I was really excited to meet Nathan because I had a feeling he was French. When we started emailing I noticed that his email account was set to French and when he typed my name he spelled it "Nathalie" instead of "Natalie." Nathalie (with an H) is the French spelling of Natalie. When I saw those two clues I crossed my fingers. As a French major I always enjoy meeting people who are native speakers.
After we found each other we sat down and I started the conversation in English. I introduced myself and told him I was from Oregon. Then I asked him where he was from. It turns out Nathan isn't French, rather he is from the southern part of Belgium! When he told me that I started talking to him in French. He seemed surprised (pleasantly, I hope) that I spoke his native language. I said a few short sentences after which he complimented my accent and speaking skills.
Since we can both speak two languages we have decided that we are going to take turns speaking French and English. This Thursday we will speak French and I am very excited to be able to practice with him since I couldn't take a French class this semester.
We talked for about 45 minutes. I asked him a lot of questions about his interests and his life in Belgium. He played on the National Belgian Soccer Team for two years before he moved here to study English. He loves Texas but plans to move back to Belgium after he graduates.
Nathan asked me a few questions about TCU, Oregon, and my family. I'm hoping that this week we can talk more about the differences between Belgian and American culture. I took a course on French culture last semester so I am interested to learn more about Belgian culture.
Overall, our first meeting was a success and I can't wait to meet him this Thursday. Je suis heureuse que je puisse parler Français avec Nathan Jeudi!
