Published 11/13/2024 by Praniti Gulyani
As an aspiring journalist, I’ve developed an inherent inclination for a category of people that I specifically define as: Independent People. Independent People, with their dynamic personalities and vibrant actions, appeal to my sixth sense in the best possible way. I’m able to identify them from a distance, and when I approach them, they usually acknowledge my existence with a nod of affirmation and a happy smile. It doesn’t take me very long to begin the conversation and after I conclude my interaction with an Independent Person, I usually come away with a lesson, a learning, or a lifelong memory.
But Matteo Mion— an exchange student from France and a Cal Dining Student Employee— has so much more to offer than just that. As I sit across the table from him at Qargo Coffee, which is, by now, my favorite “interview” spot, he looks back at me with an unusual glimmer of recognition in his eyes. “Are you from India?” he asks, and even though his guess was spot-on, I am taken aback by the suddenness of this realization. “I have been to India before. I lived with a host family over there for 3 months, and I’m still amazed by how well the country has retained its original identity. It’s almost as if India is a different planet with its own food, people, and way of life,” Mion explains.
Touched and taken aback by this surge of praise for a place that I called home, I found myself drawn into our conversation almost as though I was talking to a friend.
“So do you travel a lot?” I ask, as Mion replies with a smile. “Yes! I have a very international background. When I was fifteen years old, I went to New Zealand for a year and lived with a host family. I improved my English, was able to adapt well, and started my undergraduate studies at Essec Business School in France. After this, I went to Singapore for 2.5 years and lived all by myself. Then, I went to Morocco for 6 months, and now here I am, in the USA for my exchange semester,” he says.
“You’ve lived on almost every continent. How has this experience contributed to your personality?” I inquire. “I think all of this experience has made me really independent. Independence, which is related to autonomy, came almost spontaneously. Once you’re there in the country of your choosing, there’s no coming back. You have to try it out even if it doesn’t work,” he answers, his voice confident and unwavering.
Inspired by Mion’s globally-inclusive narrative, I ask him whether he’s been able to establish a sense of home for himself. “If you live in different countries, home is not related to a place,” he says. “You learn how to make home everywhere. Home is a place you create yourself.”
Mion describes home as a byproduct of creation— as the end result of an artistic process where every step is executed with care. “How do you create home?” I ask him, as he responds with an expectant nod. “The simplest things are enough, actually. For me, I’m able to create home through cooking. As an international student, when you first arrive at your place of residence with your suitcase, move in and have your first night in your bed, you soon start to cook and buy your own groceries. That’s when you start making your place feel like home. So you see, for me this act of cooking is the indication. When I make myself a feel good, comfort food, I know that I’m going to stay here for a while.”
As our conversation progresses, Mion talks about how he communicated with individuals in his different countries of residence. “Sometimes, due to accent differences, I had to ask them to speak slowly and even request them to use simpler words. But during my time in India, I realized that you don’t always need to use words to say what you want. For instance, there was a lady in Kerala who spoke only in Malayalam. That’s when I did not feel the need to use words. A combination of heartfelt actions and patience was enough, and I was able to communicate with her quite well,” he says.
Like every other ‘We Are Cal’ interaction, I come away with priceless learning. This time, it isn’t an attribute or an inspiring anecdote to add to my personality. It is, instead, a rewritten adage as I realize that actions don’t always speak louder than words, sometimes they go on to silence them.