Long, Lovely Weekend and a Few Random Extras

Long Lovely Weekend

It's gotten colder. I snap my fingers in disappointment because I'm ready for Spring to come. Nevertheless, this weekend was lovely. There was a lot of sun. We went to Mont Saint Michel and a nearby town called Saint Malo:

Church this morning was nice. Thankfully, an incredibly sweet young man who lives nearby who also goes to church had the day off, so he drove instead of my having to take the yucky train.

Few Random Extras

1. My dear mom sent me some girl scout cookies and I brought them to share with my classmates and with my students. They were a hit. Thin Mints are my absolute favorite in the universe, but it seemed that the French folks who took a taste were not impressed. I guess the chocolate/mint combo threw them for a loop.

2. I'm giving my first Rotary presentation tomorrow. Mommyyyyy! I'm a teensy bit scared. I mean, my French is all right, but it seems like it'll exponentially diminish when I'm in front of a group of distinguished francophones. I did a little PowerPoint, and my host counselor checked it out for errors. There's still a teeny bit I'm going to add, though, about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. I've already used my PowerPoint for educative purposes, though—the handsome Libyan decided he wanted to see what I was working on, so I gave him a little preview. It was so cute the way he pronounced "Martin Luther King, Jr." Awww.

3. I still haven't decided whether I'm going to take the DELF. I feel like I need to go ahead and take it now so that I can get it out of the way and not have to worry about it the rest of my time here. It costs a bit of money, so I feel like I need to do it now while I definitely have the money instead of waiting until later and being like, whoops, I don't have enough. If I fail it (which I superly hope that I don't, and which I think is relatively unlikely, but still possible), then I'll have the chance to take it again in June. Level B2 is the level that French universities require foreign students to have before they can enter. So, it basically shows that you're competent enough in French to do college-level coursework. I mean, I don't HAVE to have this . . . it's not a requirement at all. It's not like I'm going to be able to teach French in the States because I have a DELF B2 diploma. I wouldn't even want to do that. But it is an internationally recognized test whose results are valid indefinitely. I want to go back to the States with something more than a certificate of attendance. I feel like I need to have something solid in hand that shows my competency in French. This is the beginning of my 3rd month here, and I feel like I've progressed. B2 is the level I'm currently in, so I've already done plenty of practice concerning the test. I feel like I should go for it. But I have to be sure . . . it's not going to be easy. I have until Tuesday to decide.