Without a doubt, the best thing to come from my learning French is not the fact that I've acquired a new language, but the fact that I've acquired a whole heap of new friends.
C'est super !
I have made lots of friends both online and in real life and I would never have gone to the trouble of looking for new friends if I didn't start my quest/journey to learn French. I'm not shy but I am introverted (yes there is a big difference!) and I'm one of those people who are too afraid to get out of their comfort zone. These past few months I've challenged myself to get out there and make a whole heap of the new friends, primarily to better my French, but also for friendships.
Recently I watched
Up in the air starring George Clooney and if there's one thing I took away from that (it's a great movie btw) it's that your relationships to those around you are the most important thing in life!
I'm so happy to have made all these new friends, I can't even begin to explain how
contente and
heureuse I feel.
I also feel kind of nutty, but in a good way. I talk to random strangers now, not that I didn't before but I talk to people out of the blue simply because I can detect that they have a French accent. I would never have done that even a year ago. I don't care if people think I'm nuts. If someone thinks that because I'm being friendly and talkative.. what does that say about the world?
and on another note, stereotypes are pretty crappy. So, apparently Parisiens are rude and unfriendly, and apparently French women don't like making new female friends (I have read this in books and on blogs). Hmm... well I have not experienced this myself luckily (the opposite in fact) and I don't think I will. I don't like to think negatively about things/people/circumstances and prejudge them. The one negative stereotype about France that I think is probably true (although I am always trying to think positively and pray I don't have to stress about it) is the whole bureaucratic paperwork business and unfriendly customer service staff! Ha!
I chose the image above for the cute
amitié quote but also for the koala-looking animals too...
trop mignon !
True friendship
is like health.
You only know the value
when you've lost it.
image from here
