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World Friendship Day on July 30th

world friendship day

 

 

July 30th marks the International Day of Friendship, an annual celebration of all things friendship led by the United Nations.

 

 

“Through friendship – by accumulating bonds of camaraderie and developing strong ties of trust – we can contribute to the fundamental shifts that are urgently needed to achieve lasting stability, weave a safety net that will protect us all, and generate passion for a better world where all are united for the greater good,” the UN share on their official website. 

 

 

At Mômji, whether it be relationships with language learners or inside our fantastic international community, friendship is at the heart of our mission. Toby Bryant was part of the Mômji team and community in 2018/19 and shares his stories of friendships whilst in France…

 

 

Hi Toby, what do you remember about your Mômji experience and the friends you made?

 

 

There’s something about Mômji that is just so conducive to making friends.

 

 

I think it’s partly the start-up atmosphere where everybody feels they have a part to play and the fact that the agency’s mission simply wouldn’t be possible without its huge community of internationals.

 

 

There’s a real sense of unity as part of the Mômji team and that fosters fantastic friendships. 

 

 

Personally, what I relish the most about my time about Mômji is the diversity in people I met – all of whom I’m still in contact with today!

 

 

Working alongside French natives in the office was a great way to improve my language skills and build friendships with people who really knew the city. I spent some fantastic nights in bars that I’d have never found myself thanks to those people taking me under their wing.

 

 

There were also people from the United States, South America and many more countries. Some of these have returned home now and are a million miles away from me, but I’m in regular contact and love seeing where their paths have taken them - albeit if it makes me jealous of their sunny climates! 

 

 

Some of my best times with friends at Mômji came from the Language Ambassador socials and events. It never ceased to amaze me how many different countries and languages would be represented in one restaurant or bar!

 

I could go from finding a fellow U.K. international at the same point in life as me to chatting to a more elderly gentleman with a life’s worth of experience to another student from the other side of the globe.  

 

 

At its core, Mômji is about the sharing of culture and welcoming people from all walks of life. Being alongside likeminded people with so many different stories to tell is really special. 

 

 

 

How about away from Mômji? What other friendships did you make in Paris? 

 

 

 

A key one for me was my landlady. I rented a room from a French woman whose family had flown the nest and she had spare rooms. Her English was limited, which was great as I was forced to try my French. She became a real motherly-figure to me whilst abroad and I still visit her every time I return to Paris. It’s so important to keep those friendships of people who helped you out.

 

 

Away from that, I’m a keen sportsman and joined a running club called Urban Running. Again, it was just alongside Parisians, but they were also so welcoming. Sport is a fantastic way to make friends as the feeling of working hard and pushing yourself whilst encouraging one another is a unique relationship builder you won’t find anywhere else.  Now, when I return, going along to a training session with my friends is always top of my list! 

 

 

 

As you know from Mômji, there’s a great international community in Paris. Did you meet many other English speakers in the city? 

 

 

 

I made so many great friends through Mômji and my running club that I didn’t feel the need to get too involved in the international student scene in Paris. That said, through extended friends, there were a few times that I went along to social events. 

 

 

Paris is full of international students who become a really tight-knit group. The few times I did meet other internationals from different universities and schools, everyone was so welcoming and sharing the highs and lows of life abroad with them did give me a piece of mind.

 

 

What’s for sure is that you’ll never be alone as an international student in Paris – there are friends everywhere you look!   

 

 

 

 

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