Becoming a Franco-American

So the weather has been really nice here, which has actually made we lazier. Not like I've been sitting around doing absolutely nothing, but I haven't been going out on bike rides nearly enough. Instead I've been enjoying sitting in the sun reading, playing badminton, and other things to enjoy my 70-degree February and March days. Philippe joked that it was the south of France affecting me, and a family friend said now I was really becoming French!

To go along with the becoming French thing, I've realized lately that I've progressed a ton in the language. I've noticed this because every once in a while as I'm talking to a family member or friend on Skype I start saying something in French, and I've been able to quickly respond whenever another student asks me a for a translation into English. I also realized a month or so ago that, although I never remember my dreams very well, I was dreaming a little in French, which is kind of an interesting feeling. Finally, what's proved it to me more than anything is that I forget words in English occasionally... which isn't good, but when I had to think five minutes to remember the word "rainbow" I realized how much more French I speak than English at the moment and hoped my vocab wouldn't suffer too much for college.

Sitting in the sun reading has also gotten me more motivated to read. Last year I was really busy with school and work and hanging out with friends and all, and I didn't have a ton of reading time. This year is completely different in the fact that I don't have a ton of stuff I have to do, so I've been reading a lot more. In the past month I've read two French plays, a French novel, and I just read Roland Smith's climbing novel Peak in three days. It's made me realize how much I've missed reading. I'm sure I'll have plenty of it to do in school next year though...

I went back to school Monday after our nice long vacation. The weather was gorgeous Monday and alright yesterday, but today isn't quite as nice. It is sunny and beautiful out, but the wind has been blowing about 60 miles per hour since last night! I guess it's getting into Mistral season?

Oh yeah, check out the Spanish ham someone gave us! Intimidating kind of.... That's all I got for now, check in again soon!