Alliance Francaise Paris

I took two semesters of Alliance Francaise classes my last winter and spring in New York, I had an amazing teacher similar to my amazing French teacher from DePaul when I was a freshman in college. In short it was a great experience where I met very interesting people and came home Tuesday and Thursday nights inspired and eager to practice French with Sylvain. When I first got to Paris I had planned on taking French lessons, but I had to first secure a job, and second to save enough money to feel comfortable spending money on something that I could in some ways get for free. I improved my French watching French TV, talking with our French friends and to some extent, reading in French... But Sylvain and I don't speak French together, we communicate in English. Of course this is dumb on our part, I would be far more fluent in French than I currently am, if only we spent some of our time together conversing in French. We don't though, occasionally I implore him to at least speak to me in French, but he forgets and although he is eager for me to gain proficiency, he isn't eager enough to speak French to me, unless he's mad at me, then he will shout at me in French and watch- amusingly, I'm sure- as I slowly unravel what it is he just said to me, 2 minutes later when I've sorted it out he thinks I'm breaking his balls (this phrase I have down by now) the argument is over due to the time lapse, nerves having calmed.

I just signed up for 10 weeks of Alliance Francaise classes here in Paris, although this time I'll just be taking oral conversation. I've spent 8 years of my schooling taking French and learning all that grammar was great, but in reality, I use so little of it when actually living my life in France where in conversation I rely heavily upon the past and the present verb conjugation.

Living in Paris has been a really positive experience despite how difficult it has sometimes been adjusting, but the reason I came here, or rather the reason it was important I come here was to learn French. My life is tied to a French persons, whose family and whose friends are French speaking and who I want to be able to understand and communicate with on a deeper level than weather, eager for the day I can make and understand jokes.