Why this dad is the best man in his sons' lives

WHY THIS DAD IS THE BEST MAN IN HIS SONS’ LIVES

So, do you know what is the most famous French quote about dad?

« Papa rapluie
Un papa rapluie
Qui me fait un abri
Quand j’ai peur de la nuit
Un papa ratonnerre
Je ne sais pas quoi faire
Quand il est en colère
Un papa rasol
Avec qui je m’envole
Quand il rigole
Un papa tout court
Que je fête en ce jour
Avec tout mon amour »
(Pierre Ruaud)

We think that children are usually motivated, encouraged (even coerced) by their parents to learn and apply themselves.

I have a story for you about a dad, one of my clients, who started to learn French inspired by his children.

Check out the article below about the extraordinary transformation of a dad, and watch the video for some inspiration that could come in handy!

Troy is a dad and the CEO of his company.

He was one of my first clients for the BILINGUAL Extensif program (called Intensif at the time) as well as the Immersion Retreat in Paris.

He finished the Extensif program in 5 months, came to an Immersion Retreat in April, continued with advanced conversation and then came back in Paris in September of the same year, for his second retreat.

His motivation was astonishing,
his consistency was stellar. He was showing up like a good soldier on duty – no excuses or complaints. Even during our sessions in Paris, he was receiving business calls, which he resolved quickly and then he was focusing back on French.

After starting from zero, with the belief that languages are not one of his strengths, like athletics or mathematics, and arriving to a place where he could hold conversations with René-Gustave, our Parisian tour guide, I started to wonder where was his motivation coming from.

He is a private person, but his sons were a big part of the conversation. Decided to give them an example of how one can (and should) learn at any age. Especially something that takes you outside of your comfort zone.

He wanted to show his sons that they’ll be more powerful and influential in their life if they take on challenges to improve themselves.

“I will have another way to become who I truly am, and, of course, I would know that part of who I truly am is a French speaker, someone who enjoys learning languages, and someone who is willing to broaden his horizons in ways that most people will never attempt.”

What a gift a father is!

He usually doesn’t speak much, not about his own emotions anyway, but he’d give anything to know that he can protect and guide us, that we are safer because of him.

Here’s a short video of Troy, after his first immersion retreat in Paris:

“I just want to talk a little bit about the wonderful week that I’ve had with Llyane in Paris, the culture that I’ve been exposed to. Obviously I’ve came here to be immersed in the language, but this was more than the language, it was the culture, it was the life of Parisians. I know for sure that I would not have had this experience without Llyane and we also met a very good new friend named René-Gustave who’s also very charming and took an exceptional trip and made it even a little bit better. We had just an amazing time.

I would say to anyone who’s considering coming with Llyane in Paris that if you have some doubts, that’s natural, I’ve had my own doubts but what I’ve learned, what I’ve taken away from this is that I know the language better than I thought I did, and knowing the language made this trip to Paris, which I’ve had many in the past, much richer, and it’s a very good experience not only interacting with the citizens in Paris, ordering food, talking to the great people of Paris in the street but going to Louvre and the cooking class we did it’s just a richer experience. There’s no way to describe it.

The best way to know what I’m talking about is to come here yourself … so we’ve had, like I said, we’ve had an amazing time, so definitely I’ll be coming back to Paris, and if she’ll have me, I’ll come back to Paris with Llyane as well. It inspired me to study the language even more, probably more intensively because now I see that it’s within reach and I would say that almost every doubt I’ve had about learning French dissolves, and I’ve certainly fallen in love with Paris and its people.”

Here’s to dads and their shining armor!

NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!
Tell us in the comments below what is YOUR best dad story?

Let me guess.

Do you constantly have the feeling that you can’t hear what the French say and you don’t know how to read all the French words because they are written so much differently than they sound?

Learn 3 secrets that will help you be self sufficient in the way you pronounce French words – even if you don’t know what they mean – so that you can read that sophisticated menu in your favorite French restaurant.