I quit French and je ne regrette rien

| Posted by Bel | The time is 11.14am here in Wellington NZ |

Remember how, like, a fortnight ago I wrote this rant (and tips) about learning French and then that other blog about how going to France was, like, my greatest passion in life?

Yeah, well. WHATEVS.

Or 'hein...bof', as the French would say, whilst waving their gauloise nonchalantly.

This term was the start of Intermediate 2. Before we started, I caught up with a friend who is a native French speaker so I would be up to scratch. I nervously revised with her the points that I had stumbled over the months before, wanting to make sure I had a clear understanding of what we'd been taught.

She was somewhat bemused. "Oh most French people don't know half this stuff properly," she said, in that naturally condescending way that the French have down pat, "I would never use any of these complex grammatical terms in conversation. All this is very structured. You just wouldn't need it day to day. I'm sure someone would be impressed if you spoke this formally, but... you know... [hein... bof]".

As you know, I have no immediate plans or funds to go travelling. I was struck by a sudden terrifying thought. I was going to spend another term, year, years, studying here in this small town, on this small island, on the edge of this big ocean, becoming the world's most grammatically perfect and learned student of the French language, and one day in the far distant future, finally make it to the fantastical land of France, only to open my mouth and sound like an utter twat.


Okay. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

But my French is pretty good now, after two years, which means that the classes are actually getting kinda hard. I'm really enjoying it, but it was actually quite a bit of work to get real value from it, and not having an immediate goal of a holiday or something meant that it was hard to stay motivated. (Not to mention the cost of nearly $300 per term. Sacre bleu!!)

I'm sure that it will be more rewarding once I am in a more focussed position and will pick it up again then. In the meantime, I am stepping up my visits to locally French-run bakeries and viewings of subtitled hottie-starring films, as this now counts as the extent of my cultural immersion and thus très importante.

Here's something to inspire us all:




4 thoughts on “I quit French and je ne regrette rien”

  1. Ahhh Edith Piaf, little sparrow, where would we be without you? I love the way she sings 'je ne regrette rien...' [romantic sighhhhh]

    Bellsy, that's great. As long as YOU have people you keep speaking la lingua froggie with it'll be fine.

    And when you DO go to France you will have a much easier time than those of us who bumble about and say 'jus nay comprend past' in atrocious kiwi accents :D

    MWAH x

  2. Thanks CC!

    And it did make me giggle when I realised I'd referenced Piaf and then plonked in FOTC! Whoops! ;)

    PS do you know I've only ever been called 'Belsy' before by my Australian friends?? You've been over there too long obviously!! :P haha!

  3. Excuse me, I just have to say ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRH.

    And also, that dingo stole my baby.

  4. High-fives dude. A moment when you realise that the thing you're doing isn't actually the best thing to be doing and that not doing it isn't going to change or ruin your plans is actually quite awesome.

    Plus surely that $300 saved per term could go into a new bank acc called "France" and contribute towards getting there sooner than you're expecting...?

    I would think that you already have enough in the way of language skills to dazzle them!! A steady diet of French films and Piaf will keep it familiar, then a crash course before you go will secure your ability to be awesome when you're there.