The french language is “très compliqué” as it turns out. I have learned to say, “I have no idea what you are talking about.” in more ways than I ever thought possible! My “rose colored” memories of high school french don’t include the many complicated twists and turns that I am now discovering here in the french
language. The reality is that I probably didn’t get far enough in my prior studies to have encountered some of these interesting idiosyncrasies. But, I will say that the expression “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.” takes on a different kind of meaning here in France. It might look like a word you know, sound like a word you know and act like a word you know, but it might not actually be that word. As we say in our class, C’est bizarre….another of my favorites!!
When all is said and done, I may never get the hang of this as well as I thought I might, but I (and about 10 of my closest friends from around the globe) are having the times of our lives trying! I am now in the middle of my second week of class and feel that I have learned about a thimble-full more than I had when I started. But, I have forgotten some things I already knew, so I am about even on the scale! I’m thinking about whether to sign up for another 2 week tour next week! I’ll keep you posted! Maybe I can get a few more thimbles-full! We’ll see!
As you all probably know by now, one of the highlights of travel for me is learning to know new people. Because this is an international school, I have not only had the opportunity to meet new people, but new people from different cultures, which I am finding fascinating. Many of them speak english, but some of them don’t, so we are all connected by the french language, which I am also finding interesting. I didn’t mention this earlier, but despite all of my hard work and study before starting the class, I was placed in one of the beginner classes (and rightly so, I might add)….not the lowest level….but, in the next to lowest level. The one for people who know enough to be dangerous, but not enough to execute the danger. So, you can imagine the kinds of conversations I am having with the other classmates who don’t speak english. As we are all trying to remember how to form sentences and questions, conjugate verbs and retrieve unfamiliar words (which, by the way, is often a challenge for me even in my native language these days) we have had some pretty interesting conversations. Again, “C’est bizarre.” But, “C’est fun.”…for the most part.
My class is made up of 3 people from the United States (all from California, like me), 2 people from Switzerland, 2 people from Germany, 1 person from the UK, 1 person from Japan and 1 person from Brazil. It’s about an even split of men and women and a nice mix of ages and reasons that people are learning french. About half the people are like me, just doing this for fun and the other half are learning because they need to have a grasp on the language for their work. I actually thought I would be in the minority…..doing this for fun. But, not so. I have also found that several of the women are in a life transition and are here by themselves looking for a new path. Travel heals all…..and if you can learn something new along the way, all the better.
I have spent the most time with the Japanese woman, the Brazilian and a woman from Germany that I met on the first day. The Japanese woman and the Brazilian woman have no english at all, so communication is somewhat challenging. I will not stay at the school long enough to have enough of the language to really get to know them. But, I have to say that we seem to be able to understand each other for the most part and have enjoyed each other’s company.
The Brazilian and the Japanese gal are taking the classes for fun and for the travel experience. The woman from Brazil is taking 6 weeks of classes and the Japanese woman is taking 10 weeks. I feel hopeful that they will be able to communicate quite well by the end of their journeys. I give them a lot of credit for coming to a place where they really can’t communicate with anyone and trying to become a part of the culture, the Japanese woman in particular. I think the Japanese culture doesn’t always allow people, especially women, to step out of their comfort zones and make a statement for themselves. Learning a new language in a class full of strangers is not easy. Every day in class you are showing your vulnerability to the group by participating in class, making mistakes and accepting corrections. As hard as it is, you have to come back every day and do it again if you want to learn. We are all doing it, but the Japanese gal is doing more, in my opinion. She is literally and enthusiastically learning a whole new alphabet so that she can then learn a new language in a culture that is very different from hers. I’m pretty bold, but I’m not sure I would have the courage to do this. Kudos to her!
The German woman is me in German. She has a lot of english and wants to practice, so we have had some “meaty” discussions. We are both in about the same place in life, almost the same age and have a similar outlook. I have found it interesting to “see myself” in the mirror.
The school is not only good about helping you to learn french, but also is good about helping you to learn about the culture and the area. There are organized tours just about each day that you can take if you are so-minded. I have toured the Isle Sur La Sorgue, Gordes, La Fontaine de Vaucluse and Roussillon with the school and the group of women I mention above…..and George….our trusty tour guide. We have all had a great time doing it! Well, maybe not George….I’m not sure. We also had a group of Italian high school students and their teachers with us on each tour. They were quite a lively crowd….and it was somewhat like herding cats. It kept George busy keeping them all together! He’s taking the kids to Barcelona this weekend. There are no tours planned for next week. Wonder why!
Well, I think that’s it for now. I am off to conjugate verbs….repeter, repeter, repeter…….that’s what they tell me. It’s the only way to remember the combinations of words. We’ll see if it works!
J’ai mangé……tu as mangé……………. il a mangé………………………….zzzzz…..
Travel With Betsy 
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