Delphine Brunet – France
Delphine and her family, which includes her husband, two sons, one daughter and a golden retriever dog, immigrated to this country 2 years ago from France. In France, she and her family lived near Paris. Delphine’s husband works for a steel company in France, and when he was asked to transfer to this area to work, he accepted because he wanted his children to learn a new culture and language.
Delphine has experienced various parts of the world. When she was 4 years old, her father and mother were sent to Africa to manage the building of a new hotel in a city near Cameroon. The family lived there for 2 years, but lived for a total of 7 years in Africa. As a student in African schools, Delphine recalls that she was the only white child in the classroom. She loved living in Africa. Delphine’s experiences in Africa have greatly contributed to who she is today. She is very sensitive towards others, especially when it comes to issues of inequality. It is important for her to teach her children to accept all people, no matter what social class they belong to, and she makes sure that her children are exposed to children from many social classes. .
When living in France, Delphine was a teacher and she loved her job. . Her certificate from France, however, does not qualify her to teach in the United States. Now she waits for snow days when school is cancelled and she can be a teacher for her own kids and teach them French grammar and geometry.
Delphine spoke very little English when she arrived in this country. To improve her English she enrolled in classes at the English Center. Although in the beginning she was concerned….. but because of her wonderful teacher, Leslie Kiske, and the friendly spirit of her classmates from all over the world, she came to look forward to the classes.
Although there are things Delphine misses about her life in France like good cheese and French coffee, she wants to focus on the present. As she says…”You have to think it is just a part of your life and now you have to live another chapter. For the moment I want to live totally here, that is why I want to learn the language so I can share as much as I can. I’m sure when I’m an old lady, I prefer to live in my town, but not today.”
