We Are Making Progress

I was talking with a few friends and I started thinking of what I could fill you guys in on.

For those of you that I told I was going to be 'bilingual' when I came home... This is a slower process than I had originally anticipated. But, the good news is - I am learning so much, all the time. I have taken French for 5 years, but when I first arrived here, I guarantee you these people were NOT speaking French. I had no idea what anyone was saying at all. But after a couple weeks in the classroom, training my ears to not only listen to French but understand it when I hear it. Now, I catch bits and pieces of what people say when I am walking down the street. (Not always, mind you. But I actually recognize the language now.)

I was talking with a friend of mine about how strange it is when you arrive in a foreign country where there is this language barrier. Regardless of how much French I had in the classroom, I was not prepared for this. (Sorry Mrs. Hinkle, if you are reading this.) You are stripped of everything that is familiar to you and you are forced to recreate yourself piece by piece in a brand spankin' new environment.

I keep forgetting that everything is in French, and I'm not too sure why. The first time I swiped my debit card at a cash register to pay for groceries I panicked when the words on the screen were in French. I didn't know what the heck it said, so I assumed it was asking me for my PIN. I typed it in and PRAYED that  worked. And when it did, I surprised myself. It is all a big guessing game. I am learning that I might not have a single clue what you are saying to me, but by your tone and body language I may be able to figure out that you are asking me if I want to eat my crêpe now or later. In a couple more weeks, I won't panic when someone randomly starts talking to me in French and I'm not prepared for it, because I am learning.

In other news, I have conquered ordering my coffee in the morning. Now, the lady in the café doesn't ask me to repeat myself or look at me like I am speaking Russian. When I leave the café, we say "à demain". Which means "Until tomorrow" or "See you tomorrow."

Those are all my thoughts for tonight!