I recently finished a year of studying the French language. It was a great/interesting/challenging/frustrating/at times overwhelming/blessed/entertaining year. I really like the French language. In those rare moments when I actually have a coherent conversation with someone I feel pretty proud of myself for all I have learned. There were times through this past year when I was really struggling and someone would say to me, “Wow, just think of all that God is teaching you this year.” My response was, “That’s all well and good, but what I really need to be learning is FRENCH!” But, really when I look back on it, I am grateful for the lessons I learned. And God tends to have extra grace in the moments when I really need to know some French.
I am in no way fluent, but I feel like I have a really good foundation to build on. I have to keep reminding myself that I am going to live in France for a while and I will continue to learn. Overall, I feel fairly confident in my ability, and I am really grateful to have completed the year.
Just for the fun of it, here are some things you may not know about the French language.
-Every noun has a gender. The window is a girl and the problem is a boy. For a while I thought I could get by without learning the gender of words, but they came back to haunt me. A lot of times I speak in plurals.
-There is no logical way to figure out what gender a word will be.
-Whoever created numbers in French could not count past 60. 70 is 60-10. 80 is 4 20′s. 95 is 4 20′s-15. Fun!
-No matter how solid a rule is, there will always be an exception.
-If you use the verb ‘to be’ ‘to have’ ‘to know’ or ‘to want’ you will most likely use the wrong form. They are always the exceptions.
But really, I enjoy the language and I am really looking forward to continue learning. I am so happy when I walk down the street and can actually eavesdrop on someones conversation rather than wondering if they are talking about the silly American who clearly has no clue what is going on.
Thank you to anyone and everyone who has had a hand in my language learning. Thank you for your words of encouragement and your prayers and support. Although most of my work in France is in English, I know it will make a significant difference in reaching France.
Be Blessed!! (Que Dieu vous bénisse)
