The French Connection: Q&A with Jaimie Sherif
Jaimie Sherif is a local who’s grown up around San Dimas and Upland. You would never think this California native, who had difficulty in her French classes during high school, would end up teaching French let alone has lived in France for two years. She is an adjunct professor of French Language, currently teaching French 101.
V.E.: So let’s start off with high school…
S.J.: I took French in high school for three years. Honestly it intimidated me. I thought it was really hard.
You were still intimidated after taking it for three years?
Oh yeah.
And after high school, what college did you go to?
I went to Loyola Marymount in LA.
What did you study in your Freshman year?
My freshman year I just took the generals. I wasn’t declared. I had no idea what I wanted to do. During my freshman year a study abroad flyer popped up [about Paris] and Paris intrigued me.
Was it a summer program?
Yeah, it was a six week program.
What did you do in the six weeks?
I was taking classes. I was studying theater and taking French classes every morning. In theater class we were studying French literature and French plays. We went to a little city called Avignon, a city is known for theater. But what I remember the most is the nightlife.
So how does nightlife there compared to here?
Well, I guess I really didn’t know the nightlife in the U.S. because I wasn’t 21 yet. But [in Paris] it just seemed like possibilities were endless in terms of going out and finding a place where you felt you could be yourself. People were very friendly. One night we went out to a club on a boat. In the middle of Paris, on the Seine River, they have all these boats, they don’t go anywhere they are just docked there. My friends and I met up with some guys and girls [on the boat] and they were like ‘Come back to our place to keep hanging out.’ So we ended up hanging out, it was very cool.
So when you came back, did you tell yourself, ‘Ok, I’m declaring my major to French’?
No. I decided on recording arts. I really like music and I sang in the choir, so I decided I wanted to major in recording music. I had internships in the music industry, at a radio station and another in a recording studio. I realized that the entertainment industry wasn’t really my scene. I love music but the industry was just very superficial for me. I was really lost when I graduated. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I just remembered how much I loved Paris and thought, ‘Well, maybe I could go back there to do a year off type thing before doing the real world nine-to-five.’
So off to France you went?
So off I went to France. I took a job as a nanny.
How did you come across that opportunity?
I was just googling ways to live and work in France when I came upon an au pair website.
An au pair?
It’s a nanny that could either be a live-in or they can provide a place. For me, my family owned a studio, so, I had my own space where I didn’t have to pay rent but it came with taking care of the kids, teaching them English, picking them up from school, stuff like that.
Obviously you got the job but how was that experience?
It was fine. A lot of my friends were saying, ‘You’re flying to some people who you’ve never met. Isn’t that scary?’ But I wasn’t scared. The first week, though, I was homesick. For about a week I was like, “What did I just do?!” But that went away.
How so?
As soon as I made friends everything clicked. As an au pair, you get an au pair visa that gives you the right to live and work there, BUT, you have to be enrolled in French language classes. I had French classes in the morning and for a week I hadn’t really met anyone. But by the second week, a girl came up to me [from class] and was like, “So you’re from the U.S.? Tell me about it. Do you want to grab a coffee?” She and her friend were from Denmark and we became best friends.
How was speaking French, since you were now living and working in France?
I remember thinking, “I want to become fluent in this language.” I just want to fit in. I want to live her for the rest of my life. It was then that I was really, intrinsically motivated to learn it.
What made you feel like you wanted to live in France for the rest of your life?
I love the vibe of the city. I felt that there was something about that city, like I clicked there more that any other city I’ve lived in. I just like the atmosphere. The smell of cigarettes. The Metro. Not driving anywhere. I just wanted to be in that lifestyle.
How long were you an au pair?
A year. Then I decided I didn’t want to anymore, but I didn’t want to come back to California. I looked on Craigslist and found a job as a bartender. I was no longer on an au pair visa but a student visa and you have to take more classes. I had classes in the morning and bartended at night. That’ss when I really learned French.
After the two years, why did you come back to the U.S.?
It was a combination of reasons. My best friends from Denmark went back after the first year. I was fine the second year, by myself, but I couldn’t think of starting a third year without close friends. I thought, “I want to be close to my friends [in the U.S.], again.’ So I came back and started the Master’s Program in French at Long Beach.
Did you do that because you were planning to go back to France?
That’s what I thought. I thought, “I’m going to get a Master’s in French and I’m going to use it to get a job translating. I’m going to use it to get back over there.”
What’s happened since you’ve been back and graduated from Long Beach?
I moved to Mexico for a while. I was like, ‘Let’s try a different country!’ So I move to Guadalajara for about five months to get a TEFL certificate. I came back and started teaching ESL at the University of La Verne. I would still tutor French privately for people in the community. I was actually private-tutoring someone from Citrus when they told me they were opening up the French department again.
How do you keep up with your French since being back here?
Honestly I feel it’s like riding a bike. It really never goes away but it’s definitely not as fresh off the tongue like when you come back from being over there for three months. That’s why I try to go back, to keep it fresh.
Tell me a funny story from one of your many experiences in France.
I was a nanny for two kids. I had just arrived at the house for the day and the mom was freaking out. She was washing the girl’s hair when I showed up and I asked, “Is everything okay? What’s going on?” In English she says, “We have to check for the poo! The poo in her hair!” I was thinking, ‘What the heck is going on here? The poo?’ But then I realized les poux is lice. It’s spelled P-O-U-X but is pronounced poo. The mom spoke pretty good English but she didn’t know the word for lice.
What is a favorite memory from your times in France?
In the summer, the sun goes down really late around 9pm or 10pm, the weather is nice around that time. Its tradition for people to buy a bottle of rose, bring tabouleh or cheese and baguettes and go to the banks of the Seine to have a picnic. I did that a lot.
I heard you were over there this past summer?
Yeah.
How was this past experience?
It was probably the least exciting. I’m getting older and feel I value my friends and family a lot more now. Paris is still cool, but what’s more important to me, now, is that I’m living somewhere that’s close to family and friends. I’ve become closer to my friends and family since the last time I was in Paris.
Even though your experience was a little different this time around, do you still love Paris?
Yes! I’m still in love with the city. I feel like it’s a place I want to continue to go back to for the rest of my life. I may be looking into buying property over there. It might be a good investment for me to have a place to go during the winter or summer breaks. I’m definitely still in love with the city but maybe I won’t live there permanently.