It was a Thursday evening in Nice, France and I was walking with my friend, Nina, a fellow student from UMD, to our newly acquainted friend, Ilya’s apartment. We had all met just a couple of weeks prior on our first day at the Université Côte D’Azur, a French University that hosts international students. Nina and I were debriefing the three-hour long French literature class we had just endured. Ilya is from Belarus, and wanted to invite a handful of his new classmates over to cook a traditional Belarusian dish, Draniki, eager to share a delicious taste of his culture with us.
After a brisk 15-minute walk with Nina, we entered Ilya’s warmly-lit apartment to see several new, smiling faces. Ilya greeted us with tight hugs, offered us something to drink, and invited us into the kitchen, where he had been evidently prepping all the ingredients for our Draniki. I was introduced to a pair of friends, one girl from Japan, and one from Kazakhstan. Other members of the Maryland-in program joined us moments after Nina and I arrived. Everyone arrived in high spirits, making any of the potential tension of a new encounter instantly disappear. My American roommate, Ari and I met Ilya’s French roommate which was very exciting for the both of us as we have developed a large interest in French slang—we asked him all our pressing questions about verlan, the mysterious French slang language we had learned about recently in our French pop culture class. Being surrounded by all these new, interesting people energized me, and made me curious to learn more about each and every one of them.
As we began cooking, we shared all of our favorite French songs, blasting them loudly through Ilya’s speaker and singing along. Ilya documented the experience on his camera by recording us and sharing interesting tid-bits about Belarus. I felt comfortable with these people. All of our interactions felt genuine, fostered by a true curiosity to get to know more about each other and where we all come from. This night showed me the power of cross-cultural communication. There were no walls up, the interests and passions we all share are cross-cultural, without borders.
It was a night of vulnerable sharing of perspectives and knowledge without judgment. Even months after this encounter, I look back on this night fondly, and truly cannot believe I experienced this. Draniki was delicious! It is a delicious fried potato pancake served with a creamy dip that Ilya got from a Russian supermarket in Nice. I am so grateful for the relationship I formed with Ilya so early into my semester in Nice and everything he shared with me about Belarus. I learned even more about his country as he ended up hosting us many times throughout the semester for more nights like these. I love that he brought us all together and I’m so happy that we still keep in touch months later.
What I find most fascinating about that night is how, just minutes after meeting, we were already practicing our French together. French became our common ground, uniting us through a shared curiosity for the language and a desire to immerse ourselves in a city where we could use it every day. The experience was both enjoyable and relaxed–-practicing French felt effortless and fun, without any pressure. This night also deepened my passion for international education and the excitement I get from connecting with people from diverse backgrounds and learning about their lives. Most importantly, it confirmed for me that coming to Nice and greeting Ilya on the first day of school was the right decision. This experience has fueled my passion for advocating and improving accessibility for study abroad programs, and I am dedicated to pursuing a future in international education.