The biggest advantages of being in countries where the language is Latin-based, e.g. France, is that the alphabet is essentially the same. Except for a few (yet essential) accent marks it is generally simple to look up a word or phrase in a dictionary and derive the meaning. We couldn’t do that in China.
Yet, we are still struggling. Even though we study and learn new words and phrases, they seem to drop out of our brains as quickly as water through a sieve. Actually, the ones that don’t drop out of our brains we carefully line them up, analyze their position, gender, tense, and potential pronunciation. Then we open our mouths and what comes out is unintelligible gibberish.
In reality though, when we learn five words, only three or four fall out; therefore we are making progress.
The single most significant thing that I miss is the ability to carry on even the simplest discourse. Being unable to say anything but “bonjour” and “merci” and “s’il vous plait” is decidedly limiting. Though I can speak more than that, and I can understand quite a bit, it falls short of anything that one can call conversation. 
I miss the chat.
But just as a child learns to talk, we too are learning. We relish the small victories. Today in the market we were buying cheese [fromage]. After completing our order with the gentleman behind the counter, I commented that we are learning [nous apprenons], and to the side, one of the young women behind the counter who was watching us, smiled and gave us a thumbs up.
Fortunately, the French seem to have a sense of humor regarding our struggle; I guess simply because it is so bad. Then we revert to our basics: smile, point, and say “s’il vous plait.” When you are in a foreign country and have little command of the language, you readily accept what assistance you can, even pity.
But I really liked that thumbs up!
Some odds and ends images from our wanderings over the past several days.
PS – Today we were visiting our language school. The enrollment is mostly young college students that come to France to study the language. I was standing near 4-5 students who, between practicing their French, were speaking fluent American. I apologized for eavesdropping, but explained that sometimes it really is nice to listen to your native tongue. They laughed and agreed. It was delightful chatting with them, sharing experiences and hearing their plans and goals. Ah, youth.
PPS
– Whoo Hoo! We finally got something in our mailbox besides junkmail. The paperwork for finalizing our visa came in our mail today. We have a date for our medical exam and approval process. If all goes well, and it should (fingers crossed), we may be allowed to stay for a while.
Diane
15 Sep 2014Je comprends parfaitement l’incapacité de ‘chat’. Soyez patient, aisance viendra en temps.
When I was an exchange student years ago I found the people of France to be quite pleasant and helpful as I struggled with communicating in their language. Classmates who memorized and started out with the phrase “Parlez-vous Français ?” expecting them to speak back in English were in for a rude awakening and didn’t have such a positive experience.
Thanks for providing me with a frequent escape from the day to day hustle and bustle.
Alice Mathias
13 Sep 2014I especially liked the “thumbs up” story!
Chris
14 Sep 2014We appreciated the recognition of our efforts … as well as yours. Thanks.
bruce feldberg
13 Sep 2014hey you two crackers – If you send me your mailing address, maybe I will send you some non-junk mail! I feel your language pain as I struggle to learn spanish for my retirement.
Chris
13 Sep 2014We’ll get the address out soon, though we are only in Rennes for two more weeks. Sé bueno, mi amigo.
Cathi
13 Sep 2014Mr. Feldberg took the inquiry right out of my Fooshee question bank. ” Est-ce que tu peux me donner ton adresse ?” to this “La patience est mère de toutes les vertus expr.” So it is. So it shall be. ^_^
Chris
14 Sep 2014See the “Contact Us” tab.
Carl and Joan
13 Sep 2014My favorite pic is the ping pong table, of course, since that has been my game since a wee lad. However, seeing people in short sleeves is nice too – but curious cuz no one was wearing shorts. Do they have ugly legs or is it cuz they don’t shave?
We enjoy your posts and pics – keep em coming!
Chris
13 Sep 2014We have seen ping pong tables and foosball tables in the parks. There are people wearing shorts, but they seem to be tourists. When are y’all coming?
linda howard
13 Sep 2014yes, love your sharing! 2 thumbs up! may you come in contact with more English speakers just to have some chat time! and may you retain more and more of the words! what a challenge! hugs! linda
Chris
13 Sep 2014C’est une aventure. Merci.
Mark
13 Sep 2014Petit à petit l’oiseau fait son nid.
Chris
13 Sep 2014Très vrai. Merci mon ami.
Lisa Borows
12 Sep 2014I love following your journey…thank you for sharing with all of us!
Chris
12 Sep 2014Glad you can travel along with us. We’ll be following your progress on the house on FB. Stay well.