Tuesday, March 30, 2004
I'm having the best day ever
Every tuesday and thursday morning I sit in the second cup of the comupter science building doing my french homework that I have forgotten to do. By chance their is always only one set of couches free at this time of day and I always sit there.
For the last three weeks or so i've had company. Around 9:30 he shows up, plunks his briefcase and books on the couch across from me and proceedes to get a coffee (always with a mountain of whip cream on top, that he eats without a spoon before he takes a sip). He then takes out his books and reads and marks paper. After the first sit down I came to realise he was a professor. He read worn out books with foreign titles. Latin and Spanish. It didn't take long for me to conclude that he was a language prof. Other than smiles and polite hello's, we had never spoken, we just sat togther and did out respective work.
untill today.
I was copying my last compostion for french. I had worked very hard on it. I was writing about the differences between English and French Cultures. It was an informal compostion so I contrasted my best friend and I. It took me 2 hours to write this. I even went to the french tutors to make the best I could.
It was while writing this compostion that I realized that I can't communicate in french. Not really. Sure I can understand it, I know the grammer, I even know most of the pronunciation, but I can't express myself in french. Not like I can in English. In french Immersion we were never taught the art of conversation in french. I can get my message across, it is even gramticaly correct (for the most part) but it's not how you would actually express that idea.
He noticed I carried around a becherell. I was embaresed. I'm sitting across from a language professor and I have to check how to conjugate the verb "separer". He asked me if I was a language student. No. He asked me what I was studying. Psychology. What did I want to do with that? I contemplated this for a second and spurted out "Possibly education..teaching elementary school". We the proceeded to talk about french immersion and it's problems. He has kids who went to St Pat's. I complained how i didn't really feel connected to the language even though I really wanted to . For god's sake! I started school in Quebec! But without being able to clearly express myself in french how could I become attached to it"
"You want to really learn french? Go to Paris for a year. You should go"
And with that I'vwe made my desicion. I'm going to be a teacher. I'm going to go to france and be totally imersed in the beautiful language. I've been trying to find my direction for the last 2 years and I've found it. As I walked away from him so I could head of to french class the emotions started to bubble upo out of me. I wanted to sit and cry. I've figured it out. No more comptemplating. I've found it. I was so happy I wanted to cry.
That's it. Next time I see him I'm going to thank him. It took a stranger looking me blankly in the eye and telling me I should go for it for me to realize what I want. I don't even know his name.
I feel so good.
For the last three weeks or so i've had company. Around 9:30 he shows up, plunks his briefcase and books on the couch across from me and proceedes to get a coffee (always with a mountain of whip cream on top, that he eats without a spoon before he takes a sip). He then takes out his books and reads and marks paper. After the first sit down I came to realise he was a professor. He read worn out books with foreign titles. Latin and Spanish. It didn't take long for me to conclude that he was a language prof. Other than smiles and polite hello's, we had never spoken, we just sat togther and did out respective work.
untill today.
I was copying my last compostion for french. I had worked very hard on it. I was writing about the differences between English and French Cultures. It was an informal compostion so I contrasted my best friend and I. It took me 2 hours to write this. I even went to the french tutors to make the best I could.
It was while writing this compostion that I realized that I can't communicate in french. Not really. Sure I can understand it, I know the grammer, I even know most of the pronunciation, but I can't express myself in french. Not like I can in English. In french Immersion we were never taught the art of conversation in french. I can get my message across, it is even gramticaly correct (for the most part) but it's not how you would actually express that idea.
He noticed I carried around a becherell. I was embaresed. I'm sitting across from a language professor and I have to check how to conjugate the verb "separer". He asked me if I was a language student. No. He asked me what I was studying. Psychology. What did I want to do with that? I contemplated this for a second and spurted out "Possibly education..teaching elementary school". We the proceeded to talk about french immersion and it's problems. He has kids who went to St Pat's. I complained how i didn't really feel connected to the language even though I really wanted to . For god's sake! I started school in Quebec! But without being able to clearly express myself in french how could I become attached to it"
"You want to really learn french? Go to Paris for a year. You should go"
And with that I'vwe made my desicion. I'm going to be a teacher. I'm going to go to france and be totally imersed in the beautiful language. I've been trying to find my direction for the last 2 years and I've found it. As I walked away from him so I could head of to french class the emotions started to bubble upo out of me. I wanted to sit and cry. I've figured it out. No more comptemplating. I've found it. I was so happy I wanted to cry.
That's it. Next time I see him I'm going to thank him. It took a stranger looking me blankly in the eye and telling me I should go for it for me to realize what I want. I don't even know his name.
I feel so good.
