The introduction with Jean—Piere got off to a shaky start. He is a coy exchange student from France whose thick Toulouse accent would definitely clip the reflexes of someone who only gone as far as French 1P in learning the romantic language.
“Bonjour mon nom est Jean—Piere. Je suis de Toulouse en France, vous devez etre Sizwe?”
(Hi my name is Jean--Piere. I am from Toulouse in France, you must be Sizwe?), he said almost comfortably as he opened the door. His room is filled with pictures of ancient buildings and French ornaments it screamed with bright colours of the drapeau tricolore (the French flag) and some Pan—African colours.
“For zhe memories”, he quickly volunteered the information before offering coffee.
His English is good enough, although he sometimes drifts to some usual French phrases to emphasise a point, he is still articulate and very much conversational.
Jean—Piere arrived at Rhodes University as one of the ten students who had won a scholarship to study in any country of their choice in Africa. He chose South Africa, thanks to the reputation that some of our political leaders, sport stars and entertainers have upheld abroad, most of the people from around the world want to come to this country and experience the lifestyle.
It has not been long since he had joined us in this institution and he is already learning to swear in isiXhosa.
“I am fascinated by these South African languages, they have many clicks that are impossible to pronounce”, he said as he laughed at his umpteenth attempt to pronounce amaqanda (eggs). He says he is comfortably fitting to the environment in Grahamstown, except for the weather, everything else is fine.
The deepest conversations between individuals are only said to be genuine when the parties involved confide in each other about their past, present and future. Jean—Piere recounted his formative years as a ten year old in Senegal – just before his family moved to France. He talked about the volatile political situation in the neighbouring Guinea Bissau that spilled across the Senegalese boders and adversely affected his family.
The unanticipated move to France forced him to cut ties with his childhood friends and taught him the reality of life that one does not always receive what they desire. Upon his arrival in France he was suddenly faced with a totally new environment the perplexed him for the following couple of months. He names his grandmother as his source of hope when he felt completely out of place in Toulouse. He recalls her words that have always kept him in check:
“Sometimes you make a good decision, but sometimes you have the decision good.”
It is in the same spirit that he has managed to cope with the lifestyle in Grahamstown. The multi—nationalism of this place works in favour as it affords him a rare opportunity of mingling with people from other countries. He appreciates the way things are done in this side of Africa. With the busy economy, fierce political competition and world class infrastructure, he reckons South Africans should be grateful because they are destined for bigger things. His point of comparison being his native country, Senegal he feels that there is a lot that his country can learn from South Africa.
With the help of Prof. Local, he has managed to know the place and its people a little bit better. His introduction to interesting people, recreational spots and of course the sound warnings about things to avoid, has made sure that his existence at Rhodes yields good memories that he will be able to cherish for a long time. Beside the academic career and memories, he is also here to make friends. It was not surprising that when he parted he decided to quote Mariama Ba (Senegalese novelist), when she said in her novel So Long a Letter:
“Friendship has splendours that love knows not. It grows stronger when crossed, whereas obstacles kill love.” A random comment that lingers in the air it indicates the main purpose for us to help the first year students to have a ‘chilled’ experience at Rhodes University, as we have seen in many instances; an extension of a helping hand sometimes goes beyond the physical touch.
Facebook Profile: Jean—Piere Camara
“Bonjour mon nom est Jean—Piere. Je suis de Toulouse en France, vous devez etre Sizwe?”
(Hi my name is Jean--Piere. I am from Toulouse in France, you must be Sizwe?), he said almost comfortably as he opened the door. His room is filled with pictures of ancient buildings and French ornaments it screamed with bright colours of the drapeau tricolore (the French flag) and some Pan—African colours.
“For zhe memories”, he quickly volunteered the information before offering coffee.
His English is good enough, although he sometimes drifts to some usual French phrases to emphasise a point, he is still articulate and very much conversational.
Jean—Piere arrived at Rhodes University as one of the ten students who had won a scholarship to study in any country of their choice in Africa. He chose South Africa, thanks to the reputation that some of our political leaders, sport stars and entertainers have upheld abroad, most of the people from around the world want to come to this country and experience the lifestyle.
It has not been long since he had joined us in this institution and he is already learning to swear in isiXhosa.
“I am fascinated by these South African languages, they have many clicks that are impossible to pronounce”, he said as he laughed at his umpteenth attempt to pronounce amaqanda (eggs). He says he is comfortably fitting to the environment in Grahamstown, except for the weather, everything else is fine.
The deepest conversations between individuals are only said to be genuine when the parties involved confide in each other about their past, present and future. Jean—Piere recounted his formative years as a ten year old in Senegal – just before his family moved to France. He talked about the volatile political situation in the neighbouring Guinea Bissau that spilled across the Senegalese boders and adversely affected his family.
The unanticipated move to France forced him to cut ties with his childhood friends and taught him the reality of life that one does not always receive what they desire. Upon his arrival in France he was suddenly faced with a totally new environment the perplexed him for the following couple of months. He names his grandmother as his source of hope when he felt completely out of place in Toulouse. He recalls her words that have always kept him in check:
“Sometimes you make a good decision, but sometimes you have the decision good.”
It is in the same spirit that he has managed to cope with the lifestyle in Grahamstown. The multi—nationalism of this place works in favour as it affords him a rare opportunity of mingling with people from other countries. He appreciates the way things are done in this side of Africa. With the busy economy, fierce political competition and world class infrastructure, he reckons South Africans should be grateful because they are destined for bigger things. His point of comparison being his native country, Senegal he feels that there is a lot that his country can learn from South Africa.
With the help of Prof. Local, he has managed to know the place and its people a little bit better. His introduction to interesting people, recreational spots and of course the sound warnings about things to avoid, has made sure that his existence at Rhodes yields good memories that he will be able to cherish for a long time. Beside the academic career and memories, he is also here to make friends. It was not surprising that when he parted he decided to quote Mariama Ba (Senegalese novelist), when she said in her novel So Long a Letter:
“Friendship has splendours that love knows not. It grows stronger when crossed, whereas obstacles kill love.” A random comment that lingers in the air it indicates the main purpose for us to help the first year students to have a ‘chilled’ experience at Rhodes University, as we have seen in many instances; an extension of a helping hand sometimes goes beyond the physical touch.
Facebook Profile: Jean—Piere Camara
