FRENCH

French may be the death of me... I'm in my final semester (as an English major we're required to take four semesters of a language). Now, I really don't know why I decided to take French. I took three years of Spanish in high school, so clearly, that would have been the smarter choice. Now I just confuse myself because I always think tiene in French means "to have" (or he/she/it has), but clearly that is its Spanish meaning, and in French it means "holds." Anyways, for some reason I thought that French may be helpful to know (but now I'm English Ed, and in all the schools around here there's at least 30% Hispanic so I don't think speaking to these students in French is going to be very helpful)... I don't know... incase I end up in Cote d'Ivoire for the rest of my life, you know? Or Canada. But I am fascinated by languages; I just hate being graded on it, and I have no idea how I've made it through 3 semesters of French while take 15 other credits. It's ridiculous. I bow down to all language majors. I also think they're all crazy.

So, even though I am counting down the chapters until I'm done with French (only 8 more left!!!!), and I really do sometimes think it might be the death of me (becuase it never allows me to sleep), and I do get frustrated because I sometimes/often think "WHEN WILL I EVER USE THIS?!?!", I know it's been good for me. I was observing in a classroom last semester, and the students had to write a short essay, and they were timed. A Hispanic girl was in the classroom, and she knew limited English, and I could 100% put myself in her shoes. It's also really helped me to understand people who struggle with school. I have worked my butt off in this class... um, I have cried over this class... and basically, I have realized how blessed I am that school usually comes easy for me. Learning another language is completely humbling. It's also AWESOME to think that a year and half ago I knew NOTHING in French... I mean, I knew bonjour and oui, but I thought "oui" was spelled "wi"... no joke! And now I can carry a somewhat unintelligent, confusing 4-year old conversation. It's very exciting.