In the name of God, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.

Although once a faithful subscriber to Murphy’s Law, I now find myself to be quite the adversary of this philosophy. I am now convinced that when something can go right, it does, even if we are too blind to see how it is truly the best outcome. If I can leave one word of advice, directed to myself before anyone else, it is to worry less about the small things in life and appreciate and take pleasure in the bigger things.

Many of my most cherished moment have been within the walls of the Language House and the rest of Alice Cook House. In the Language House, I have lived in the German, Spanish, and this year, I will be part of the Arabic House. Learning and teaching languages has always been a passion, and this has been a nurturing environment for anyone with such interests. In the most undogmatic and ecumenical way of putting it, living here has played the most important role in founding my future ambitions of becoming an astronaut, lawyer, doctor, linguist, and fireman. Moreover, and this may sound a little weird to those who don’t know me yet, (but rather expected of those who already do,) I have come to feel that I am the Language House.

An avid learner, a notorious pie-eater, a frequent failer, and a dignified loser, I will be the Arabic House native speaker for the ’08-’09 academic year.

Hector was born in Cuernavaca, a small city 30 minutes south of Mexico City and best-known for its rich diversity, beautiful weather, and historic value. Although he would eventually return to Cuernavaca, his family's constant travels took him all over Mexico and even for a couple of years to Leeds, England, where he learned English for the first time.

Hector’s family finally settled in Cuernavaca for good. Or so he thought! Six years ago they moved to East Greenbush, NY, a suburb of Albany, NY. He finished his high-school education there and before he knew it, had decided to attend Cornell to major in Biology.

Hector enjoys an eclectic taste for music and films. He likes hanging out with friends and partying from time to time. He is a big soccer fan and Chelsea supporter. The thing that he most likes to do is laugh!

Hector looks forward to his second year as the Native Speaker of the Spanish section of the Language House and to what will be his Junior year at Cornell.

Julia was born in Nara, and lived there with her parents, an older brother, two younger brothers, a dog, a cat and various other pets until she entered fifth grade. Her family then moved to Kyotanabe, a rural part of Kyoto Prefecture, which is about an hour train ride from Kyoto City.

Julia lived in Japan for eighteen years, and after graduating from a small international school, she came to New York and started attending Cornell University. She is now majoring in Interior Design in the College of Human Ecology.

Julia loves music and enjoys playing the guitar. She also enjoys cooking, photography, watching movies, playing sports, and just spending time with her friends.

The chance to be a native speaker in the Language House is such an amazing opportunity, and Julia is so excited to be the Japanese native speaker this year, and to continue studying at Cornell.

Valentine was born in Strasbourg, in the North-East of France at the German border. She spent the first twenty years of her life there in a multicultural background. Indeed, her house was very close to the European parliament and she attended an international high school. She developed a great liking for performing arts in general and drama in particular. “Already at the age of 7, she revelled in playing the donkey in her school’s Nativity scene”, a spectator recalls.

Valentine focused her studies on literature and humanities. In 2007 she passed the Ecole Normale Supérieure entrance examination (one of France’s leading institutions for advanced research in the humanities) and moved to Lyon where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in English language and literature. In 2008, she will spend her “year abroad” in Cornell where she will be a Teaching Assistant and write a dissertation on American drama.

Valentine loves drama and practised improvisational theatre for 2 years. She has also played handball for 11 years, a wonderful team sport which is as little known in the USA as lacrosse is in France. She loves all team sports, except those with complicated rules (such as rugby or football).

Valentine just can’t wait to experience the challenge ahead of her as the Native Speaker of the French section.

Jia is originally from southeast China and she has lived in Beijing for five years during her study at Peking University. When she lived in Beijing, she loved exploring fun places and different cuisines in the city. She also traveled a lot in China, both cities and countryside.

This is Jia's second year at Cornell studying city planning as a graduate student. Jia's research interests are the transition of China's urban society and the development of housing finance in China.

Jia likes traveling and she hopes she could step on each continent on the earth by the age of 30, probably except Antarctica. She is not a big sports fan but likes swimming, playing badminton and softball for fun; As a huge fan of Asian pop music, Karaoke is her favorite activity to kill time.

Jia is looking forward to her new life as part of the Language House as well as Alice Cook House at Cornell.