It came down lightly at first, but then got heavier right as I sat down to take my first exam in my grammar class! (It went well, thanks for asking.) We tried to get the teacher to excuse us, but alas she would not listen.

I still can’t believe I’ve been here for a month…I feel like it’s been forever and no time at all. Crazy how the time goes by when you start getting into a routine!

I have to say that I feel like my French has greatly improved since my arrival on January 1st. Am I close to fluent? Definitely not. But I am so much more comfortable speaking and my comprehension has improved drastically. I now speak much more often at the dinner table, and although I might not be able to phrase everything correctly, I am able to get my point across.

During lunch the other day, my host mom was telling me about their previous host student. She mentioned that he was shy and wouldn’t talk much, and she was happy that I spoke to them and I went out to see friends on the weekends and was having fun. She also mentioned that she was happy that I was speaking more, which made me feel awesome!

I finally purchased a French-English dictionary (super late, I know!) but that has also helped with casual lunch and dinner discussions. I’ve learned that there is no word in French for “marshmallow,” which is literally IMPOSSIBLE to try to explain to someone in a different language. I have yet to figure out how to tell them what I was talking about…

But all in all, I am very happy with the improvements that I’ve seen in my French skills over the past month. I hope that this continues for the next three and a half months during my stay in Montpellier so I can come home almost fluent! I still find myself translating everything in my head during the day, even songs that I’m listening to on my iPod on the tram to school. Some of them make for pretty funny French songs!

So cheers to improvements 🙂

Bonne soir�e,

Kelsey