places to visit, and I showed him the Calanques, telling him that next time he's in the south of France, he should definitely go hiking there.

And that was it... I LOVED our session, and it was a really beautiful opportunity to meet someone new as well as talk in English.

Talking about the Trump Era

We spent a lot of time talking about Donald Trump and his time as president. I told Antarra my honest opinion: I think his politics were quite bad for the world. We discussed how his decisions changed the image of the US abroad. For me, it felt like his style was more about creating conflict than finding solutions. Antarra shared her perspective from inside the US, and it was interesting to see how much that period affected the daily life and the mood of the people there. She thinks the same about his politics, they are impacted even in college and she said "to be honest, I would quite the country haha !"

We agreed on one thing: American politics is not just for Americans. When a president like Trump makes a decision about the environment or international trade, everyone feels it. For example his decisions in Iran and how things happen in the world. I told her that here, we have Macron, even he's not the best president but one thing he's not Trump.

It wasn't just about facts we also talked about our feelings. We discussed how stressful it is to live in a world where politics is so divided, because their decisions are for our future, if they're bad, it will be us, the consequences. Even if we had some strong opinions against that period, it was a very calm and mature conversation. Antarra is very open-minded, so we could say everything without any problems.

After this big conversation, we were a bit tired! So, for our next session, we decided to talk about something more fun maybe music or our favorite hobbies to relax.

Thanks for reading and see you soon !

    After minutes to think about a topic, I suggested we debate Twitter's favorite topic, "Do you think that female-male friendship exists?" For Tiff, obviously the female-male friendship exists, but for a good friendship, the girl and the guy must not have any attraction, for example she had a friend but they broke up their friendship because her friend was in love with her, and the situation turned weird. For me, I said that we are not animals; we can be friends with the other gender without being attracted. We both have the same position. 

Therefore we switched to an other debate, “ Should the legal drinking age be lowered or raised?” She asked what the legal age in France, it is 18yrs while in USA it’s 21yrs. We have same position also, we think it’s should be legal at 21yrs, because you are an adult and you are conscious about the consequences of alcohol consumption. Once again we have the same position, so we decided to stop the debates for today, cause every time we stand on same position.

    Then we talked about the difference between USA and France. The differences in legislation between these two countries. For example the legal drinking age is 18yrs in France and 21yrs on USA, or even France abolished the death penalty in 1981, unlike some American states where it is still in effect. It was interesting to talk about the difference.

    Time’s up, before the end of the session, she said that she will be very busy because her exams will start sooner. It's same for me, before we talked about our homes, I show her some photos of Comoros specialy our beaches, she didn’t believe me so  she googled it and she was impressed by the photos, by the beauty of the beaches. She added that she hopes that one day I will show her around. There was a picture of mosque so she asked how is it the religion in Comoros. I explained her that we’re Muslims and for the fact this mosque was built in 19 century. 

 We finished it, it was a rich conversation like usual with Antarra

Thank you for reading and see you next week 🫶🏽🙂

So, today our topic was our daily rhythm and sleep habits. When she called me in France it was 5pm when I woke up. Yeah we can say I'm big sleeper but for my defense I don't sleep in night, I'm a owl, I'm "Batman" I watch on the city haha😂​​😂​. For Antara she's the opposite, she's very morning person, a truly little bird it’s always strange when we talked because she is full of energy while I'm just tired ! She told me that she wake up early because she can be more productive, for my opinion I think it's just the american culture, you know they love be productive, doing a lot of things and to be honest I prefer to study or watch movies late at night, I'm very productive at night.

We also talked about how we sleep during the semester. We both agreed that when we have exams, our sleep is terrible! Antarra told me that in the US, many students drink a lot of energy drinks to stay awake. I told her that here, we prefer to take small breaks or just drink more coffee. But for me since I don't drink coffee, recently I found out a powder called "guarana" it's the same that coffee. Then we realized that being a student is the same everywhere to be tired!

I asked her what she does for fun in the evening. She described the "campus life" and how they go to games or hang out at friends' houses. I explained that here, we like to go to small cafés or just walk in the city with friends when the weather is good. It was interesting to see the different "vibes" of our cities at night.

Talking about sleep actually made us a bit sleepy! We decided to stop there and keep our energy, in France it was a little bit late. It’s cool to see that even if our "clocks" are different, we always find a good time to speak.

Today it's our last session, like usual I liked to meet an another student from an another country. Antara she's very a intersting person and we have too much in common. I liked to discuss with her.

Are you an early bird or a night owl ?😂

Thanks for reading and see you next year with an another student ! 🫶​ Haha

5ème appel:

On a parlé de l'expérience d'être des étudiants nous les deux complètement bondées avec trop de travail pendant les midterms! (Je sais pas le mot en français?). Il a commencé a expliquer son experiment des économiques qui inclut une tache de choisir. Il a fait un examen dans le format de podcast, un midterm affectation dont j'ai aussi eu ce semestre, mais pour un cours de philosophie.

6ème:

On a parlé plus de l'experiment économique de Wassim! Très intéressant!! On a parlé des plans pour l'été. Dans notre 4ème appel, Wassim m'a dit qu'il est de l'origine familiale algérienne, donc il visit l'Algérie pour presque un mois chaque été, mais dans sa vie adulte, les visites devient plus et plus courtes, à cause des jobs d'été, les opportunités de recherche, etc. De plus, on a parlé comment les plages en Marseille deviennent trop bondée des touristes du Nord de France et de l'Allemagne en particulier, donc il essaie a visiter les plages avec des amis en juin, avant que les touristes arrivent. J'ai réfléchi sur mon expérience à San Diego, aussi similaire à Marseille avec plein de soleil, les plages, et malheureusement les touristes, en particulier quand j'ai essayé à prendre un bain de soleil pendant la pause de printemps cet année!

it was my first meeting with Michelle. I was very excited to meet her. I thought that my English was better because I worked during three years. I know it is better than before.

Finally, it was hard for me. I couldn’t find my words in English. I felt that all my efforts were falling into the water. I spoke like Tarzan, and I was very frustrated about this.

However, Michelle is a beautiful and brilliant person. She is bilingual. She studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, so she knows the language subtleties in French.

Today, she lives in São Paulo to study social sciences, especially how democracy works and how populist movements grow in democracies.

If I understand well, I will have an opportunity to ask her about the next session.

Then, we talked about our lives and many things. She told me that she will spend next week in Rio for the carnival. It will be an incredible and fantastic moment.

I explained my career and why I am interested in science.

At the first session, we told about film and Michelle had appreciated cartoon movie which describe, according to her, very well the carnival’s mind.

The name of the movie is « RIO ». It’s the story about a rare blue bird, which kinapping in his amazonia, its habitat. It find itselft in Minesotta where is cold but he love his cage and his mistress. One day, a resercher comes for asking her if it possible to comming in Brazil with her bird. The reason is simple, he wants to accoupling with the last femele because there are the last specy. The young women is ok. It’s the begining to this aventure around the carnival of Rio. I looked this movies with my daughter. It was sympatic. However, i prefer another movie which realisated by Pixar.

Then, for this session, i didn’t have the time to explain that i saw your movie because we talk about all the meeting of politic. I explain that in France, there are the local elections. I learn a new vocabolary about this as « running to office » or in french « collistier » and in english is « running to mate ». I find is fun to using the verb run to explain a presentation of the office.

I explained that in Marseille, there are « une montée » on fascism, more généraly in France as USA.

She explianed a chronology playing « ne faveur » of Trump. He was elected then condamned, but he had new elected in 2024 in good time for proted himselft. En effet, he considered by the justice as criminal.

We exchanged again and we finished for the dinner.

Michelle presents me her friends. One of them wants to speak French with me, but she can’t because she is tired. She had a party the night before. Another friend came to see her and spend a few days with her. They will go to a big municipal park called Ibirapuera. She likes to go there because it is nice to walk. There are restaurants and many activities.

She asks me if there are parks in Marseille. I say yes, but they are smaller. I tell her we are lucky because we have the calanques. I send her photos of Sormiou and she really likes it. I explain that in Marseille, we can feel like we travel. In David, it is like Florida. In Noailles and Belsunce, it is like North Africa.

She also asks me about the teletandem. I say we met one time at the beginning and we will meet again at the end. She is surprised because she thinks the whole class is together. I explain that students are in different places like Aix-en-Provence or Luminy. For her, there are not many changes, only a few more rules and obligations.

I ask her about her work in Brazil. She tells me she had an interview for a law office in New York, about immigration. At the same time, she accepted another job in New York in public services, about urban planning and parks. She also got an extension of her scholarship, so she will stay until September. Her goal is to work in public services or immigration.

We also talk about elections. She asks me about it. I say I will help at a voting office tomorrow. I learn the word “counting of votes”.

She has to leave to visit the park with her friend. We say goodbye and we will talk again soon.

I am happy with this exchange. Even if I still make mistakes, I enjoyed speaking. It was more simple and more fluid. I also understood her better.

This time, we did not take time to speak in English because the topic was very interesting. I really wanted to understand what she was doing. Time went very fast, but I do not regret it at all.

Michelle is very interested in politics, and her studies are related to this. She works on democracy, especially participatory democracy. She wrote her thesis in Paris about participatory budgeting.

Now, she works in a city near Rio de Janeiro. I do not remember the name. She explains that participatory budgeting depends on the mayor. She thinks there is a challenge because there is a controversy. Budget distribution is not fair, and she thinks there is clientelism.

She would like to work more on this topic, but some academics say it is not a priority. I think I did not understand everything.

I ask her what she wants to do later, after her work in the lab. She would like to work on housing, urban planning, and public policies. She is also doing interviews with the city of New York.

At the end, we finally spoke a little in English.

I am curious to know if her interviews are finished and if she has news about a job in New York. She tells me yes, she got the job. I congratulate her because she will work in an agency in New York.

For now, she does not know in which department she will work, maybe parks or transport. She will have this information in August. This program is for young graduates who want to work in urban planning.

One of her friends was also chosen and will work in finance and budget. I do not understand everything, but I think it is about money and maybe something like legal services in France. Another friend will work in business development. I laugh because she uses a cute expression in French, she says “les petites affaires”.

We spend a very good time together. I think I really need to go abroad to improve my English. I feel I do not progress, it is laborious. What I learn disappears quickly because I do not practice enough. There is no secret.

We are sure we will stay in contact after the teletandem.

For this session, I am a little stressed. We are in April and I have exams at the beginning of May. Michelle knows this situation. She asks me what I study and what my exams are about.

I explain that I study neuroscience, with physiology of the body: the respiratory system, the cardiovascular system, the digestive system, and the renal system. I also have a course in computational science. She tells me she did not learn programming, but she studied statistics with R Studio. I tell her that this software is used in many countries, and we also use it in France.

I also explain my English exams. During the semester, we have participation marks, grammar tests, and oral presentations. We also have to create a scientific poster based on a lab experiment with researchers. For the final exam, we have about ten questions to understand a scientific text and we must write a 300-word text about it.

Then we talk about her family. We spoke a lot about politics before, so I forgot to ask her. She has a 16-year-old sister who is in high school. She lives with her parents in Chicago. Her mother stays at home, and her father works at a car dealership.

We have to stop because my child is hungry. We will talk again because we still have many things to share. She offers to help me with my English revision.