Eight Unique Things You Didn’t Know About Us

Jalen and Maria here! If you follow our blog and YouTube channel, you probably know quite a bit about us already. We’ve told you our love story, wrote all about our TAPIF experience, taken you on vacation with us, shared our future plans with you, and much more. Even so, there’s plenty our readers and viewers don’t know about us – so we wanted to share a few things about ourselves that we haven’t shared before!

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About Jalen

1. Jalen’s first time in Europe was a trip to Ireland. He credits this week-long stay with sparking his interest in living in Europe and would like to visit again someday!
2. He’s an obsessive researcher. Things like immigration, job market trends, multilingualism, and expat experiences are some of his daily searches. In fact, one of the main motivators for starting The Francofile was Jalen’s inability to find information on certain topics like the DALF C2, TAPIF, and foreign students completing master’s degrees in France.
3. He’s a sports fan. Jalen loves sports and has participated in tee ball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, football, track and field, and skateboarding in his lifetime. He’s looking forward to attending French soccer matches, and rooting for Reims’ Ligue 1 team, the Stade de Reims, in the near future!
4. He’s interested in International Business. Specifically, he is intrigued by the organizational aspects of how products reach customers. That’s why he’s in Reims’ Master Gestion de production, logistique, achats.

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About Maria

1. Maria is a night owl. She feels most energized in the evening and regularly stays up late, even when sleeping in isn’t an option! Many of our blog posts have been written in the wee hours of the morning for this reason.
2. She loves spicy food. Dishes including flavors from jalapeños, cayenne, chili, habanero, sriracha, or hot sauce are always a favorite for Maria. French food is notoriously mild, which means that she always adds a bit of spice when we’re cooking at home!
3. Her favorite holiday is Halloween. Maria loves horror movies, pumpkin spice treats, fall-scented candles, cool autumn weather, haunted houses, and ghost stories, so it’s not a surprise that her favorite holiday is Halloween. France’s celebration of the holiday is admittedly lackluster compared to the United States, but she’s determined to foster her holiday spirit no matter where she celebrates!
4. She’s interested in International Law. She is especially fascinated by cross-border partnerships, projects, and humanitarian and human rights work. That’s why she’s in Reims’ Master Droit Public.

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We hope you liked learning a bit more about the two people behind The Francofile. Do we have anything in common? Let us know in a comment!

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