I haven't had a lot of free time to write or past lately, but I'm catching up. I'll start with Tuesday.
Mardi/Tuesday
Classes started today. Even though I left rather early, I still underestimated the amount of time it would take for me to get to my building. It’s a 30 minute walk from the house, so maybe I should figure out which bus to take tomorrow so it isn’t such a trek. Anyway, I was a few minutes late, and then I was handed another piece of paper and told that I had been moved to another level in another room in another building. I’m in the “Intermédiaire C” level now, which I think will be a better experience. If the grammar is easy, that just gives me that much more time to enjoy the city and practice speaking with my host family. It was difficult to take in all of the information today. Imagine your first day in class in college, with all the necessary announcements and syllabus explanations, in a different language that you haven’t completely learned yet. My head was spinning. It was pretty stressful, too, because I was afraid I was going to miss some crucial information, like, “There’s a quiz tomorrow” or something.
Anyway, then I had to figure out where I was going to eat lunch. Walking around campus was miserable because it was so hot and humid. It’s easier to handle at home because you’re accustomed to the weather patterns and you know what to wear. Not so here, of course. Ah well, I decided that it would be economical to buy a bus pass (laissez-passer), so I asked a couple of new acquaintances where they got theirs, and they offered to drive me over there since they were going that direction anyway. I didn’t think about the fact that we might not return to the school together, and I wasn’t familiar with the area at all. I finally found the counter where they sold the passes and made my way to the bus stop to catch a bus that I hoped would take me back to Laval. When I stepped on the bus and showed the pass, though, the driver told me that I needed an ID. It turns out that they forgot to tell me that I had to pay more money at a different store to have my pass laminated with a photo of me on it, so I dropped in $2.50 to ride the bus to another stop. Then, I realized I needed to walk two or three blocks back to the same mall I’d been in to finish getting my bus pass. :P It was extremely frustrating. I waited in line for a while with a lot of other students and realized that I needed to call Mme. Falardeau to tell her that I wouldn’t be returning for dinner at the time I’d told her I would. So, I bit the bullet and called with my cell phone…with roaming charges…and struggled through the conversation, almost in tears by that point. Fortunately, we came to the conclusion that I was lost, and she was going to come and get me.
Actually, the day only improved from there. We enjoyed a lovely dinner outside, and then she drove me over to Laval for a movie night. I was a little late, but I didn’t mind. I’ll definitely be renting the movie when I get home. It was called “Bon Cop, Bad Cop,” and it was the funniest movie I’ve seen in a long time. Seriously. I laughed so hard. It’s partially in English, partially in French, because it’s about a “good cop” from Ontario and a “bad cop” from Québec who are forced to work together, despite their personal and cultural differences. If you understand a little bit about the cultural background, it’s absolutely hilarious, because they poke fun at it obviously throughout the entire movie. We watched it with French subtitles, but I’m sure it comes with English subtitles, too, so yeah – I’m definitely going to share this one. (minus a couple of scenes)
I find myself stressing a lot about this experience – about making every moment count, about whether it’s detrimental to speak English from time to time with my family and friends, or when writing here. I don’t know much about methods of learning languages. I keep reminding myself not to take this too seriously, though, and perhaps it will sink in soon. Until then, I’m having a good time analyzing my mental processes, at least. I’ve found that when I hear French, I’ll respond in French, but when I hear English, I’ll automatically respond in English without thinking about it, even though I know I’m supposed to speak French. I suppose that is one of the frustrating things about my classes – that some of the students give up too easily on making themselves understood and whisper in English when I don't understand immediately. Ah well. Perhaps by the end of the program…
Oh, funny observation of the day: a PIN number in French is a NIP. (numero d’identification personel) ;-) It amused me.
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