Speaking Her Language: Yanis David Communicates, Jumps with Emotion
Thursday, March 8, 2018 | Track and Field
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“I don’t regret that decision, even if sometimes I want to go home. It’s worth it. It was a great choice for me.” --Yanis David on leaving Guadeloupe for Florida
By: Zach Dirlam
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Horizontal jumper Yanis David is trilingual. French is her first language. English is her second. But the third is unique to her. It is composed almost entirely of hand gestures and facial expressions, along with a dash of indiscernible sounds and French vocabulary.
One can make educated guesses what she is communicating with this one-of-a-kind dialect, but only she truly knows. It is frequently on display following one of her jumps. Sometimes thrilled, other times peeved, though quite often they look too similar to tell any difference. Doesn't make sense? Well, David is at her most demonstrative when expressing frustration, whether it be with her performance, failing to grasp an English phrase, or not speaking her second language fluid enough for others to understand. (The latter happens far less now that she's lived in the United States for three years.)
Through it all, David usually throws her hands up and laughs.
"Some of the funniest moments were when she would get really frustrated," assistant coach Nic Petersen said of David's first six months on campus. "She would just start talking to me in French. I'd have to be like, 'Yanis, I have no idea what you just said.'"
David (right) and her horizontal jumps teammate, Darriell McQueen.
Two weeks ago at the SEC Indoor Championships, David used her third language to express joy, excitement, and relief.
She set massive personal records in the triple jump and long jump, finishing second and fourth, respectively. Her 14.11-meter triple jump (46 feet, 3.5 inches) made her the No. 7-ranked collegian in history—meaning David will be the primary challenger to American and collegiate record holder Keturah Orji, a Georgia senior, at this weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships.
Orji is typically in another dimension compared to her competition, winning by multiple feet in a sport where centimeters and fractions of a second determine medalists. David came within 2.75 inches (seven centimeters) of handing Orji her second loss in 11 conference or national championship meets. No collegian came within a foot of Orji the past three seasons. David also joined Florida alum Ciarra Brewer, who won the 2015 NCAA Indoors title, as the only other collegian to make Orji win a title on her sixth and final jump. (At five of her previous 10 championship meets, Orji passed her sixth attempt, if not her last three or four.)
Most importantly, though, it marked the culmination of David's three-year pursuit of a 46-foot hop, skip and jump.
"It took a little bit longer than I thought," David said through her thick French accent. "Before I got here, I was like, I'm ready to jump 46 feet. I was starting to get frustrated about it. But I trusted Coach Petersen … it took three years, but it finally came. Finally."
And here's @Yaniis_Dav breaking our school record and cracking the collegiate all-time top 10!
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) February 26, 2018
David's journey to 46 feet started near the end of 2015, when she made the agonizing decision to leave Lamentin (pronounced LA-moan-ten), Guadeloupe.
She loves Guadeloupe. Her eyes light up whenever anyone mentions it.
The Caribs, some of its early inhabitants, called it Karukera, or the island with beautiful waters. Its abundant beaches feature "impossibly clear, clam, turquoise water." Control of the tiny island grouping changed hands several times until 1815, when Sweden ceded it to France. Today, Guadeloupe is known as a department of France, hence French being its official language.
Part of the Leeward Islands, east of Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe is less than half the size of Rhode Island and has a population just over 400,000. (For perspective, Wyoming is the least populated state in America, and its latest estimate was roughly 579,000.) Everybody seems to know one another.
Moving away from her family, especially her mother, to a country where she could understand but hardly speak the language was not an easy choice.
"I'm the only one in the United States right now. The rest are in France or back home in Guadeloupe," David said of her family. "I'm not going to lie, I was skeptical about coming here by myself. But I thought about what I really wanted to do in life. It's not a time for you to be scared, or be afraid of the future and new experiences.
"I don't regret that decision, even if sometimes I want to go home. It's worth it. It was a great choice for me."
As difficult as the move was for David, it was even harder for her mother, especially the first year. David came to Gainesville in January 2016, shortly after her 18th birthday. Her mother worried constantly. David did her best to provide a daily update. Last year, David's brother bought their mother an iPhone, making phone calls and video chats far easier. "That was the best day of my life," David said.
Aside from soothing her mother's anxiety, David dealt with two challenging adjustments of her own: speaking English, and eating American food.
David understood English relatively well. Finding the right words to say in return? Not so much. This led to a lot of pointing, hand motions, pulling up photos and asking what something was. Even ordering food at restaurants consisted of several blank stares and hand gestures.
"When I got here, I was lost. I didn't have my bearing, or any French around me," David said. "That was hard. I was shy. In class, I wasn't really talking. I didn't want to read, didn't want to talk. I felt like if my English wasn't good, people couldn't understand what I'm saying. I don't like when people don't understand what I'm saying. That was frustrating."
David's emotions are always on display--before, during, and after meets.
All the Gators, much to David's delight, took time to try to comprehend what she said, even using translators on their phones. Petersen ordered a textbook for an introductory French course, hoping it would help. (It did not. He laughed as he recalled David telling him, "Stick to English. Your French is terrible.") Fellow horizontal jumper Darrielle McQueen became a go-to translator more often than not.
"It came to a point where we'd go to restaurants and I'd order food for her, because I knew exactly what she wanted," McQueen giggled. "She's very independent now, so she doesn't necessarily always have to say, 'Where's this at? How do I get there? What's this item they're showing me? What's this food?' She's just grown into her own self."
.@Yaniis_Dav (???? + ????) has English down pretty well after three years in the U.S.
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) March 7, 2018
David also found American cuisine far heavier than the food in Guadeloupe. Portions were much larger, too. And most Guadeloupians, including David's mother and grandmother, grow their own fruits and vegetables—key ingredients to many of their dishes—making healthy and chemical-free options readily accessible.
With her diet altered accordingly, David is in the best shape of her career. Her performance two weeks ago confirmed that.
Coming off those two career bests, Petersen knows she is capable of jumping farther at NCAA Indoors Friday and Saturday.
"We're going to try and go out there and win the triple jump," he said. "Certainly we know who we're up against, but if we can't win it, we're going to make her jump really far to beat us."
One of the biggest factors behind David's decision to come to Florida was its long history of successful jumpers. Her favorite long jumper is Marquis Dendy, a seven-time national champion for the Gators. She idolized triple jumpers Will Claye and Christian Taylor, both of whom won NCAA titles at Florida. (Taylor actually won four.) All three were dominant as upperclassmen.
Given David's ambition to follow their paths, this weekend expects to be another step toward such greatness. The only question is which language she will use to announce it to the world.
