Bonjour et bienvenue à mon blog!
My name is Jael Guest and I’m a native of Nashville, Tennessee. I am also a Buchanan Honors student in my second year studying French and Arabic at Middle Tennessee State University.
This year, I set out for Caen, Normandy to improve my French, kick myself out of my comfort zone, make new friends, and generally grow as an individual. I started this blog to share my experiences with my community back in the US, primarily my fellow MTSU students. As I prepared for study abroad this last year, the most valuable advice was often from students who recently lived overseas. I drank up their vivid details and anecdotes. That’s exactly what I’m going for with my own blog: I’m going to write about my impressions, struggles, and growth. My hope is that more students, no matter their financial situation or field of study, will be inspired to study abroad and see the world for themselves.
This leads me to an explanation of my blog name: Always Say Bonjour. In France, you must begin all interactions with bonjour. I say bonjour to the bus driver every morning, to the cashier when I enter a grocery store, and to my classmates and professors alike when I enter a classroom. It is the most basic rule of politeness here. Every culture has its own greetings and customs, but all are based on a human consensus that we should respect one another. Saying bonjour acknowledges the person as a fellow human being, regardless of circumstance. No matter how busy or absorbed they are in their own problems, the French still greet each other with an intentionality that I find inspiring.
I love this cultural tidbit because it reflects the reason I learn languages. Learning a language indicates respect and appreciation for the other person’s identity. As my French teacher told me in high school, a language is a key to a people group and a culture. I have experienced firsthand how speaking someone’s heart language opens the door to a deeper relationship that was otherwise impossible. Thus, my blog name is a sort of challenge to myself and my readers to become citizens of the world: go study languages, widen your perspective, and learn to love people in a more profound way.
Welcome to my year in France!