June 20, 2008
Today I did a lot of work…..
Premiere, les Pesines. Then I went and had to correct my mistakes in Cleaning the cottages for the guests that are coming tomorrow. We still need to bring another baby crib into one of the other Cottages before guests get here….I don’t know if they’re coming tomorrow or if they’ll be here Sunday….I think they’ll be here Tomorrow. At least there will be more English speaking people around.
I’ve been really bad. I have these “Teach Yourself French” CD’s that I’ve been listening to for the past couple months, but I haven’t listened to them once since I’ve been here…I think it’s a combination of the fact that I hear French all day and brain is already fried from trying to figure out what everyone is saying, and also the fact that I listened to those damn things all the time and repeated and memorized and everything and it didn’t seem to help too much….but practicing while I’m actually in the country might make a bit of a difference, so I’m going to get on that tomorrow. Although I’m not excited about it like I was when I listened to them in the States.
There’s a Monty Python Sketch about a Phrase book situation gone horribly wrong and one of the great quotes from it is. “Would you like to come back to my place…Bouncy, bouncy”. Do you know it? It was running over and over in my head today while I was vacuuming and I couldn’t stop laughing to myself for a while.
I think that what is most frustrating about the communication process is that the people who do speak enough English to talk to me speak to me in Broken English because that’s all they know and then they speak in Broken French because they think that’s all I can understand. I think in order for me to actually learn anything about the language I’m going to have to ask them to say what ever it is they have to say to me in English and then in French or Visa versa, I think that’ll help. Mr. Suave was talking to me today (in French) about where to Mow the lawn tomorrow. And I understood most of what he said because I know the word of “there” and “here” and “tomorrow After noon” and so forth. There were a couple things he said that I didn’t understand that I should have asked him to explain…but his English is very limited so I didn’t bother. I think he might be the only one who has any faith in my as far as learning the language goes, everyone else seem to have given up on my pretty quickly and I’m pretty sure that they’re annoyed that I didn’t bother to become fluent enough in their language to talk to them. The French are like that I think. I need to try harder, starting tomorrow. I mean I have been looking up words in my dictionary when ever I don’t know them, and resorting to my phrase book when I need to figure out what to say, but my brain can only retain to much for so long. It’s embarrassing standing in front of the Suave’s trying to read from a tiny book. Plus Mr. Suave has a hearing aid, so when he says “what?” after I ask him something I don’t know if it’s because my French is poor, or because his hearing is bad…or both.
Mr. Suave was a veterinarian in Africa in the 70’s so there are lots of things from
Speaking of Creepy I finished “Black hole” today. It ended up being a really beautiful story even though it was still kind of creepy. I recommend it to anyone that likes graphic novels and/or would like a quick read. It’s really thick but I finished it in about two days. I love how reading Graphic novels makes me feel like a quick reader.
I did a whole bunch of lawn mowing today. Not to mention I had to do one part of the lawn twice. Because I miss understood them when they told me that this one lever give the blades gas/speed…I thought they meant that it gives the mower its self speed, as in to propel itself forward. So I mowed an entire lawn with out really mowing it. And I noticed it too, I just thought that the grass that I was cutting was already really short…they either must think I’m an idiot, or they’re kind and they understand that I misunderstood.
It was a long day of work and I took a very hard nap after watching some animal doc.
I need to get off the property more. Too bad tomorrow is the busiest work day, it’s change over day for our guests so I’ll be working hard. Phew.
1 comment:
When I was in Italy, the last thing I wanted to do was go home and study Italian--I just wanted to speak English. I completely feel you on that. Sometimes it's okay to stay in your room and let yourself be comforted, rather than feel like you have to "make the most of every second." Impossible. You have enough time to let yourself be alone and breathe.
Loneliness is so, so hard. But you are almost through it, I feel. I'm sure in no time everything will seem very normal and all the little mistakes will just be funny, not isolating.
I'm thinking about you and praying for you. I know Ben's excited to see you and I'm sure it will be amazing to see a friendly face...for him as well. I'm really glad that's going to work out.
Keep on keeping on, little sister.
Love,
Mari
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