The 18th Year

I’m awfully terrible with change. It will evoke no doubt gushing tears at some point or another. This morning my host family left to go bike riding for a week, but I chose to go to Paris instead on Wednesday; in turn leaving me alone at the house until I actually go to Paris. So, ça y est, they left and now it’s just me and the cat holding down the fort. It’s a bit to early to start reflecting on my time here, so I’ll just say what I’m going to miss.

#1 The Language: I’m finally beginning to feel like a real French speaker, and I know if perhaps this was a 5 month stay, I’d be fluent. Even so, I’m confident in my french skills now, it’s second nature for me to speak and comprehend the language, even if I don’t know allllll the vocabulary yet.

#2 The FOOD: French food. Bread, Cheese, Sausage, Quiche, Wine. Yum. That’s all.

#3 Meeting people from around the world: I took French classes here at an organization for speakers of foreign languages. In turn, I met and made friends with germans, brazilians, czechs, russians, malaysians, argentinians, sudanese, djibouti-ans (not sure about that one), madagascans, japanese, turks, irish, cambodians, and vietnamese along with the french. It has been my favorite experience in France, I never get bored hearing about life their respective countries. I find it fascinating. 

#4 The Family: Sure, the kids scream and cry a lot. And it can be stressful living here sometimes, but how amazing is it that this family took me in for 3 MONTHS!? They housed me and fed me, and all they asked for in return was a bit of English practice. They always made sure I was well cared for and tried to integrate me into French life as best as they could. I will always be grateful towards them. 

#5 Europe: The opportunities for adventure are incredible here. I’ll miss having the history and beauty of Europe and it’s cities so close. Here, it’s possible to go to Rome for the weekend, to go on a road trip to Spain, to take a boat or a train to England. It’s incredible and I can’t wait to come back and explore the rest!

Yes, the French do abide by pretty strict table manners; hands always on the table, not on lap, never get up from your chair unless you have to go to the bathroom, bread is the only thing you can eat with your hands, and fork to left, knife to right, soup spoon to the right, dessert spoon above. At least the adults do. The kids in my family are as messy as any American kid I know. Spills, stains, faces covered in sauce etc… There are more rules, probably which I haven’t discovered yet or that I violate every meal and they don’t tell me about. But hey, I’m American. That’s a good enough excuse right? It’s not like the world is expecting any better of us. Also, for all of you about to attend a french dinner party, the wine glass is the SMALL one, okay? Trust me, I learned from experience. 

An essential skill when speaking with speakers of another language who mistakenly believe that you understand them. I have a constant debate inside my head; to say “I don’t understand” or not to say “I don’t understand.” Sometimes people just talk too darn fast. Or use fancy French words. I’m not nulle in French either, but there are just so many words I’ve yet to learn, and I have to be paying attention. Not to mention background noise, oh boy then I’m pretty much doomed. But when I do find myself in a situation where I have little to no idea as to what this person in front of me has just said, I’ve found that the best response is to give a little chuckle, autrement say “D’accord (okay).” This usually works, but occasionally, my bluff is called. Attention all French language speakers: SLOW DOWN, I DON’T UNDERSTAND. And I do appreciate the “Tu comprends?” that some good citizens throw in at the end, it gives me a chance to say “En fait, non” or “Pshhh, yeah of course don’t you know I speak French?”

translate.google.com (for those of you non-french speakers out there)