French

As previously mentioned, I'm procrastinating today as well as enjoying my first day off from all work in over a week and a half. I decided to check out a blog I found one day while clicking on the "Next Blog" button at the top of my blog page. The site is located at http://french-word-a-day.typepad.com/motdujour/ The site introduces a different french word three times a week and shows how it's used. The site also gives glimpses of French life which can be pretty neat. I'd definitely check this site if you like things French or the French language.

Since, we're on the topic, I'll tell you how I got to learn some French. I've worked with linguists on and off during my Air Force career. I always envied them knowing a language and getting to go to the Defense Language Institute. I'd taken a semester of Spanish in high school but was so frustrated with the masculine and feminine forms (it didn't make a whole lot of sense then) that I gave up on it after one semester. By the time, I entered the Air Force the only thing I could speak in Spanish were the numbers one to ten.

I decided to learn French because it one of the easier languages to learn. I bought a computer program and found out that while computer programs are convenient, they aren't the best teachers as far as learning a language. I kept getting bitten on pronunciation. I finally decided I needed to take some lessons with a real teacher. Incredibly enough, it would be while stationed in the Middle East that I got to take the lessons. I was stationed in Bahrain and I decided to see if I could take French lessons some where. I found out about a place called the Alliance Francaise. The Alliance Francaise is an organization that promotes French culture and the French language. Chapters are found in 112 countries. I decided to take French lessons there. Sadly, I don't remember my teacher's name but I do remember I enjoyed the lessons very much. I was really sorry the lessons had to end when my tour in Bahrain was up. Luckily, there was an Alliance Francaise chapter in Washington D.C. where I was able to continue the lessons for a while. I finally had to stop when I decided I needed to get back to college and finish my degree. When I finally finish my degree, I hope to get to go back there and study French again. If you would be interested in French lessons with the Alliance Francaise, the following website can help you find out if there they have a chapter in your city: http://www.alliancefr.org/. Au revoir!