Tomorrow I go to Paris for about 5 days for a conference. I'm in my usual pre-travel craziness, but I have to keep reminding myself that this time a trip to Paris isn't a 9 hour flight across the ocean. Instead, it's a forty minute bus ride to Biarritz (in the south of France) and then an 80 minute flight to Paris. Much easier!
I've made the (unfortunate) decision to try to practice a bit of French before I go. Which means my constant confusion of French and Spanish in full force. I have a Spanish class this evening, so it's sure to be full of mistakes. I'm sure Parisians will think I'm nuts because I'll be an American speaking a crazy French/Spanish blend. I have a little audio book that reviews a bunch of basic French phrases, so I'll listen to it a couple of times on the flight and on my bus ride tomorrow.
Spanish classes are going well. I went out for dinner with some friends last night (Countries of origin: England (2), Ireland, Italy, Venezuela, France, Spain). Our conversation shifted from English to Spanish and back throughout the night. I was sort of surprised because listening to two of my friends whose Spanish I always thought was quite good, I noticed grammar mistakes and weird turns of phrase and thought to myself, "I can speak that well, too!" So, I've decided to be less intimidated and try more. I've been harassing waiters and store clerks to tell me what things are or how to say things in Spanish. If a waiter speaks to me in English, I speak back in Spanish and ask a ton of questions. I moved to a new level of Spanish last week (according to the CEFR scale: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages). I'm hoping that I can get through C1 (advanced, just below fluent) by next spring. I think it will be possible if I keep practicing. We'll see, I guess! In the mean time, I'm working hard on my bravery and not confusing French and Spanish over the next few days! I'll try to update from France, but if not - see you next Monday!!
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