All week I had been looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner on Friday night and in no way was I disappointed. It was as delicious and festive as any Thanksgiving in America-- two long tables, beautiful centerpieces, hot cider, a fire pit, and more food than we could eat. The only thing missing was my family :( but it was good company nonetheless.
I was one of a dozen Americans (the hosts were American, so they got all the dishes and traditions right!). There were about 50 people my age and we counted 21 nationalities! I sat next to people from Greece, Colombia, China, Malaysia, Switzerland, Germany, Tajikistan, and it goes on.. (most were international students)... "Where are you from?" was the perfunctory second question in any introduction. And how nice that English was the language of choice! Fluency (and the power of language!) is often taken for granted. To be one of the fluent again was to regain the power to be charming, witty, polite, and intelligent...Words can make you whatever you want to be, when you know how to use them.
Rendez-vous like this also boost my French self-esteem. When I'm constantly surrounded by Frenchmen, and I misunderstand simple questions, or lack the vocabulary to make a simple point, it's sometimes discouraging. I feel like I should be learning quicker and picking it up more easily, but when I'm with non-native French people or foreigners like myself, my French sounds darn good compared to some. I've even gotten a couple compliments on it, having only been here two months.
So, I was happy when I left the party at midnight, with a plate of leftovers and a healthy ego, after an evening of cheerful conversation. Just wonderful.
The power of fluency...well said, my dear.
ReplyDelete"The only thing missing was my family :("
ReplyDeleteAWWWWWW hehe