I recently attended a conference in Lombard, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and took the opportunity to continue my 100 Strangers Project. My son and I were waiting at the Lombard Metra station for the East bound train to downtown Chicago and had a few minutes to spare. I scouted the platform for a stranger to talk to.
I spotted a lady who traveled with us on the shuttle from the Hotel to the train station and who was also waiting to take the train to downtown Chicago. I approached her and she agreed to participate in my project. I took a few photos and asked a few questions. When the train arrived we were able to continue the conversation on board, hence the amount of information I was able to obtain.
Elle (French for "her" and as in the French magazine "Elle") is 26 years old and is a Real Estate Agent working in Los Angeles. She was in Chicago for a business meeting at her real estate company's headquarters.
Elle was born in Oran, Algeria. Her parents were living in Africa at the time. Her dad, originally from Spain, had moved to Algeria to work as an engineer in the oil fields. Her mom was originally from Germany and born to German and French parents (hence the French influence in naming their daughter Elle).
While living in Africa, Elle's dad became involved in Algerian politics during the 90's after a change in government and eventually became a diplomat. When Elle was two years old her family moved to Germany after her dad took on work for the United Nations. They lived in Germany for 16 years then moved to Washington, D.C.
While living in Washington Elle studied Business at the University of Maryland. After completing her studies, she took the necessary courses to become a real estate agent. She has worked in this field for two years now and specializes in commercial real estate. Elle moved to Los Angeles a year ago and her territory covers the LA to San Diego area. One of her business clients is american tennis player Michael Chang, winner of the 1989 French Open and the youngest male player to win a Grand Slam singles title at age 17.
Elle speaks 5 languages (English, German, Spanish, Arabic and French). In her spare time she enjoys soccer, tennis and travelling. Her favourite tennis player is Andre Agassi.
Thank you Elle for participating in my strangers project and taking the time to share your story with me.
This picture is #70 in my 100 Strangers Project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the
100 Strangers Flickr Group page
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