I've always loved the French language. Ever since I was 16 in Mrs. Catsouphes' class, it spoke to me. It brought me home to a different aspect of myself. On and off over the years, I've studied French - privately, in literature classes, on vacation.
But last week, my studies reached a new level of intensity. I took a 5-day Berlitz course, which forced me to speak French 7 hours a day with two delightful and patient French women. When I returned home each day, my brain was totally fried. But by the third day I began speaking in French to my dog, without even realizing it. By the fourth day I was on line in Starbucks trying to remember how to order something 'to go' in French, and by the fifth day I was dreaming in French. Which isn't to stay that I'm not still making many 'fautes' par jour, or not stumbling and wrapping my words around my tongue quite often.
But this experience was so good for me. It focused on performance, on learning by doing, on taking the risk of being foolish, coming out from behind the book learning. Also, when you're 58, the saying 'If not now, when' begins to have more meaning than it did earlier in your life! I'm so proud of myself, I really am, and I feel more doors will open for me in this area now that I have made a commitment to my dream.
And what is the dream? Just to master this exquisite language. To let it flow from me with ease and beauty. Pourquoi pas?
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