40 verbs in 40 days

So...we have 40 days until we leave for France (and only 7 more days of summer camp and 7 more days of classes...just had to throw that out) and I'm starting to freak out. Not about the move, I'm super excited about that. I know that it's not going to be like spending a month there, where everything is seen through rose colored glasses. I know that there will be times where I'm homesick (maybe) and I know for sure that I'll be bitching and moaning because it's cold or rainy (oh am I not looking forward to the winter). I'm freaking out because I have been taking french for 3 years and it's still so freaking hard. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get it, you know, where it just comes flowing off your tongue, instead of the hesitation while you try and conjugate a verb in your head or decide if it's Passe Compose or Imparfait (which one is for a habit..I can never remember). I swear someone will ask me a question and by the time I answer them they will be long gone or off onto another topic and I'll be lost. I just don't have the confidence, yet.

So, I have decided that every day until I leave I will study 1 verb. And I figured I'd start from the beginning, with the 17 verbs and the first one is ALLER. I will focus on 4 tenses; Present, Passe Compose, Conditional and Futur. I will write down the correct conjugation for je, tu, il/elle/on, nous, vous and ils and then I will write a sentence for that tense.

Here's where my sentences today:

Je vais au marche' (how I wish I had the little accent on my keyboard) - Present
Tu es alle' a la campagne - Passe Compose
Nous irions a la plage si nous avions une voiture - conditional
Vous irez demenager en france dans septembre - futur

Each day I will review and study a new one. I also still have my weekly lesson with Sylvan our tutor and I'm doing 1/2 hour of Rosetta Stone each day too.

I think I have said before that I'm going to do all the shopping and will be taking some pottery workshops and cooking classes all in French and all without Mr. Smarty Pants, which is my new name for Bruce. He started at the same time as me (although he did know a bit of spanish) and he's advanced, I'm just moving into Intermediate. There are times he speaks to Sylvan and I have no idea what he is saying. He picked up the language so fast, all he has to do is read something and he remembers it, not me, I have to read it and read it again, and write it down, and read it, and use it and then maybe I'll remember it, but it's doubtful. If you have any tips...please pass them along.

Immersion, that's the best way to learn and I'll have a year to practice every single day. The fact that we will be in the countryside, near very small villages is good too, because most people don't speak english. Out of the 5 friends that we met last year, only 2 speak English and one not very well. I don't want to be around my native language, although I'm sure I'm going to be scared as hell when I'm out on my own and don't understand or can't respond. Mais, au moins j'essayerai.



Posted at 04:50 PM in France, misc, sabbatical, Travel | Permalink