Learning by osmosis

My teacher has suggested we listen to the news in French, with the idea that we'll eventually be able to pick out words we understand, but I would like to start with something that isn't quite so boring. Instead, I've decided to stream French music, but I don't know of any French musicians. Can you recommend any??

Some things never change

I grew up in Salt Lake City, UT, mere minutes from several ski resorts. The jr. high school I attended offered an after school program for 7th graders to learn how to ski. My parents were willing to send me, but I wanted nothing to do with it. You see, I was painfully shy, emphasis on the pain. The last thing I wanted to do was to go to ski school and possibly look like a fool in front of my peers. I still don't know how to ski.

Many years have passed and I was sure that I had gotten over my fears of being the center of attention; of doing something new and different without tears streaming down my face. Well, I guess I haven't. Today was day two of French. Things were going well. My instructor would ask me a question and I could answer it. Sometimes I needed a quick look at my notes, but I was otherwise fine. In fact, I could understand most of what he was saying and I could respond correctly with fairly decent pronunciation. That is until he told us that, after studying our vocabulary for a few minutes, we would have to have a conversation with one of our peers (of our own choosing)...with no notes. The person who went third chose me to start a dialogue with. I answered his questions with a few mistakes, but it went mostly went well. Then it was my turn. I was able to say a few things before my mind went completely blank. The most painful silence followed as my entire class stared at me, waiting for me to continue. I tried to fight the tears pooling in my eyes, but couldn't. I quickly finished my dialogue by saying goodbye (which I had to be prompted to say by my instructor), and shrunk in my seat as the tears fell freely. Now, of course, I was completely embarrassed, which made me cry even more. I snuck out to cry in the comfort of my very own bathroom stall, but the damage was already done.

Forget the nightmares I was having before I started class. THIS is my nightmare. I don't want to go back there and face those people again, but I will. I hope what they say about language training is true, that I'll have bad days, but I'll also have good days. Oh I hope they're right. In the mean time, I think I'll bring tissues to class tomorrow.

One down, (approx) 120 to go

Things I can now confidently say in French:
My name is Anne
Nice to meet you
I am married

Good news: I am indeed enrolled in French
Bad news: I am indeed enrolled in French

During orientation we were told that, in addition to spending 4 hours in class, we will also be expected to spend an additional 4 hours each day doing labs and self study. So...basically learning French is our full time job. Now if only I was getting paid for this.

While we spent most of the day today in various orientation sessions and filling out several learning assessment questionnaires (my favorite question went something like this: Would you make a good psychic or medium?), we did spend the last hour in our respective classrooms doing our very first lesson. My instructor, a very nice gentleman (monsieur) from somewhere in Africa, informed us that when he enters the classroom he forgets English, ie, this is an immersion French class. This causes me much anxiety.

Thanks for the good luck wishes and votes of confidence. I'm going to need it!

Pardon my French

I start French tomorrow. At least I think I do. Although we checked with the registrars office last week, neither Mister or I received our final enrollment confirmation. Please let us be on the list.

So much about this French thing scares the crap out of me. I've been having all sorts of nightmares about it. Cross your fingers for me!

Back in the saddle

You might remember that I started "running" in December after a very long hiatus, but was getting crazy shin splints, so I stopped for a while to give my poor legs some time to recover. During this hiatus I did a bit of research on minimalist/barefoot running and decided that for the sake of my knees and shins, it would probably be in my best interest to change my foot strike. Basically, not to let my heel be the first part of my foot to hit the ground when I run. It's definitely tricky to train your brain to change something it's been doing one way for years, but luckily I am pretty much starting this running thing from scratch (again) so it's like I'm learning a whole new skill, instead of just resuming something I've done in the past.

I signed up for a half marathon that takes place at the end of May and figured out that I need to start training at the end of February. To (hopefully) save my poor shins, I started to ease into running again on Monday with a .75 mile run and guess what? I did the whole thing without stopping! Then yesterday, I did it again! This may not sound impressive to you, but I'm a complete wuss and live for walking breaks (every two minutes (or sooner) or every three lamp posts if I'm out on the running trail). I'm not sure what to thank for this newfound mental toughness, whether it's the new stride, the spinning classes, my awesome new playlist, or something else, but I'll take it!

Speaking of my new playlist...I love it! I also love to share, so if you'd like a copy, send me an email or leave a comment and I'll mail one off to you.

snooze

I just woke up from a nap (in class, mind you) with a generous pool of drool where my hand was supporting the weight of my head. It is only 10am. I think it's going to be a long day.

Howdy, Valentine

Miracle Monday, a photo essay

Yesterday, I witnessed a miracle. Luckily, I took pictures, so you can be witness to this divine act as well. You see...my husband, whose idea of preparing a meal is using a can opener, decided to cook us a special Valentine's meal. From scratch. All by his little lonesome. Well mostly. I did have to explain the difference between a baking sheet and a baking dish. But other than that, the man who has previously claimed that he doesn't know how to cook, whipped up the most amazing dinner. On the menu? Chicken Breasts with Basalmic Garlic Sauce (you should probably make this) and cauliflower mash. Asparagus was also on the menu, but we substituted cake at the last minute. Guess who just signed on to cook a meal once a week from this day forward?

                 reading a recipe like an old pro

action shot

Ok, I know it looks like our chicken is covered in tar, but I promise it tastes a billion times better than it looks.

Someone licked her plate clean...literally.

Transition

So, I've officially transitioned from 'Lady of Leisure' to 'Full Time Student.' Notice I didn't say that I've successfully transitioned. After 30 years of being an early riser, in the recent months I have learned the fine art of sleeping in until noon and then doing nothing but laying on the couch while watching America's Next Top Model marathons (there is ALWAYS one on). Getting up at 7:30 am, spending long stretches of time awake, and actually sitting up in a chair has been painful to say the least.

Until French starts a week from Tuesday, I've been taking Sub-Saharan African Studies, which on the positive side, has warmed me up to the idea of actually living there, but which is filled with discussions far beyond my brain's comprehension (thank you reality TV). Luckily, our instructor recognizes that sitting in a classroom for 8 hours every day for two weeks isn't ideal, so he's scheduled a few outings, like lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant (delish!) and today, a trip to a local mosque to witness Friday prayer (or, as my husband informed me, in Arabic, jumah). We listened to the Imam's sermon, which was centered around the monumental events in Egypt surrounding Mubarak's resignation and then watched as they prayed. If there was any day to be in a mosque, this was it.