Just to be clear...

...I'm not anywhere close to being French, nor do I really want to be. Even as a somewhat closeted francophile, I will not take on the impossible task of trying to be someone I'm not. As the blog, states, I'm not quite there. Now, days after it's begun, "not quite there" brings to mind a turtle slothing it's way to a non-existent finish line. The name comes solely from my lack of originality and my tendency to twist around the names of books I've recently read to title my blogs.

The book in question is Sarah Turnbull's "Almost French," of which I highly recommend to anyone. Upon picking it up at the library and glimpsing the cover, I thought that the pages would contain a fictional romance on the streets of Paris, couples lounging in candlelit cafes, then later slothing down magnificent cobblestone alleys like the aforementioned turtle. While thinking the book would be much better if the couple happened to step in a grotesque pile of dog shit, I happened upon the summary. Critics had written exactly my thoughts. I took it home and there wasn't an ounce of sap in the entire book. A non-fiction piece, it gives the reader a glimpse of Paris from a foreigner's eyes. The humiliating moments everyone stuggles with in another country, and the minor successes that become huge. It's humorous, well written, and informative.

Maybe this blog is my way of being a wannabe after all. Other than the fact that I like to write, my two other blogs, Hungarian Lessons, and Spanish from Scratch, functioned well in a few ways.

* HL was a great way to complain about the horrid students I taught in Budapest and have random Hungarians write comments like, "why don't you try smiling at them? You sound very angry."

* Writing on SFS helped me block out all the excess noise in the teacher's room, not to mention the incessant drama that incessantly occured there.

* Both blogs kept my parents aware that I was still alive as I can't seem to get over this telephone "allergy" of mine. Saying that I HATE talking on the phone is an understatement. I think I'm actually scared that it will bite me.