March 14, 2011

Reflections
These past few days have been both incredibly demanding and rewarding at the same time. Always difficult and at times frustrating, speaking and understanding French is by far my favorite part of the trip. Realizing that 3 years of classes, 4 hours a week, 9 months a year are finally paying off is a very gratifying experience. Testing out new words feels a bit dangerous with our new French friends and often leads to hilarious situations in which they correct our nonsensical phrases. In one case I tried to ask "mes enfants" at the kindergarten to stop riding their bikes and play hide and seek, but they misunderstood my broken speech as a request for them to attack me. Zander and I spend most of our time during recess running away from a swarm of over-excited 5 year-olds as they scream their needs way too fast in a blur, all in French. On paper, it sounds terrifying, but in reality, we have lots of fun from the ridiculously good food, the little "enfants" to the generous and understanding hosts. The trip has been great so far. --Martin

My time so far in France has been not only demanding but incredibly rewarding. The awkward moments of silence with my host family have diminished. Jet lag was not my friend, but I have worked with few hours sleep and have done fairly well. Working with the little kids has been an interesting experience because I think I have babysat maybe once in my life! I found myself surprised by the ease of entertaining 2 and 3 year-olds and how useful and entertaining a simple red camera can be. I have had moments of missing friends (Rosie!) and family but that quickly disappeared after an entertaining dinner with my host family. --Hannah