St. Paul, Minnesota (CNN) -- When Max Adrien first heard that a massive earthquake had leveled Port-au-Prince, Haiti, it hit close to home. His brother lives in Haiti, and thankfully survived the January 12 disaster unharmed. Adrien's first instinct was to help his home country. "I said to myself, 'I need to go to Haiti.'" After speaking to his brother, he realized that he would need a skill that was in immediate demand. Otherwise he would just be in the way of other relief efforts. So he came up with a unique idea. "I decided to give Haiti what I have, which is teaching," said Adrien, who is a French professor at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. "I don't think I can give Haiti a better gift."
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Max Adrien, originally from Haiti, wanted to help after the January 12 earthquake
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Adrien teaches French at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota
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Now he's teaching Haitian Creole to volunteers heading to Haiti
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Adrien says even a few Creole phrases would bring joy to most Haitians
She has been working on a collection of personal stories of people living in @placeholder.