Language Misfortunes

Right now learning the language is my biggest concern, everyday it seems to get a little easier and a little harder at the same time. I try and talk only about the present becuase I don't know any conjugations for the past or future. And when I have to talk about the past or the future I just say word conjucated normally in the present and then flail my arms like a complete idiot behind me or infront of me, to refer to the past or the future.

What I don't understand about french though is even the french have books about conjugating verbs....

I'm at a point where I see people talking to their dog, or their 2 year old and I get really frustrated becuase even a dog and a 2 year old can understand french and all I can do is sit there and look up words in my dictionary. There are only so many things that I can talk about with people becuase my vocabulary is kinda limited so usually I just talk about the exchange program, Canada, school, and a horrible movie called 'District 9' that I wouldn't reccommend to ANYONE.

For some unknown reason, the most common questions I get asked are about my host family, I don't know why everyone asks me, maybe its becuase they are generally curious, or MAYBE its becuase they somehow realized that I can't say 'host family' in french and they are using me for their own entertainment. I recently was informed that when I say, 'famille d'accueil' I haven't actually been saying 'host family'...I can't say it right so instead, I have been telling everyone that my 'family has 2 balls'....and it wouldn't be that bad I guess if the word was reffering to basketballs or soccerballs...but noooo it has to be the other kind...

Now I'm even more embarrassed becasue I'm just remebering now that some people told me to say corrospondant instead, but I really thought this was a stupid way to say 'host family' and I should stick to the normal translation. Perfect....for 3 weeks I could have been saying 'corrospondant'.....


There are a lot of ways to learn the language here:
The other day I found Harry Potter in french in a market with used books, It took me 3 hours to translate one page...
If I write the word I'm more likely to remember it. So I started to write the words on my hand, but then I become so dependent on the notes on my hand...which wash off...that I can't remember them when they aren't there...
There are only so many words I can copy from a dictionary....I think 5,894,789 is my limit....
At all the metro stops they hand out free newspapers so everyday I get a few on my way to school. I think about trying to read them...but then I get to school and all my ambition is gone becuase well its a newspaper, and newspapers are boring. So now I just come home everyday with a whole bunch of unread newspapers stuffed in the bottom of my eastpack.

I am starting to think that the best way to learn words is to say them totally wrong, be completely humiliated, let people correct me, and then I'm sure to never ever ever forget...


I am really thankful becuase everyone in my class encourage me to speak french and they are always trying to help me, my friend even saw me reading the same page in Harry Potter for an entire day of classes and offered to bring me some picture books for children!


Yesterday I went and saw the movie 'Inglorious Bastards' staring Brad Pitt, (he's kind of a big deal here) I don't know if you've seen that movie, its an american movie but they talk in French, German, Italian and English. So the only parts I understood were the english parts, and the German and Italian parts had french subtitles. That was the best 4 Euros I've spent so far.


When I talk to people I never acually know what all the little words like le, un, a, de, du, ect, ect so I just add them randomly in my sentences, soon I hope that I can stop speaking 'Franglais' and start speaking normal french.