Newest Challenge

Its been five years since I left Madagascar.
Five years since speaking French was required to survive.
Five long years of forgetting vocabulary and conjugations.

This is why I am so proud of myself and my latest endeavor: Reading the novel, Les Misérables. Granted, it's the condensed version, but it is the condensed French version, and that is the personal victory.

Interestingly enough, living with several franco-capable roommates since being a missionary never really did much to encourage my own pursuit of French. I think it made me too aware of how easily I found myself lost in French conversations, movies, setting, etc... So now, sans any close contact with friends who speak the language of love, I find myself setting out alone to retake my lingual skills.

The things that make the difference:
The pace - I can read slowly and think deeply about the words and their meaning.
The story - I've always loved the story and values portrayed in this novel.
The not needing to understand - I can be unfamiliar with any words I don't understand, and can usually still understand what is being said.

So there you have it: I'm not giving up on French (not yet anyways). Ask me again in 500 pages.