Week 1 of my classes is over. I've learned a few things, made a few observations and a few goals for this week. I will now share with you the most interesting parts of all those things i just mentioned bc if i sat and wrote it ALL out, i would bore you. And i want people to read my blogs....so here goes:
We will start with the biggest thing i have learned so far: I have learned how to not be a control freak. Ok maybe that isn't entirely true, but I'm on the way there, and I've made a lot of progress. Before study abroad I always had to know WHEN things were going to happen, HOW LONG they were going to go, HOW FAR AWAY i was going to be, WHO was going to be there etc. I was obsessed with time, things needed to start on time and end on time. I have always been this way, I just need to be in control of everything. I'm also a planner, I either make the plans or know exactly what they are before I do things. I'm not very spur of the moment at all, it scares me to not know exactly what is going on. Anyways, so i knew that this was something I needed to work on because it is not healthy to live this way. I am a Christian and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has a plan for my life, but He doesn't always tell me what it is when I want to know. And it would really be good if I could be content knowing He has a plan even if I don't know it....yet. So I knew that this trip would take me out of my comfort zone and I hoped it may help me learn to be a little more easy going.
Let me just say, that I have gone cold turkey on my planning addiction. Why? Because I don't understand enough French to know where I am going when people take me places. Example #1 On a Wednesday my host mom asks me if I want to go pick mushroom with the youth group on saturday. I say yes and I'm excited that I understood her, little did I know I only got half the conversation. The night before when I am packing my lunch my host mom is telling me all about the mushroom trip, I'm listening to the best of my ability, catching about half of the words when all the sudden i hear "...en espagne..." WOAH! "EN ESPAGNE???" I repeat...and yes i find out that i was told on Wednesday that this mushroom hunting trip is going to be in SPAIN. Good thing i figured that out before we left or I wouldn't have taken my passport. And this kind of thing happens again, and again! Today I almost walked out of the house to go swimming without a bathing suit because I had no idea we were going swimming. Last night I went to an awesome fair, but almost didn't wear a coat because I thought we were going to visit a family with the last name of Foire, not going to the Foire Festival which is OUTSIDE. And even if I do know where I am going there is no way i know when we are coming home, or if we are making a million stops on the way there or who we are going to see. All in all i guess it is good for me because I have stopped panicking about this sort of thing and just learned to go with the flow...it'll all work out :)
Ok, Sunday Resolutions:
I love the first day of the week because I feel like its a fresh start. Why wait til the new year? I make resolutions like once a week. This week's resolution: Speak less English. See, I am in a study abroad program in a specialized language school within a French university. I don't have classes with any French kids, so it is kinda difficult to meet people, and it is SO easy to just speak English with the 50 other americans that are here. But i will not get where I want to go with my French if I continue to do this. So NO MORE! I will start joining things, to meet French people and volunteering and I have a language buddy now. This is just going to be a matter of determination. I will read more French I will watch more French I will look up more words I don't know and review my verbs so i don't get stuck on the same ones every time. I will make even more of an effort to speak to my host family. I want to be fluent, i have 3 months to do it, and I've heard that's all it takes. But I don't have ANY time to waste...so here we go.
Ce ete ma semaine, that was my week. I'm growing as a person...but my french growth seems a little stunted (tho my host mom says i'm doing a lot better, and i can see some improvement) But my life is a work in progress, and its time for me to stop slacking...but first i need to clean my room.
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