A Different Word for Everything.

The French word for "cherries" is les cerises.

Boy those French! They have a different word for everything. -Steve Martin

This ironic Steve Martin line summarizes my life right now. My day-to-day is filled with filling my mind and sentences with new French vocabulary. It's glorious.

When you take a language class in school, the setting in which you learn the language is highly controlled. The vocabulary and grammar structures you must learn are structured according to the instructor's selected readings and lectures. In other words, you can avoid learning a lot of words and not even know it.

When I was in Middle School, our lovable French teacher had write little skits to practice our "units." There was a unit about the train station, cooking, getting ready in the morning, televisions, etc. I wish I had learned those units in high school and the hard grammar in middle school because I am faced with these situations on a daily basis now, and it is so difficult to remember the words I learned almost 8 years ago.

The small red book is where I record the new vocabulary words that I learn each day.

These French have a different word for everything and when you're here, you realize that you don't know the word for a coat hanger (un cintre) or a sticker (I'm still searching for the correct definition). I dislike the feeling of not being able to articulate what I mean in the precise terms which I can easily use in English. I've found ways around it, but it takes patience and creativity to figure out a way to explain my intentions. I refuse to give up, and my host mom, Joelle, has been very helpful in discerning my meaning and by using precise language when she speaks so that I can clearly understand her intentions.

When I have succeeded in conveying or understanding a complex idea, it's a great feeling of victory and elation. Last night, I conversed with my host mom for two hours because we lost track of the time. My speech, while delivered slowly with what she calls a "charmant" American accent, often comes naturally. And then, there are some days when I have to scrape together the words. I have a new-found respect for students who come to the United States for school, thrust into our no-nonsense education system. They must adapt to the language while addressing difficult material and navigating the expectations of their professors. Fortunately, I have the assistance of my fellow UNC students, my "accueillante" (welcoming) host mother, and easy access to a dictionary. It's a great challenge, but not an insurmountable one.