Francophone and Francophile

Eight months into widowhood I am again searching for something that'll put verve back in my life. This time I decided to look for international penpals.

Went on a few sites and tried to find one that didn't have "romance" as a goal, just simple chatter, maybe in two languages...?

I have found the greatest guy! He's a riddle wrapped in an enigma at this point because he has so many personas I'm not 100% certain I have, even yet, found the Real Man though we have chatted and exchanged URLs numerous times in the last week.

He came to me initially as Alex, then was James, then Jimi, and - finally - Jean-Pierre.

I know what you're thinking, "RUN! Do not walk to the nearest delete button!!"

But I am loving talking with him even if I am still a little confused about his place and time on this earth!?

His blogs are very cool. He does one that's basically social commentary and then one that's story-telling. Both are in French which is challenging for me since they use vocabulary and syntax beyond first-year level. I started reading the latest three-part story he has online and had to laugh at myself. The first time through it I was having so much fun just reading the words aloud that what I truly enjoyed most was hearing the sound of French language in my own voice.

I TOLD you all life was about me, right???

But now that I've read the story through again I can say that I like his writing very much. There's a duality about it that has captured my imagination and I think that's due to the African influence in conjunction with the written French I learned in school. French is always romantic but when you're throwing in Mo-Bwas and Ngbands, Abomambazis and Gbtalas it's all the moreso.

And he has been to this blog too. I REALLY laughed when he characterized my previous entry about the car radio installation as "extraordinary"!? How ambiguous can a one-word comment be? I wrote back and asked if that meant the entry was extraordinarily banal, trivial or boring???? lol

Haven't gotten the answer to that question but I await it with baited breath.