Les Petites Aventures

Hello!

It's been a while since I've written anything. I am getting busier and busier lately now that classes have really started to get going. I'm starting to realize that I need to remember that I'm also here to take classes. Haha. The title, "Les Petites Aventures" which means little adventures, is kind of how I feel like things happen here. I go to class everyday and I'm starting to settle in with a routine, but there is always something special or different about each day. Whether it's learning a new phrase in French, discovering another cultural difference, eating something delicious, trying something new, seeing new places, etc, everyday here is truly studded with little things that make the day exciting. Like, this past Sunday, IES provided all of the students tickets to La Folle Journee, which is essentially a series of classical music concerts held in Nantes. I got to see two Tchaikovsky concerts, which were AMAZING. And today after the conversation club that IES hosts, a group of us IES students and some French students went out to dinner. During dinner, I thought to myself how exciting it was that I was able to converse with a group of other people in a different language. Not only that, but I was able to make everyone laugh with my jokes. Both American and French alike laughed! Haha. It really was a good night for me because I've found that it's actually quite difficult to be funny in another language. The girl next to me at dinner (Coline) told me that my French is really good! Also, I have been told that my French "r's" sound Germanic, or that my accent sounds German. Which I find hilarious. A random French man started talking to me on Sunday while I was watching a group play music at La Folle Journee and he said my accent was Germanic; he looked surprised when I told him I was American.
Another good thing about today was that in my theatre practice class, we started practicing the play. I ended up being given 3 different characters to play (haven't figured out if that's a good or bad thing yet), so that should be interesting. I think it's really going to be a great class because it will really help teach me the language.
Right now, I'm in the process of planning my trip to Paris, and I am very excited! And this Saturday, I'm going to the IES organized field trip to Mont St. Michel and St. Malo, which should be great! One bigger  thing I've learned, or become more aware of rather, is that it's important to savor every moment while I'm here, and to really take appreciate both the big and small things of each day; the small triumphs in the French language, a delicious cookie, a good friend, learning something about yourself and what you can do, and other priceless moments. I, along with others, have decided to really commit to the French language and to avoid speaking English as much as possible, and I can already see that in doing so, my French language abilities will progress much more rapidly. Everyone knows that practice makes perfect. I'm learning that that phrase has more and more truth to it everyday.

Jordan