Who is Jude Simon

Waiting on my conversation partner, I was definitely more than nervous. I dislike any conversations that do not easily flow and had a feeling I would be having one soon. The next few minutes would be unraveling some information that I had been thinking about since I received the email about the process. Was this "Jude Simon" male or female? About how old was he? So he came from Haiti- why?? What language do the Haitians speak; will he be able to communicate at all? What if I accidentally offend his county? Is he a Christian? So many questions were rapidly running through my mind, as is the usual case as I step closer to any forms of unknown. When the time read 2:04, I wondered if he was even coming at all. To my surprise, a familiar face appeared right in front of me. Our FCA advisor was introducing me to a young man- Jude Simon. With his smile beaming at me, I had no choice but to smile back. Hearing the words "I cannot wait for you to hear his story", I was instantly eager to learn about Jude Simon.

On that note, I tried to cut right to the chase. With his English being fairly clear with a strong accident, it was evident that he had been in America for a good amount of time. He began to tell me of the damage being done in Haiti and how a choir group gave him and his two sisters the opportunity to finish out high school in Maine. He explained to me that many Haitian students have a difficult time graduating high school because their standardized tests are so difficult. It is really common for a “senior” to be older than 22 or 23, and many eventually give up. Fortunately for Jude, he was given the privilege to graduate in America as a typical 18 year old. His sisters, came to America the same year he did, but being older than him, had to experience their high school year older than their peers. Jude made so many close friends in Maine and seemed to really enjoy his time there. I think being the only male caused Jude to be a leader to his sisters. Even through all of the havoc, it was obvious what a light this individual is! Naturally I began to question how he ended up at TCU, and he explained the international program to me. His uncle has been settled here for year and so he now lives here with his uncle, cousins, sisters and his mother.

With TCU being so important to me, I could not wait to hear how much he had already fallen in love with it. To my surprise, this was not the case. He missed his friends in Maine and has yet to make as many here. I learned that the international program keeps many of its first year classes to itself, so Jude and the others are not able to have tons of interaction with TCU students. I now understand why so many of the international students claim to be lonely; the international program should work with TCU to have a least one class overlap or maybe have special events provided where the international students can overlap with us a little more.

Jude also told me about his plans after school where I learned he wanted to be a pastor. This was the job of his father who was killed for his work back in Haiti. This absolutely touched my heart. No matter the struggles that Jude had faced, he still had the desire to spread the word of his creator. After he shared this information and added the words “I am a Christian and hope not to offend you in anything I say”, my eyes lit up; it was obvious that our meeting was God’s desire. The atmosphere lightened a little with our passions being in the same place.

Being partners with Jude has already taught me so much. I have been inspire to spread my faith as he does and am so eager to learn more about him. Although our conversation does seem onesided, I feel I still gave him so much insight on the way Texans live too. The language barrier did not seem to be a problem as I had predicted. I did try to slow down my talk, especially since it speeds up when I get excited, but never did he not completely understand me. His carefree mood also helped, as he was able to laugh about the mistakes he has made and his ever-so-often lack of comprehension. I absolutely cannot wait to meet with Jude again, and hopefully become great friends with this original character!