Vive la France!

Zut alors! Eet ees time for ma classe de francais already?

Seriously, didn't I just go to French? Like, yesterday? I feel as though I was supposed to be doing something all week to prepare for class, but I pretty much got as far as playing with this site for a half hour before I gave up. Oh, and I read some articles in Le Monde and did a few searches on the French Yahoo!. Cut me some slack, will you? Really, I shouldn't be so cynical about this class- I do love the language and it's a good opportunity for me to get in some practice.

You may be wondering how the Francophile in me developed? Well you'd do well to wonder; for those of you who know me, you've very likely heard horror tales from my time spent abroad. For those of you who have never had the good fortune to hear me wax poetic about the French, we'll suffice it to say that my 3 weeks in Clermont-Ferrand as a glorified babysitter were not the exciting trip to Europe I had always dreamed of. Picture me, a timid young high schooler, away from her home in Small Town, New Hampshire for the first time, ready to have all my brochure promises fulfilled: a new best friend and French "sister", skiing trips to the Alps, sunning myself on a yacht in Cannes. Then try to imagine me stepping off the plane in what amounts to Small Town, France, smack in the middle of nowhere, to a French "family" that had apparently forgotten I was coming to visit.

Upon discovering that I was to be stuck in a house all day with a 3 year old child, while the adults who worked overnight developing pornography websites (!) slept the days away and a "sister" that ditched me to make out with old men in the neighboring field, I promptly decided to skip the whole France thing and hopped on the next plane out. I spent the rest of my vacation with relatives in England. Yes, most of them were in their 70's. Beggars can't be choosers.

Nevertheless, I did get the chance to spend some time in Paris and at Giverny, and the culture and art alone were enough to inspire me to continue studying French throughout high school and college. What can I say? Language acquisition is one of my fortes. Some people can do cool things like play an instrument or sing. Me? I learn languages. Quickly.