French or Foe?

Being partially trilingual isn't all its cut out to be. In fact, in my case, its been one heck of a ride.

As it may seem, after moving to India from the United States, you'd expect a teen like myself to be fully equipped and prepared to begin the prodigious task of speaking in many languages. Though I spoke Telugu fluently as a child and though I am indulging myself in the practice of being forced to learn French in school, the only language which I can honestly say that I am fluent in is.... English. Yes, I know. However shameful it may be I must admit that my life, up until this point, has revolved mainly around the English language.

It is true that as a child, I spoke Telugu fluently and was able to enthusiastically communicate with my grandparents, but as the years melted away, I began to lose my grasp on the language. Some may have thought that it was my stubbornness to learn which loosened my touch, but the truth is, I just lacked practice. And to top it all off, as soon as I entered my first year of high school in my entirely new home, I was suddenly thrust head first into the subject that is French.

As if it isn't frustrating enough to not be able to properly communicate with my grandparents, I now have to sacrifice an hour of every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday struggling to figure out the difference between croissant and croissant (with a silent t).

I mean, it's not that I don't have the interest that is essential for learning a new language.... it's just the way that the language is practically stuffed down our throats, with adult supervision, bothers me entirely. As a teenager, there is only so much information my brain can process and after its limit is reached, it may be prone to explosion.

All I'm saying is that juggling two almost entirely new languages sure is a tongue twister. From paying a visit to my grandparents, to reciting a passage in French class, my language skills have taken a nose dive rather than a nose rise.

But one thing I know for sure is, French is most definitely not my foe... in fact, during the course of the few months that I've been in India, its probably become one of my closest friends. :)