Home Away From Home: Thomas Fabre

By Gabriela Tobar 

What began as a temporary academic adventure for a visiting French student has grown into an unexpected lesson in community, connection and what it means to be welcomed. 

Sophomore communications major Thomas Fabre arrived at Rider with expectations of a bigger university but, compared to his university back at home, it is “big enough,” Fabre described. 

Fabre attends ISCPA Toulouse – School De Communication Et Journalisme in Blagnac, France, a small campus in the middle of Paris.

There were many differences that Fabre realized between the French school and Rider, one of them being living on campus. 

“The fact that we can live here on campus and just go to class, we do not have that in France,” Fabre said. 

Fabre is currently taking five classes and says that his everyday school schedule here is different from what he is accustomed to in France. 

“Here I have a class in the morning and in the beginning of the afternoon, then I’m done. So that’s different because in France, it’s always a full day and here it’s a small day,” Fabre said. 

Fabre comes from a small town named Les Molières, and even other students from his French university that joined him at Rider do not know where he is from. 

Fabre stated that he likes the people here in the U.S. because they are, “nicer than he thought” and he has had no trouble making American and international friends. 

“I met Finnish friends, Spanish friends, Moroccan friends and American friends. They know I don’t really know how to speak English very well but they just don’t care,” Fabre said. 

He added, “That’s good, like if we can understand each other, that’s good. It’s also funny to see the differences between our cultures but that makes the relationships better.” 

Annabelle Zendt, a junior elementary education major, met Fabre while working at Rider’s Office of International Education when he first arrived. 

This is Zendt’s first semester working at the office in which she is an undergraduate assistant and specializes in their social media. 

Zendt recalled the time they went to see the Statue of Liberty, in New York City, as one of her favorite memories with Fabre. 

“I’ve never been there before and it was really cool getting to see him and our other two friends experience that very cliché, touristy thing along with them for the first time,” she said. 

Zendt reflected on Fabre’s experience and said, “Oh my god yeah he loved it. Him and I were taking lots of photos together. Then we went back to the city, we were doing that all throughout.” 

Zendt stated that she has also taken him to other places like Shady Brook Farm in Pennsylvania, to Princeton, New Jersey, and to her hometown, Hillsborough, New Jersey, so that “he could see what a cliché suburban town looks like.”

With Thanksgiving approaching, Zendt shared that Fabre and another international student will be spending the holiday with her family to experience an American Thanksgiving dinner. 

“I have a really really big Italian family, so there’s a lot of food. I think he’s excited to see the dishes that they all make. I also hope he’s excited to meet 10s, however many family members are going to be there,” Zendt said. “He likes to meet a lot of people and it’s a perfect space for that.”

Zendt described Fabre as “dancing the line” between being an introvert and an extrovert. 

“He’s breaking out of his shell a lot. He seemed very introverted when he first came. But over the past couple of weeks and months, he’s totally breaking out of a shell,” Zendt said. 

With connections like these shaping his daily life, Fabre’s time at Rider has become more than an academic exchange, from experiencing student life events to trying new food.  

Fabre shared how he would love to stay longer but because of his university back at home, he is obligated to return. 

Before he flies back home, Fabre will be spending Christmas with his family in New York City, something he and his family have never experienced before. 

Apart from the experience of trying American food, Fabre will also be taking home new habits and perspectives. At the center of those new habits and perspectives is a friendship that has helped shape his semester abroad. 

“It’s been a very, very special friendship. When I accepted my job, I was not expecting to even be interacting with international students the way I do now,” Zendt said. 

Zendt shared that she has also studied abroad and because her and Fabre have that in common, their experience adds onto their special friendship. 

“We get to talk about the culture shocks that we experienced. It helped with being able to relate with someone that’s from another country and different culture, but still having common ground to relate to,” Zendt said. 

This article is part of the Home Away From Home series by The Rider News to highlight international students from the OIE.