Learner Spotlight: Stephane
We invite you to meet Stephane, our featured student this month in our “Learner Spotlight”. Featured adult learners represent the Literacy Council’s programs, including authors from Reflections: Voices of English Learners, the Literacy Council’s literary magazine, as well as adult learners in other programs. Stephane contributed his story to the eighth edition.
My name is Stephane M. I was born in Gabon, a central African country. I’m married and a father of a daughter and stepson. I’ve always wanted to discover the United States, and living here is a dream of mine. For me, like many people who live outside of this country, coming to the U.S. is a dream, an ideal.
I’ve been living unforgettable moments with the Frederick County Literacy Council program since 2021, when I started my classes. Currently I am in the progress of learning English and interacting with different teachers and students from all over the world. I’m right in the middle of my American dream.
We hope you enjoy Stephane’s written works, “My Snow Vacation, Part 1”, “My Snow Vacation, Part 2”, and “My Snow Vacation, Part 3”. View all of our students’ stories on our Reflections: Voices of English Learners web page. Below is an excerpt of Stephane’s article.
“My Snow Vacation, Part 1”
During primary school, I must have been between 10 or 11 years old, my school offered a snow vacation for one week. This opportunity was possible because I was in a French private school. The activities offered were mountain hikes and sport activities such as skiing and ice skating.
The program was attractive, but an obstacle stood before me—convincing my parents to offer me this excursion, which was not financially affordable for everyone. The task was not so easy, to get my parents to agree to offer me this trip, but it was on the condition of obtaining good results at school. So, I was even more motivated than usual, and I respected the reward by obtaining good results.
The plane ride from Gabon to France lasted about seven hours. We landed in the city of Marseille. To do a little geography, Marseille is in the south of France, and this city is the second most populated after Paris. Arriving at Marseille airport, we had a final five-to six-hour bus ride to reach the Aiguilles en Queyras ski resort, our destination.
It was a spectacular and breathtaking journey. As we got closer to our goal, the landscape transformed. We went from flat fields to mountainous ground, with the first appearance of snow at the summit. One of the most impressive things was the narrow and climbing road which we could not see below because we were at a high altitude. So, the adrenaline rush dominated my fear from minute to minute, on this “ zigzag” route
Read the rest of Stephane’s story and more student stories in our 8th edition of Reflections.