First Week in France with Host Family

If only you could see the bags under my eyes as I type this!
Everyone tells you what a great experience it is immersing yourself into another language and culture, but they forget to mention that you will become exhausted from having to think about every little word you say. They also forget to mention that you will feel like an idiot half the time because you can't remember the thing you learnt two seconds ago let alone two years ago. You speak English slower as well for french people to understand you, which adds to this feeling of stupidity.

(You are also bound by Murphy's Law to say something embarrassing. I kept saying "Yes I'd like a little bit" for the children to learn English without realising that they were hearing me say: "Yes I'd like a little d**k.")

Even though it has only been a week, I can tell you that I have had good days and bad days. The good days are those the new french information sinks in and I understand more/most of what people are saying at the dinner table. The bad days are where I read and speak more English after waking up at midday fromexhaustion.

After thinking about what makes a good day, I thought I'd write down a quick list of dos and avoids that I have already discovered:

DO - 
- Get out and see your town. Join a small tour group to get the lay of the land. Ask the guide where are the places to avoid at night etc.

- Watch French children's cartoons. Especially ones that you haven't already seen in English. I watched the Lion King in French but most of the time I was  comparing it to the English version. I expected the voices to be different, but they changvee the well lod songs so that they rhyme in French or adhere to the syllables too. E.g. Simba can't wait to be king becomes Simba would like to already be king.
I watched a Barbie mermaid cartoon movie in French and I found it really helpful. Because the storyline is a little predicable so I had a sense of familiarity and could understand the words better (I like mermaids, moving on). I know it wasn't a great movie for adults but it helped with my confidence which is important. I also found this online cartoon mini series called "Blondes". A collection of blonde jokes in one minute sketches that you can laugh at and learn French in a variety of situations (e.g. in a shop, on the phone, at a bar). I felt this was important to mention as you do not get the same relaxing feeling watching french television.

- Join a language exchange program. Meet french people who want to learn English in exchange for talking to you in French and correcting you as you go.
You also get to speak about a variety of things and learn more about the place your staying in. its also good to meet friends and gives you something to look forward to if you have alot of free time.

- Write out a schedule as you will forget what day it is and what you have agreed to do in that time. you'll be so agreeable as you want to take advantage of every opportunity without really knowing how long it takes to do things or go places etc. 

- Watch or do free online language lessons to jog your memory. You'll remember things better as you'll hear them in daily use instead of once a month etc Great example is: http://livemocha.com/


AVOID - - Facebook and anything else that has you writing/reading = thinking in English. Speaking French is more about thinking French. By the forth day I was generally starting my sentences in French and finishing them in English. Writing home using French spelling that my spellcheck hated. But I feel more confident and have to think less about what I say on the days I avoid English and read French grammar in the morning.

- Feeling like you you jumped into the the deep end of the pool without  a floatation device. Everybody starts off somewhere. Don't loose confidence that YOU CAN DO THIS.


So.... that is enough English for one day.


Tchao