So living here has certainly been a wonderful experience, but now that I'm fully settled into classes, and now that I finally feel completely at home with my host family, it dawned on me the other day that I absolutely need to do something to keep me occupied, as well as interact with French people of all ages. As much as I do love my American friends here, I need to speak the language and develop the reflex to speak randomly without really needing to think about anything (I think I'm almost there!) So below are some of the things I am going to do to immerse myself even further into the French language and culture:
1. Volunteering at the American Corner Okay, so I know that I came here to get away from the busy life I lived in the United States, but I guess I'm just a sucker for punishment! I miss my job at the YMCA dearly, but obviously I can't work there while I'm here (sorry guys!). So I decided to volunteer at the American Corner, which is the first building of its kind to be built in Grenoble. The grand opening is this Thursday, and they are expecting nearly 500 guests! The mayor of Grenoble, along with French officials and Consulate representatives, will be there in order to introduce the building which will be located in La Maison de l'International.
So what exactly will I be doing there? Well that my friends is a good question, seeing as I really don't know. I know that my work will include giving French students resources in order to help them study abroad in America. Aside from that, I really don't know what else I'll be doing. but you know what, not only will this be a great experience, but volunteering at the FIRST EVER AMERICAN CORNER and being amongst the first volunteers might actually boost my resume.
2. Volunteering at Nursing Homes and Hospitals
Many people who are friends with me might potentially see this as bizarre. Once again, I am a sucker for punishment, and I apparently am addicted to working. I will be performing music for the elderly on Wednesdays, probably singing and playing the guitar for 45 minutes. Now how did this opportunity come about? Well that's an entirely different story, seeing as I had a conversation with a French woman on the phone for 20 minutes. Understanding French is difficult enough face to face, but nearly impossible on the phone.
3. Le Feu
So I may have mentioned this a few times before, but I'm going to reiterate it once more. The Feu is an Evangelical organization located in various cities throughout France. In Grenoble, every Sunday, there is a gathering at the Feu where students from all over Grenoble pay a couple of euros, eat crepes, and just have fun. For me, it was a bit difficult at first, because conversation was very difficult to follow. Now, on Tuesdays, I'm going to be regularly running to the Bastille on Tuesdays with some guys that I met there. Pretty neat, huh?
4. Shopping
I'm not talking about walking into the nearest shopping super-center to actually go shopping, although that can be useful. I'm talking about walking around stores without having any goal in particular. The other day, I knew I needed a pair of shoes, so I found a cheap sports store and started walking around. In the end, I walked out with a nice pair of shoes, along with a membership card to get discounts! I'm pretty excited, to say the least.
5. Teaching Others
So I have actually been blessed with the presence of living with another international student during my stay, also from the United States. He and his friend are both here in order to prepare for their stay in Niger, where they will be participating in an International Mission. Both of them have significantly less French experience, but have both come a long way in the short time I have known them. They are extremely dedicated and well motivated, and I must say, I keep them both in the highest regards. I've been speaking with them in French, and helping them whenever they need it. It is bizarre, really. You never realize how much you actually know about a language until you need to help someone else out!
The other bizarre thing is that the student living with me studied math! I never thought I would be having a conversation about Dynamics, LaTeX, Difference Equations, Stochastics, or Real and Complex Analysis during my stay! Seeing as this student has also received his Master's Degree in Applied Mathematics, I look up to him a great deal. It truly is amazing, the friends one can meet while far away from home...
6. Speaking With Other International Students So making French friends can be particularly difficult, seeing as the majority of the population speaks very quickly. A good way to start is by speaking with other international students who are there to learn the language as well. Many international students do speak English, but sometimes, it is easier to mediate in the French language. You are both there for the same reason, so you both will understand the effort required to speak the language. In particular, I have met one German man who seems to be just as motivated to learn the French language as I am, and we try our hardest not to speak as much English when we're around each other.
So to say the least, I've had some pretty amazing experiences here. I'm happy to finally be settling in here, and I think I might be falling in love with this country.
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| Not the most attractive picture of me ever, seeing as I was practically crying as the sun scorched my corneas. But hey, it wouldn't be a proper blog post without a picture, huh? |
A bientot, and LEAVE ME SOME COMMENTS!Michael
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