Learning French Takes More Than Four Days

I saw ROLLERBLADING POLICE today!!  Three of them, inline skating down a busy boulevard, waving to their counterparts sans wheels who were directing traffic.  It was the coolest thing!  I didn't get a picture (I need to work on my speed photography), but I knew there would be some online.  And I was right:  

super cool, right?

Also, I had two or three experiences in shops today that bring me both hope and despair.  I bought a sandwich and some juice in French, and the lady was super nice!  She taught me how to say "sit down" and "take out", and she recommended the Pomegranate juice when I asked (or tried to).  I then went into a hat shop with some super snazzy hats, and the lady said something to me... and I just couldn't figure it out.  I don't even know how to say "sorry, what was that you said?" in French, so I was stuck.  She could tell and switched very kindly into English.  Very nice but mostly horrible.  Not that there was any better way to handle a random American girl tripping over her tongue in her haste to spit something out in French...  sigh.  Then I went into a book shop, and the guy said something to me, probably the same thing that lady said, probably something basic like "may I help you?", and I felt like a deer caught in the headlights.  I somehow managed to stutter "I can't speak French" en Francais, but in such a way that I'm sure he believed me.  He grunted and proceeded to pretend that a poser like me wasn't in his shop.  How depressing.

I went to the church building for institute but found out that it classes don't start again until July.  But it was a nice institute center, like they had in Frankfurt, where you can go and hang out, so I stayed.  I met a bunch of French people.  Some of them talked to me for a bit and were very nice.  I couldn't understand a thing anyone said, but I suppose that isn't surprising, given that I've been learning French for a grand total of four days.  I guessed correctly on some of the questions I was being asked, like "how long will you be staying here", "how long ago did you serve a mission", and "how many brothers and sisters do you have?", and I was able to answer them all!  ("trois mois", "trois ans", and "deux freres et deux soeurs", respectively)  I think that was pretty good!  Then one girl asked if I was staying for the dancing.  Dancing?  Yes!  Turned out they were rehearsing some EFY production.  It was silly, but I got really good at counting to 8 and knowing my "gauche" from my "droite".  

Let me tell you, mormons are super lucky to have a built-in network of people to meet and make friends with wherever we go.  I refrain from saying that they are built-in friends, because they aren't.  It is just a set of people you could befriend.  Liz says it is so hard to meet real French people as they are super* private--she scarcely has any French friends and she has lived here multiple times in the past fifteen years.  In marked contrast, I had ten French people my age kiss my cheeks tonight (only a bit awkward when you have never seen them before), and one of them even noticed when I left! 




*Super is my default word tonight.  I'm tired.  Don't judge.