Bonjour tout le monde (encore)!
Okay, so I have already written one entry in French today, and I think it would only be fair that I write another one in English for all of you who don't speak it. However, I'm not going to translate any of my French entries, so as far as reading the other ones...good luck! You're on your own (I recommend using Google translate).
So last Thursday, after spending an exhausting four days in Paris, we took the train into Grenoble. It was indeed a long, nerve-racking train ride for multiple reasons. First of all, I barely slept the night before. Secondly, the sun was beating down through the windows the entire time. And last, but most certainly not the least, I was going to be meeting my host family in less that three hours.
For those of you who have studied abroad before, you absolutely understand the stress of living with a host family, and never having met them before. Questions begin to race through your head, and you begin to create fictional scenarios which would never happen to anyone but you. Here were some of the thoughts that crossed my mind just before I got off the train:
~ What if they don't like me? How silly I was to have thought this. In all reality, they have chosen to take on a host student because they want you to be there.
~ What if I do something wrong? This isn't actually a "what if" situation. The fact is, you WILL do something wrong, and that's perfectly okay. You are living in an entirely new country, with customs that you are not familiar with.
~ What if I say something wrong? Once again, this is not a "what if" situation. You will say something wrong. After all, that is the reason why I came here. I am here to learn a language, and one can only learn a language if they are willing to make mistakes. And by mistakes, I mean a lot of mistakes.
~ What if I don't know what they're saying? Just go with the flow! I don't consider myself nearly proficient enough in French to understand what my host family has been saying half the time while I'm here. Eventually, you'll just catch on. And little by little, you'll start to understand more and more. It will start with one or two words, and then eventually you'll even understand their jokes!
~ What if I don't like the food? Well this one is something that I just had to get over. I came into this with a completely open mind, and I have tried foods that look like things I would typically never, have eaten during the rest of my life. Just go with the flow, and try everything!
Many other thoughts had crossed my mind, but I forgot most of them now. Actually, as soon as I stepped off the train and met my host father, any and all thoughts went out the window, and I could barely remember how to say hello in French. But I pulled it together and so far I've had an amazing experience. I've gone hiking with my host family, and even tried rock climbing with my host brother (definitely something I want to do again)!
Well, until the next blog of another topic, which will be coming very soon... au revoir!
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