France Trip # 4 (prelude 2)

I always avoided foreign languages. I chose my college, UCSC, in part because it had no language requirement. Why did I hate them so much? I think basically fear. In my last test for French 2, I had an assignment to create a story or fable. I used my fear of languages as inspiration:

Il était une fois une femme, Robin, qui avait peur des langues étrangères. Elle pensait que si elle essayait de les apprendre, les gens se moqueraient d’elle. Pendant son temps au lycée, elle a pris une classe d’allemand parce qu’elle devait le prendre. Et trois fois, les étudiants se sont moqués d’elle. Donc, elle avait plus peur. Alors, elle évitait les pays étrangers et les étrangers. Mais puis, elle a connu Leslie et, dix ans plus tard, elles se sont mariées. Leslie adorait toutes les langues étrangères et les pays étrangers. Elle avait une sœur super, Laura, qui les adorait aussi – particulièrement le français. Elles aimaient voyager ensemble et étaient si heureuses quand elles ont connu des étrangers et bavardaient avec eux. Robin était muette et elle était piégée dans un monde anglophone. Robin était aussi triste. Elle voulait jouer aux jeux de renne ! Mais, elle avait encore peur. Un jour, Laura a décidé de devenir un professeur de français. Et, elle est devenue un prof très solide pédagogiquement. Elle était talentueuse et travailleuse et, quand elle enseignait, les étudiants n'avaient pas peur. Donc, un jour, Robin a dit : « S’ils rient, je ne me soucie pas ! Je vais prendre la classe de français avec Laura ! » Et, elle l’a fait. (Mais, elle avait encore un peu peur.)

I am not going to translate it but suffice it to say, it began: Once upon a time there was a woman, Robin, who had fear of foreign languages....

So, why did I decide to study French after years of avoidance? First, because Leslie loves foreign languages and foreign travel. She has such fun talking Spanish or French or Italian (or German or Japanese....or whatever comes next) She gets so animated and always is laughing or grinning when she is speaking to someone in a different language. She is so fearless in communication. So, I was both jealous of her ability and inspired by it.

We both adore France. I like stuff like the museums and architecture but it is the people that I really love. I just do not get the crowd that hates the French. Je ne le comprends pas! I haven't been to that many other countries, actually. Just Italy, France, Mexico and Canada. Not much of a foreign travel resume. But, seriously, the French are very cool! (I am adding Germany to "my countries" this summer. I think the Germans might just be "my people" as their reputation - organized, hardworking, direct - hey, that's me! They also have a reputation for having a lack of sense of humor and not being overly friendly - but I am sure that is wrong. Any culture who brings the world the concept of schadenfreude has a sense of humor! A somewhat sick one, perhaps, but an honest one. And the Germans we are visiting happen to be among the nicest people I have ever met. So, I know Germans can be really, really sweet.)

Leslie has, of course, been lots more places including various stints living abroad in both South America and Europe. But, she likes France best. And, so does her sister, Laura. Laura liked it so much that she became a French teacher. And, to give proper credit, it was Laura who melted my resistance to learning another language. Well, at least, learning French. Over the years, she began to teach me little bits of French - and she did it so clearly and easily that I began to think I could do it. Therefore, I decided to take Laura's French class at DeAnza. And, I am telling you, she is a fantastic teacher. Don't take me word for it. Click here: http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=243285
Laura is a bit sensitive that some people say that she is an "easy A" - but if you read all the comments you will see that is only true if you actually learn the material! Which is the whole point of the class, may I add.

And, then, further inspiring me to learn French is my 19-year old French friend, Judith. She stayed with us for three weeks last summer in a cultural exploration program in Santa Cruz. And, now, we will be visiting her and her family in France. She speaks English well - but I really want to be able to communicate in her language, too. Plus, I want to be able to talk with her mom (who speaks English about as well as I now speak French) and her dad (who has long forgotten most of the English he learned in school).

So, that is the basic prelude to this trip. In my future posts, I am not going to be talking about the museums, the sights, the attractions. I will be talking about people and communication and language. This will be my first experience out of my own tongue. What is that like? How am I feeling? What am I learning? How is it special or different from my normal/past life. That is what I will try to capture. I will begin those posts around July 13th....I will be on email (as will Leslie) the whole time - so feel free to write directly.