I’ve been taking Spanish classes for like six years, and I barely know how to say anything. I’ve been taking French for about four weeks, and I know how to say nearly everything I want to say. The difference? Spanish is harder than French. Just kidding! I?m picking up French much faster because I?m always, always using it. I?m in class everyday, and my instructors will not let me forget the words that we used the day before. I can?t forget the present tense, because I?ll use it again and again and again throughout the week. The present tense, the past tense, and the future tense are always in my head and I can?t imagine going home and forgetting them now. When I took Spanish, I had class (where we mostly spoke English, by the way) for about an hour and then, when I left, I didn’t speak Spanish or think about Spanish until the next class, or when I did my homework while watching the tube, and I?m still terrible at Spanish because of it. You have to use the language you want to learn; you have to work and work and work at it, and make sure you don?t forget it. You really, really need to immerse yourself in the culture, and that?s what these immersion classes are all about!

I think the immersion class for French is especially good, because French pronunciation is just terribly hard. When I took a French class in San Francisco, I wasn’t able to practice my pronunciation because my American professor couldn’t pronounce the words very well either. It?s a really special thing to be around people, born and raised in France, who want to teach you French. Though my pronunciation is still pretty terrible after a month here, it?s getting better and it?s much better than when I came. Spanish pronunciation is much easier for me, most likely because I’ve lived in California my whole life (there are many Spanish speakers in California), but to learn French, I really had to come all the way to France to do it.

Click for more information on AmeriSpan's French school in Lyon, France.

Click to see all of AmeriSpan's French schools in France.

Read all of Ashley's blogs from Lyon France.

While riding the Metro during my first few days in Lyon (it?s a wonderful Metro, by the way), I sat across from a couple who were speaking in sign language. Here I was, just a little ways away from them, feeling very isolated from the general public due to a language barrier, and then I saw this couple that must feel that way all the time (or, at least, struggle to communicate with others). It struck me that learning a new language is a good experience not just because you can put another language level on your resume, but also because 1) you get to learn so much about what so many people go through when they immigrate to another country 2) and, therefore, you can relate to so many more people. 3) Third, learning a new language is also very humbling. I?m a Ph.D. student in English in America; I?m paid to read and write for a living. I read Eliot and Proust, and I write complicated critics. In French, however, I?m reading baby books about the colors and the alphabet and the names of different types of fruits. I think I can relate much better to the ESL (English Second Language) students that I tutor back home. Language is hard, and my professors are patient with me; this makes me want to be more patient to those I meet in the states who don?t speak English very well. In short, I think learning French is making me a better person.

That said, learning French is manageable. When I first arrived in Lyon (four weeks ago), I could barely put a sentence together. I?m pretty proud to say that I can now say just about anything I want in very broken, terrible French. Still, I can communicate nearly anything I want to! That?s pretty magical. Learning French is hard, but learning French is something anyone can do. The wonderful thing about having classes everyday is that (if you?re like me) you can?t really forget all the words you learned the day previous; you?ll have to deal with them everyday after too. So, even if I forget what the word “gravir” means, it?ll probably be in my worksheets tomorrow and the next day, and I will know the word “gravir” like the back of my hand by the end of the week (“gravir,” by the way, means “to climb up”).

Click for more information on AmeriSpan’s French school in Lyon, France.

Click to see all of AmeriSpan’s French schools in France.

Read all of Ashley’s blogs from Lyon France.

On Street Performers:

In Lyon, street performers, more often than not, are well-dressed people who seem to perform primarily out of passion for whatever instrument they play or show they put on. There?s a very put together woman who plays the harp at a local market, and while she does put a cup by her feet for donations, she seems more concerned with pleasuring her audience with beautiful music. In the states, I rarely see a street performer who isn?t primarily concerned with obtaining donations. However, A frequent (and awful) site in Lyon are women who beg on the street while cradling their babies. If the child cries, the mother will often just set the baby on the ground allowing him or her to cry (I think), so as to draw sympathy from those who pass by. Perhaps this isn?t a site particular to Lyon especially, but it?s one I rarely ever see in the states, and have already, in my three weeks in Lyon, seen several times here.

On When Things are Open:
All the stores aren?t open all the time as they are in the states. Salons aren?t open Mondays, and virtually every restaurant other than those serving Kebab (for whatever reason) are closed on Sundays. Generally, Sundays are a good day to travel around France, because Lyon is just dead that day. Once you realize that certain stores are closed on Sundays and Mondays, it?s easy to plan your schedule around their open hours, but I do wish I?d known earlier that I wouldn?t very easily be able to get a croissant on Sunday…

On Manners:

Even with the language barrier (which is gradually decreasing!), I?m realizing more and more that people are just people everywhere. Be nice. Be polite. Say “Sil vous plait” all the time. Smile a lot. Always say “merci” or “merci beaucoup” and “au revoir” when you leave a store. I get lots of smiles when I make a point about being polite and kind to the French people. Many times, people will even ask me where I?m from, and start up a conversation with me.

Click for more information on AmeriSpan’s French school in Lyon, France.

Click to see all of AmeriSpan’s French schools in France.

Read all of Ashley’s blogs from Lyon France.