An Unabashed Approach

Nobody can say I'm not trying. My approach to learning French is to just keep on usin' it--no matter how wrong I might be, no matter how strangely my usage comes across. I text-message in French, I answer people in French, I try to converse in French...and I end up telling somebody (as I did yesterday) that his jacket was "too big" instead of "quite big" when I was trying to make small talk about the cold weather.

I have put all shame aside. Par example, when I returned in October and the weather was still a bit warm, I walked into the cafe and announced at the end of the bar, "Je suis chaude!" I thought I was telling my friends that I was warm...namely that the weather was so great I had worked up a minor sweat just trompsing around. Everybody's eyes grew wide, I received some strange looks, and then David and Victor burst out laughing. Apparently I was making a sexual reference about my desire for, well, nobody in particular (yes, making it that much more bizarre). Then the other day I sent a text to David about meeting up after he finished working, only to receive a phone call from him saying, "What's going on...is something wrong?" I thought my text indicated that I was waiting, when really I said I would wait no longer. Then last night I received a text from Melanie telling me to come join her for dinner at the cafe. I texted back saying that I would be on my way (I thought)...only to receive a text back which started (in English) "I think you misunderstood me..." What I wrote wrong, I'm still not even sure! Then the last straw was a text I sent today to David Henderson, an American friend who was meeting me at the Alliance Francaise after my class. I said, "Portes ton livre et on va etudier au cafe...." I wanted to tell him to bring his book so we could study at the cafe...but instead I told him to "wear his book"!

I don't know why I'm so enamoured by learning French, but I love it. I'm really not that great (although I am an admirable faker!)...and when I run into people in the building, it's probably a good thing that I have a wide smile and a friendly face, because I know my responses seldom make much sense. I'm probably known as "that girl who cannot speak French...but oh, she tries!" But maybe it's normal...in any language. Afterall, my mom told me last night that there would be "no clitter for Christmas!" (clutter/litter....c'est normale!)