Voilà Quoi

I think I can say that it has been a good week. Long, but good nonetheless. I have now been to all of my classes at least once, and, for the most part, I think I am going to like them. Except that grammar class, of course.

On Wednesday night I went ice skating with some people, which I had not done since I was like 8 years old. We had to take a bus out to the edge of town, and accompanying us at the bus stop were a few people with ice skates in their hands. Apparently Wednesday night is when you go ice skating. Who knew? When we got there, most of us realized that we were terrified, and as we were lacing up, we were all thinking "oh gosh, what have I gotten myself into...."
But it turned out to be a really fun time, and I though I was no graceful swan on the ice, I managed not to fall, and that, my friends, is a miracle.

You know how when you are walking down the street and you hear people speaking in a foreign language, your ears perk up because it sounds strange and interesting? Well, today I realized that I now react that way when I hear people speaking English (not very often). Today I was walking to class, heard someone speaking English, did a double-take, and realized it was one of my classmates at CIREFE. Weird, right?

Today I had lunch/spent the afternoon with Scottie and two of our new friends, who are French, and it was really great to speak French all day without giving up and resorting to English. Because, let's face it: none of us actually speak French 24 hours a day. Some of us are more motivated than others and make an effort, but it becomes difficult when we are all tired and the English train gets rolling. I mean, it is frustrating to not be able to express yourself the way you want to, but you just have to make do. I marvel at the fact that I am rarely laughed at when I speak French...I must be surrounded by French angels. The only times that I have caused people to chuckle were when I have used familiar words or expressions...my friend explained to me that it sounds strange for foreigners to do so. It's unfortunate because that is how I thought I could sound more like a native...

Tomorrow I am going on an excursion to St. Malo and Mont St. Michel. I'm really excited!!! Atlantic Ocean, here I come...