In Tennis and in Life, Catonsville Exchange Student Blou Proving He's an Ace

On the tennis court, Catonsville junior Theo Blou prides himself on being calm and collected throughout any match he plays.  

Rightfully so, in the one-on-one game, wearing your emotions on your sleeve and allowing yourself to become visibly frustrated plays right into your opponent's hands—in addition to hurting your overall game.

However, Blou’s ultra-composed mindset has followed him even off the court—where he boasts an 8-1 singles record this spring—and into his overall life, where as a French exchange student, the 16-year-old has used his ever-growing maturity, coupled with an open-minded attitude, to thrive as a teenager in the United States.

No matter the situation, whether it’s missing his family back home or occasionally burying a second serve into the net, Theo (pronounced Tay-Oh) knows not to get worked up. Aside from his haircut, there is nothing ruffled about him.

“Life changes all the time. Like when I came here, you are by yourself, so if you listen to yourself too much you can be like, oh I miss home I want to go home, and it would be hard,” Blou said, looking back on his first few weeks in Catonsville. “It’s like on the court. If you start losing and you start saying, I’m bad or I suck or I should stop, you aren’t going to get better. So you just see it in front of you and try and get better.”

In addition to Blou’s mature outlook on life, his overall friendliness as a kid and politeness as a student made it all the more easy for the Catonsville community to welcome its French transplant with open arms.

The result has been a seamless transition into American culture for Blou, who immediately adjusted to life at Catonsville and rapidly became one of the most well-liked kids in the school—and not just among the students.

“Theo just has a wonderful personality. Normally a kid who came over to a different culture would have a hard time adjusting—he’s one of the most popular kids in the school,” tennis coach Jeffrey McDaniel said. “The girls love him and he’s such a nice guy that the guys like him. He’s such a tremendous athlete and on the court what I really appreciate with him is what a gentleman he is.”

A gentleman so much so that Blou will routinely compliment his opponents on a nice shot or a good effort, something they aren’t used to when playing against an American foe.

In one match, an opponent inquired to Blou between sets, ‘You aren’t from America, are you?’ When Blou responded that he was from France, his adversary answered, ‘Oh, that’s why you’re so polite.’

The well-mannered nature extends to his temporary home as well, where Catonsville math teacher Diane Wack, functioning as Blou’s host mom for the past 10 months, has been so happy with the overall experience that she’s already signed up to house another exchange student next year. 

For Wack, a mother of four, Blou has been far more than an honored guest—he’s practically become her fifth son, ever since arriving in Catonsville from Chambéry, a city of about 60,000 located some 50 miles from Lyon amid the Alps of eastern France.

“They adore him. They all get along with him,” Wack said of Blou and her four sons, who range from kindergarten to the eighth grade. “They’re almost true brothers. He interacts with them as if he’s part of house. He helps to take responsibility with little ones and goofs around with older ones.”

With the close relationship to his new, extended family and his acceptance into a wide circle of friends, Blou, in a remarkably short time, has had virtually no difficulty transitioning to your average Catonsville teen, savoring every trip to Opie’s for ice cream while anxiously awaiting to don a tuxedo and take his girlfriend to senior prom. 

Language barrier? No problem. Blou went from having trouble understanding his in-flight movies en route to the United States in August, to being a little rusty in French when he returned home to visit his family on spring break, because his English had improved so much and was so fresh in his mind.

Although there was a bit of a disconnect when he relayed the news about going to prom to his family back home—whom he contacts at least once a month using Skype. They excitedly responded, “What is prom?”

On top of the end-of-the-year dance, Blou has already gotten a good taste of the United States, traveling to New York and Philadelphia, and also attending the Ravens' overtime win against Buffalo in the fall.

Perhaps the only adjustment he has yet to make is understanding the community’s (and the country’s) fascination with American football.  

“We don’t understand it,” Blou said of France’s overall point of view toward football. “You play for 60 minutes, but the game takes like three hours. We don’t want to watch that.”

Still, the variation on football aside, Blou has embraced the challenge of venturing on his own to a new country, his experiences in the United States further strengthening his mindset as an individual that doesn’t rattle or lose his composure.

“It was hard because you don’t know anybody and you don’t speak the language, so when you first come here you are tired because you are always meeting people and talking all day long in English,” Blou said. “But, after you meet the new culture, you’re getting new friends and you’re having a new family, you play sports—I’ve really enjoyed it.”