The Pursuit of Language
At
dinner, I’d often hear “passez le-fromage” from across the table. Going to swim
practice in the morning, Kathryn, one of my four older sisters, would often
yell “ALLONS-Y” as we ran to the big van, late once again. All throughout my
youth, my family and community emphasized the importance and significance of
appreciating and experiencing other cultures. In middle school and high school,
the pursuit of language excited me, knowing that people just like me had
entirely different methods of communicating. That’s why the Deauville Sister
Cities exchange program seemed like a dream come true when I heard about it.
The
program itself isn’t extraordinarily long or especially fancy - but it
facilitates what matters, the connecting of people from different backgrounds,
cultures, and countries. I remember when we all walked off the bus in
Deauville, and I met my host family for the first time. Naturally, I
immediately forgot all French I had learned, and realized for the first time
that maybe my expectations of immediate fluency had been a bit unrealistic.
That’s my first piece of advice - don’t expect every day to be awesome, or just
like you expected, because it takes time, energy, and hard work to be in a new
and different culture.
There
were days where it felt as if my brain was clogged, unable to process language,
and I wanted to speak with my American friends, eat my American food, and watch
Netflix. There were also days where I couldn’t stop talking because I felt like
the words were flowing, where my French community felt like it was blooming,
and where I felt as if I’d never want to go home. Being in a totally new environment
isn’t easy, but it is completely worth it. Learning to push yourself when you
feel like you’re failing will make or break any new experience. But you have to
want to learn, because you get out what you put in. Many times, I just wanted
to talk to home, but I forced myself to talk to my French family, to eat new
foods, to get out of my comfort zone, when it would’ve been way easier to just
stay on my phone in my room; and that radically changed my experience.
Eventually,
I started wanting to engage more, longing to speak more French, and learn more
about their culture. Slowly a switch flipped in my head, and it no longer felt
like a burden to socialize, because I started really appreciating the culture
and experience for what it was, not what I had expected in my head. But what
really helped was not being afraid to make mistakes - and believe me, I made
many. Whether it was declaring “I’m pregnant” instead of “I’m full” after a
great meal, or using the wrong verb agreement, you will inevitably make
mistakes, and that’s part of the fun once you realize its okay.
I
loved my time in France, and I loved my French family - I wouldn’t trade
anything for it. Paris was incredibly beautiful, Normandie will take away your
breath, and cheese will forever be inadequate in America. I’d highly recommend
anyone considering to apply; you won’t regret it if you’re invested in your
experience and you actively work towards learning about their culture, and view
mistakes as a learning experience.
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