More
than 7 million TV audiences in France were held spellbound in November by a
French man’s fascinating trip to the Lo Lo ethnic minority group in Vietnam’s
northern mountainous region.
Frederic Michalak has been known in his
country as a model, music producer and mostly a professional football player.
He became a guest on the French reality show “Rendez-vous en terre inconnue”
(See you in a strange land) in which the participants have no idea where they
will be taken to and have two weeks to adapt to the native life there.
In the 1-hour 40-minute episode documenting
his journey, he conquered the hearts of millions of French audience members
with his touching story of becoming a part of a Vietnamese ethnic community.
The 30-year-old footballer shared that he had
a good feeling of the Lo Lo people the first time he heard about them from the
show’s producer.
“It’s so strange. I got a feeling of
friendliness the first time I heard about them. I tried to imagine but
couldn’t. The trip absolutely amazed me!” Michalak shared with the show’s
audiences after returning to France.
Michalak, who travelled half way around the
world to Vietnam, also said he was deeply impressed with the smiles of the
people there.
“When I asked a local why the people always
seem to have a smile ready on their face, he told me that they smile naturally,
even with strangers since a smile makes people feel better. It was a great life
lesson to me,” Michalak expressed his feelings about the Lo Lo people.
After his initial impressions, the man was
continuously hypnotized by local lifestyle, customs and its beautiful
landscapes.
During the two weeks making the show, Michalak
went from being a French football star to becoming a local Lo Lo, doing the
work the people there did, eating the food they ate and lived the native life
they led.
Asked about how hard it was for him to adapt
to an absolutely new life in a strange land, the man who played 189 matches for
the Toulouse Team in France said what made the people there love him was his
enthusiasm and earnest in laboring.
“I’d never thought it could be that hard.
Farming with them was as hard as practicing for the World Cup. I lost 7kg of my
weight,” he said. “To the Lo Lo people, laboring is the basic value of life.
They showed me that hardworking would be rewarded.”
Another thing that deeply impressed the French
man is the solidarity in Lo Lo people’s community.
“They never closed their doors. If someone is
in trouble, the whole community will come and help,” he said.
At the end of the 2-week trip, Michalak even
received a proposal from a local woman.
“It’s really interesting. At the farewell
party with the whole village, a woman asked me to marry her. I was touched,
feeling like I’m a kid living in a huge love of people there,” the man recalled
the remarkable memory.
“The Lo Lo people are the star of the show,
not me,” said the hero who helped France 2 TV attract 7.7 million of audiences
to his episode.
“I told them not to forget me since I would
never forget them. Their smiles will always stay in my hearts,” he added.
Born in Toulouse, Michalak started his
football career in 1998 as a defender for the Toulouse Team. After 11 years
playing for Toulouse, he moved to the South Africa’s club Sharks last May.
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