I can speak French

I can speak French. How crazy is that? I spent the afternoon at a friend's place with her and her sister. We spoke French because I needed to practice and they are French. I made a lot of mistakes with conjugations and forgot a bit of vocabulary, but they helped fill in the blanks and corrected me when I got off track. I was even complimented on my French accent and pronounciation (very important to the French). So not only did I have an excellent heart to heart conversation with my friend, we took time to pray together, as we'll soon be parted when I return to Canada. : ( But on the upside, I went away very encouraged in my continued studies and struggles to master this language. It's hard to believe how far I've come in learning French from when I first arrived in France in Dec '04. Wow. I started out so timid, so afraid and without any confidence at all in my speaking abilities. Now I can start a conversation, keep one rolling, and express myself. I can even tell a joke in French. For all you language learners out there, it is worth it, it will come, you will one day have a fluid understandable conversation with native language speakers. The tears, sweat, and throwing your dictionary across the room in a fit of frustration is all worth it. This post is for you, my fellow language learners! Bon courage, mes amis!