"Where are my teeth?" From one old soul to another.

The oral expression portion of my placement exam was this morning.  That’s always been the most challenging aspect of French for me. I can read, write, and understand just fine, but when it comes to actually forming coherent sentences I tend to sound like a stuttering bumbling buffoon.

They say that immersion is the best and fastest way to learn a language. I’ve only been here for a week, but already I’ve noticed some improvement. It’s not that I’ve learned tons of new words or phrases (Though I have learned quite a few)…but it’s more that I’ve become pretty comfortable with the language. I understand what’s going on around me most of the time. I’m not afraid to go to the store or go out on my own. I’m more confident in my language skills than I was before, and that just makes it easier to assimilate. So this newfound confidence was really useful during my test this morning.  I got to the room a little bit early and was greeted by short little French man with thick glasses and a huge smile. I was already feeling pretty relaxed, but any remaining nervousness melted away upon learning that this jolly little man was the one who was testing me.  He seemed grandfatherly….like someone I’d love to talk to. (Now it’s been said by certain unnamed individuals that I act like a grandma. I suppose that the cat obsession, early bedtime, lots of oatmeal, and splitting a daily grapefruit with a fellow “grandma” probably doesn’t help my case.) 

Anyway, the test went really well. We talked about where I was from, what I study, why I’m interested in France, etc. Before I knew it, time was up and I’d just had a delightful conversation and hadn’t come off as idiot. Reward: a spoonful of Nutella and 2 hours reading and relaxing on the beach.  

Word of the day:

This is actually a phrase we learned last night.

C’est pas catholique! – That’s not Catholic! The French equivalent of saying “that’s not kosher/that isn’t right”