Right now, I feel no different in my ability to understand, speak,
or write French. But then I look back to when I arrived in this beautiful
country two and a half months ago and I realize just how much I have improved. Upon
my arrival in France I could barely hold on a simple conversation such as
"Hi, How are you" because everyone seemed to be speaking a mile a
minute. I could write in French but it was VERY garbled, often to the point of
being incomprehensible. I walked around with my pocket dictionary and my little
European translator machine thingamabob. I didn't talk to anyone and no one
talked to me. I didn't understand how to greet the different people; should I
shake hands with the guys and do the "kiss-kiss" thing with the
girls? Or should I just wave and say hi? I still don't know exactly how to
greet people in every scenario but I no longer look like a
blundering idiot/ tourist.
Now, looking back, I realize that I have come a long way. I
understand all of my classes and it is often like they are in English. I have
fun conversations with my friends, I can make jokes and although I don't always
understand right away, I can understand their jokes too. When I write in
French, my overall grammar is pretty darn awesome but I still miss the small
things such as when to use “cette” versus “ces” or “cet”, the French have based
the majority of their grammar on the way phrases sound which means that some of
their rules have no explanation and I just have to guess. My professor of
Francais (Language Arts) told me today that I have improved a lot in my
writing. She said that my first essay was nearly incomprehensible and that the
one she returned to me today was very, very good comparatively. My teachers don’t
give me a grade (no note) for my written essays because I often miss what they
were looking for… It is hard to find the deeper meaning of a scene in a play I
barely understand.
My best class is English, for obvious reasons. My 2nd
best class (oddly enough) is German. German is the one class where my teacher
has never given me a “no note” (although I have received one 0/10.) I really
like my school but I still prefer SLCSE. The classes are all lectures and the
lack of projects and group work, make for very boring classes. All of my
teachers (except for my history teacher) are very nice and often ask me how I
am doing.
I am still so glad I am on this adventure; I love my city and all the
people in it.
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