école pour moi

I've been waiting for this day since Thursday October 22nd 2009. On that day, JP picked up our family at the train station in Hyères. We had just arrived and we were moving into our little vacation rental to begin our life here. JP said to me, "Do you speak French, Sarah?" "No, I don't," I sighed in total frustration. "Oh," he says, "there's a good school here in Hyères...you should go...it will really help you." Soon after my chat with JP, I met another American who went to the school. She is married to a French man and raved and raved about the school...she went there herself to learn the language.

And that was that. Some pivotal moments where I set my heart on, and closed my brain, to all other options for learning French other than this school. Its been nearly four months since those conversations, and as I drove to the French language school in Hyères this morning, I was so emotional about it I was crying tears of joy for the majority of the commute. I know, I know, I'm a little bit of drama queen, but until you live in a place where you CANNOT communicate, where you CANNOT accomplish simple tasks, ie, getting a hair cut, taking your kid to the doctor, ordering at a restaurant, getting out of a parking garage with no money, it might be hard understand the level of frustration I am coping with. Today was a big day for me.

God is good, and His timing is perfect. Although, I'll readily admit I have been an impatient, grumbling person waiting for His timing...He IS faithful. Because now, all the details that took us four months to work out have fallen into place. The "details" mostly revolved around my kids and finding people to watch them. But even the way the "babysitting" schedule has come together is too good to be true. This first week, we have a college student here with them. Then Phil will be with them for a week. And then my totally giving, be-there-in-a-second-to-help-you, Mother-in-law is coming for three weeks to stay with the kids. At the end of March, my parents will be here, so the kids will have another week of Grandma loving. All in all, I have six straight weeks of childcare, mostly with family, lined up...six weeks for me to concentrate uninterrupted and undisturbed at this school to learn French.

What's so great about this school? I'm most excited about the schedule. Classes are five days a week for four hours in the morning. I can be home by one o clock in the afternoon and resume my mothering/wife/homemaking duties. The school is very small. I have three other students in my class, so I have all the time I want to practice speaking and ask questions. The school has rolling admissions, so I could jump in today without waiting for the beginning of a semester. The tuition is based on the number of weeks of class you sign up for. The more weeks one commits to the cheaper the rate per week is. (We've actually paid for eight weeks, but I'll take some time off after the six straight weeks in order to get the next round of childcare lined up). But the school seems to be flexible and willing to work with me to make sure I can have my kids taken care of....and that is invaluable to me.

And after my first day, I'm thrilled. The teachers were fantastic and welcoming and thorough. It's funny because the school isn't technologically advanced at all...I felt like I was in my sixth grade math class again with the overhead projector and dry erase markers everywhere (sorry, Dad, no Smartboard here). They were even using cassette players for the listening exercises. But I don't need to be wowed with fancy gadgets and podcasts for my ipod. I'm too desperate to learn to be picky about small things like that.

I can't convey how excited and ready I am to make the most of the opportunity. I want to speak French...I want to learn...and today my heart feels lighter...because NOW, there seems to be a way to make that happen. Maybe someday I'll be able to get my hair cut, order a pizza, understand the repair man telling about some problem with our roof, follow along during a sermon at church, ask for another size at the department store, sign my kids up for swimming lessons. These are experiences I cannot wait to have. And experiences I'll never again take for granted.