As Good as it Gets

Bon soir from France!
I arrived here in Pontault-Combault Saturday, and thus far, I'm lovin' it. It's all a little different than I expected: there's not any heat, because the heater is broken and we're having an entirely new heating system installed. This morning, I heard this awful noise, and I thought my roommate, Margret, was having some bad gas, but then, the sound kept coming and coming, and I realized it was more than her (or rather, in case she reads this, I should say that it wasn't her at all...). There were men down in the basement, drilling a hole in the wall underneath Margaret and my bedroom. And besides that, the water's off, so I'm busy deciding whether to use Coca Cola or contact solution to brush my teeth. I'm happy, though. All these factors come together and make me feel like I'm in the middle of an adventure.
Typically, we have classes at two different locations--one in a place called La Corneuve and one in another place, Aisnieres. This week, someone broke into the church where we have our classes at La Corneuve, so this week, no classes there. I was at Aisnieres yesterday, however, and everything's going well there, so I'll be teaching my first class this Thursday. I'm starting a little sooner than I expected, but the material is also a little more basic than I anticipated, so I think it'll turn out all right. But there are rumors that there'll be a strike on Thursday, and it looks like it could be schools, transportation, and nearly everyone on strike, so if that's the case, I won't be teaching classes Thursday afterall.

But how's my French going?
Not so well. I'm speaking like a three year old--pointing at things and saying, "I want!" It's frustrating. My vocabulary needs some help. So, I went out today and got a book for teenagers, thinking that I'll start there, and try learning something...even if I'm learning things like "June has a crush on Jake" or "That's super cool".
But anyway, here's my newest method of communicating in French: I repeat the same word over and over again. You might think that sounds really awkward, and I can't possibly be doing what you're imagining, but most likely, you have it exactly right in your head. Someone will ask me how I'm doing and I'll say in response, "I'm doing well....well, well, well, well, well." Or the other day, someone asked if I liked cakes, and I replied, "Yes, I love cakes a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot!" Part of me thinks that sounding like an imbecile is a million times more polite than staying completely silent. But I'm not altogether sure...
Speaking of language difficulties, I went to have dinner with a couple working here on Saturday night. They asked me over along with a woman from their church and also along with a guest speaker who'd be speaking that Sunday at church. The woman, Sophie, asked me (I thought) if I planned to attend the church in Pontault-Combault, and I said, "I think so." She gave me a very confused look and said, "You don't know?" and I said, "No, I'm not sure." She looked around at everyone else who also looked confused. And she whispered, "She doesn't know?" About then, I started wondering what she'd really asked me, so I asked her to repeat the question. Very slowly, she said, "Are you attending the church in Pontault-Combault?" I quickly added that I'd only arrived that afternoon, and that's why I wasn't sure, but after that blunder, she didn't say much anymore. It's a little frustrating to be the person at the table who kills the conversation.

For example, here's my life at present:
Sam: Here's dinner! This is a lovely dish that I learned to make in China.
Bob: Wow, that's great, Sam. It smells great. What do you think, Katie?
Katie: Me happy!
Sam: Uh....okay. Well, Bob, I'm so excited about church tomorrow. What's the sermon going to be about?
Bob: The Tower of Babel. (Looking at me) It's probably a very important story for our time.
Sam: True. Katie, how's your dinner?
Katie: Me like it a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot!
(Dead silence...)

But like I said, this is still very much exciting for me, and I'm confident that I'll either learn French soon...or I'll give up on the French and pray for an instantaneous ability to use sign language to make my silence more acceptable.