"                                        You only fail if you stop writing."     

                                                                                                          Ray Bradbury

Bonjour!!

I'm busy working on my dream of speaking French to the French when I return to France.

The next time I'm doing a school visit at a French school and a child asks me if I speak French, I want to be able to say, "Oui."

I'm a true beginner...starting with the alphabet, numbers, colors, etc.

Soon, I'll be enrolling in a French class. Until then, I'm listening to French every day...music, podcasts, and movies.

Two of my favorite French learning tools are:


Bilingual Songs: English-French Vol. 1 

by Sara Jordan
A great CD of bilingual songs that are helping me learn how to say the alphabet, numbers, months, food, animals, weather, how I feel, plus so much more, in French.

and the
Learn French by Podcast
Real Life French for Everyday Conversation
This is a great podcast that is supported by printed educational information available on their website.

This all reminds me of college. On the first day of new class, I would wonder, "how am I ever going to learn all this?" And then on the last day, I felt completely comfortable with the subject. After this past week of listening to French every day, some words are starting to take hold.

In French, I can now count to 10, tell you to touch your eyes, ears, or mouth, and say that I prefer orange jelly beans.

C'est tout bon. (It's all good.)

Pen Pals - Linking Generations

Me with Some of the Pen Pals

Last fall, I linked the friends I made in Mr. Braverman's 2nd class through Behind the Book with my senior citizen friends as Pen Pals.

Over these past months, they've written letters back and forth, created gifts and cards for each other and enjoyed knowing that someone out in the world is thinking about them.

This past week the Pen Pals met. It was a truly beautiful sight.