Ahh, nothing could have made my weekend start off better than a wonderful morning at work…which is exactly what I had today! I mentioned in my last post, but during September I am only working Saturday mornings and then I have some training during the week. So this morning I had my second “Very Early Learners” class and it was all about opposites. We had two extra boys today for a total of 5 children (all between 18-36 months), so it was a little hectic, what with 5 active and excited children, but overall it felt great, and I was even sad when the class ended (that’s a first for my new job!!)!
This past week has been really encouraging for me overall. Besides getting used to my new job, I have also been noticing an improvement in my French. I think the main reason for that is because my confidence has grown. I haven’t been afraid to speak with others, even if I am unsure of the vocabulary or grammar…I’ve just been trying anyways! This is a huge thing for me as a perfectionist, because I typically don’t try to speak if I don’t already know how to say things correctly. And this morning, as I was speaking with one of the parents, she assumed I was English instead of American, because Americans have really strong accents but mine isn’t so strong apparently! Seriously, any compliment I receive about my accent is the best compliment I could ever desire, and I never forget them, either. Last month at Connect, one of my German friends was trying to help me pronounce bunten Abend (“talent show”–my German-speaking readers will have to tell me if I spelled that wrong!), and she said I pronounced it like a French person! You can only imagine how ecstatic that made me! And now that I feel more confident about my French, I am making Matt speak to me only in French today (he really prefers to speak in English, but whenever he does I just say, “Non, je comprends pas…” Ha), and I love it! I love catching myself thinking in French or even accidentally replying to someone in French when they ask me a question in English. It shows that I’m advancing.
So yeah, life is good. God has blessed my husband and I, and our life here in France, and I am so very thankful for everything :) Yesterday I babysat my niece, and we took some pictures that I feel describe my emotions perfectly…
Have a good weekend, everyone!
macarons & paperbacks 
Good for you, being bold enough to try out your French fearlessly! I’m so glad you’re getting more fluent. I never advanced beyond toddler’s level Chinese when we lived in China (i.e. “I want this, I like that”). Learning new vocabulary can be tough, but learning how to fit the words together into grammatically correct sentences is even tougher. I’m impressed! :-D
It is really tough. During my first year here I pretty much only spoke in basic “toddler” sentences, too! It just requires lots of practicing to really improve.