So, I presented my essay to the class today.

The topic? What advice would you give to someone coming to your country? Wow. There were so many directions I could take. Even if I wanted to keep it brief, it didn’t seem possible. I didn’t know where to start, but once I began, I was committed.

In my introductory paragraph, I told the group I would concentrate on the East Coast for the essay because it’s a big country, but kinda’ like 50 different countries sometimes, which would require me writing 50 different essays. I explained regional accents, and how they were formed by different groups of immigrants. In fact, American English is something of an amalgamation of the world’s languages, and is constantly evolving. That’s true of a lot of languages, of course.

I continued with that theme as I wrote about our food, saying that most food in America is actually not American; it’s multi-cultural, with the exception being Thanksgiving, which I expanded on (complete with photos of Le dinde rôtie). Hamburgers? Germany. French Fries? Belgium. Pizza? Italy. An so on. Yes, we’ve Americanized all those things, but the roots are from elsewhere. We may have cornered the market on pea butter and boxed cereal with milk, but I didn’t go there. But really, this all came to me because we take for granted all the food flavors and options we have from all over the world.

And for my third thing, I mentioned that it might be a good idea to have a driver’s license when you visit as we don’t really have mass public transportation, and unless you’re in NYC, everything is too far to walk to, and a lot of places don’t even have sidewalks.

In New York, I said, most people there will understand English with any accent, but that would not necessarily be the case for the entire country. Sometimes we can’t even understand each other. Imagine a conversation between a Bostonian (Southie) and a Mississippian?

My pronunciation was solid, and that’s what this class is all about. The prof clapped for me several times today, and I was grateful for her support and acknowledgement of my efforts.

I was the only person prepared to present my essay today. Harvard said he just didn’t have time, the other guy didn’t even have a excuse, and even the nun said she couldn’t print the corrections in time to re-write hers. Two others didn’t even show up to class.

OK, granted, I’m a pretty motivated student, but, really? I mean, I didn’t have a printer. Basically, I read the notes/corrections on my iPhone and typed up another copy of my essay on my iPad. It sounds pretty straight forward, until I tell you I had to add every phonetic pronunciation mark, liaison, and indicate all les enchaînements. Picture a typed page with multi-colored hieroglyphic markings everywhere. Then, I added photos, because she said we could. And then I took my iPad to class for my presentation.

The two guys are always late, unprepared, and often seem elsewhere during lessons. They laugh and try to charm the prof when they’re unprepared; it’s unbelievably transparent. One guy came in really late, with a bag of lunch for la pause so he clearly took time to stop for food on his way — and when asked to participate, he said, oh I forgot my paper. So the teacher had to give him another copy. <face palm> Then, out of the blue, Harvard gets up, comes over, stands behind me and takes a photo of my paper — because he’d forgotten his, too.

I don’t get it. I put everything into my classes and my work. What a privilege it is to be here, learning at this great institution. I don’t take a minute of it for granted. I’m in awe that I’m even here.

After la pause when the males hadn’t yet returned to class after the fifteen minutes were up, the prof looked at me and shrugged. Tous les jours… she said, rolling her eyes. Every day. I just shook my head, and we laughed. And she is still correcting the same conjugation/pronunciation error.

So, for the record, when conjugating a regular. « er » verb in present tense French for the plural form of il/elle « they » you don’t pronounce the « ent. » This is seriously French 101.

This has been a public service announcement for Professeure Fabienne.

Ils peuv(ent) aller au cinéma.

Anyway, I’m proud of myself and the effort I put into my studies. I’ve learned so much. The nuances in pronunciation are just that, nuances – but they make a difference. And I learned a lot of new things in this class!!! I’m excited about it!

I am complimented so often on my French, which still makes me smile big time. I think I’ve figured out that while I have limitations on my vocabulary, and whatnot, they really like that when I do speak, I speak correctly and with a French accent. That’s my best guess, anyway. Nothing else explains it. I’m not FLUENT, so, it’s just my ability to pronounce correctly and the sound of my voice.

At the end of class, the teacher asked which letter I wanted to work on for Friday, my last day. We both laughed when she mentioned « R » because well, French R’s are difficult. How sweet was that, though? So thoughtful of her to let me choose.

Oh – this morning I received an email from the Cultural Office. They had an opening for the Frida Kahlo show today. I wanted to go with the group, but I had already bought a ticket for myself for tomorrow. Plus, their trip actually took place today during my class. So, it all worked out for the best.

I’m excited to be seeing the Frida Kahlo exhibit tomorrow!

The retrospective Frida Kahlo, beyond appearances, showing at the Palais Galliera from 15 September to 5 March 2023, throws light on the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, a true global icon.

“The exhibition explores how this young woman became an artist, overcoming her disability and her condition. More than 200 exceptional pieces from Frida Kahlo’s personal collection, kept under wraps for 50 years by her husband Diego Rivera, are presented. The collection is housed in the Casa Azùl, the Kahlo family home where the artist lived for much of her life, and is made up of countless treasures, from her photographs to her famous traditional dresses, jewellery, correspondence, and medical prostheses, all of which nurtured the extraordinary artist that she was and helped shape her world.”

Other than that, I’m getting ready to organize my packing. Time has flown by, but I feel I have really, really made the most of my time here. I hope you’ve been enjoying it along with me.

Update on calls from my Mother-in-law since my arrival: 56. Remember, these are mostly calls I’m not able to answer, but this number also includes the calls I have answered. OMG 58.