corso di francese

Going around the table meeting each sister my first night in Veyrier, I was immediately worried if I would be able to connect with one sister in particular. She seemed like an incredibly sweet woman, with tinkling brown eyes that lit up with her smile and a quiet, peaceful voice. The dilemma? She knows only Italian. I knew about six words at that time, all from the movie "La Vita e Bella" - cammelli (camels), chiave (key), ombelico (belly button), grazie (thank you), prego (you're welcome) and "buongiorno, princepessa!" Needless to say, I wouldn't be able to get very far. After having been in the house for couple of days, we started having very simple yet frustrating interactions. Mostly, they consisted of gestures hinting at what we were trying to convey whilst each was speaking in our own tongue in an attempt "assist" the other. Very frustrating yet incredibly sweet, our "conversations" quickly became some of the most treasured moments of my day. Where each person has her own seat at the table and I sit in the furthest possible position from her, I have to make it a point to talk with her. And so it began. On alternating Thursday nights, a French class is held in the school next door so that those existing in this predominantly Francophone place have a way to learn or improve their language skills. Last week, Sister asked me in very choppy "Fritalienne," as I've begun to call it, if I'd like to join in the fun. OF COURSE - I'm here to work on my French (and grammar has never been my strong suite), and I enjoy my time with her. Why not? Throughout the class - which was composed of individuals from all walks of life (including a doctor from New Jersey!) - I watched Sister give her full attention to conjugating those verbs and figuring out exactly WHY one verb was conjugated as such while if such-and-such changes, all bets are off. (Grammar truly is tricky. Why so many rules? And why can't they apply in all scenarios?!) She mutters when she thinks and and also will check to see how I'm doing on my exercises. I could do nothing but smile. I'd done it all before but at the same time didn't want to discourage her. She explained to me how "passe compose" works and when to use "etre" versus "avoir" with the participe passe. In all things she does, I've noticed, she is very organized and pays attention to detail. Her place setting is set up just-so and her habbit is always perfectly ironed. She takes great pride in what she does and it's beautiful to see. "Passe Compose" is no different. I actually learned more about Italian than French in that class, surprisingly. Each word that was brought up in class, Sister would break out her Italian-French dictionary and show me what it meant in Italian. My favorite of the day? "Sfigato," which means "exhausted." It felt as if I was meant to be there in that classroom right then. My beliefs were confirmed when my name was used TWICE in the exercises. That never happens! The first being, "Est-ce que Laura est italienne?" to which the reponse suggested was "Non, elle est francaise." (Though I'm feeling excessively Italian since being fully immersed in Italian!) I can't wait for the "corso di francese" next Thursday.