Language school....done!

....and now for the next phase.

I've just finished my last classes at language school.  Tomorrow we have an hour with our teacher where we're told what level we've reached and then the whole school is having brunch all together (the French word is 'brunch', brilliant!) before we have a goodbye service.

To be honest, I have no clue where my time here has gone.  It only feels like yesterday that I arrived in the height of the French summer and now I'm finished.  Overall it's been great, studying and living with like-minded people.  The sense of community is fantastic and something that I will miss immensely.  However it's also been a LOT of hard work!  My brain has been given a thorough workout and I've learned more grammatical terms than I ever knew existed in English, let alone French.  I feel much more coherent when I speak French and it does come more easily to me now, I have to think about it a lot less.  So I'm confident that I will notice a difference in my communication abilities when I return to Chad.

Talking of Chad, I fly there on Thursday 7th January.  Yep, three weeks today!  I leave France on Saturday 19th December and will spend just under three weeks in the UK seeing family and close friends before I go to Chad.  Somewhere in the midst of that will be Christmas and the New Year!  It's all a bit mind-boggling to be honest, so I'm taking one day at a time.

This is likely to be my last blog before I go to Chad.  I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy Christmas and a blessed new year.  

I'll end with these words, from the popular Christmas carol 'O come, O come Emmanuel' that we sing in the UK.  I think the French translation of the chorus is 'prettier' (for want of a better word!) than the English version we sing:

Joyeux, levez les yeux au ciel
Voici venir Emmanuel!

Literal version of French words:                                Words sung in English version:
Joyfully lift your eyes to heaven                                Rejoice!  Rejoice!
Here comes Emmanuel!                                           Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel

Joyeux Noël!