Not the best day ever.

First day of classes today.

Which inevitably meant a few little blunders.

First traumatic experience (I exaggerate, it wasn't that traumatic): I'm sitting in a class called Langue Francaise (one of our two courses here in Tours), and I'm towards the back of the room right next to the AC. The teacher notices it's 1000 degrees in the room, so she asks me to stand up and turn on the AC. Pas de probleme, I'm thinking. She says "juste a droite," so I'm like, okay, on the right. There are lots of buttons on this little AC box, but only one on the right, so I put my finger on it and turn to her to make sure that's what she meant. She replies "Non!" At that point, I start to mentally panic, thinking I somehow got my left and right mixed up. She then starts spouting random directions like "en bas" and "a droite" again, until she's just too frustrated and asks someone else to do it. The guy who comes over to "help" me presses the first button I had my finger on......! I was just like, are you serious? It was the first time when I really didn't understand...even though I really did and she just thought I didn't. Essentially, I was made to look stupid for something that I got right the first time. I was pretty frustrated about it.

Second instance: Lunch at Place Plume. After looking for a cheap place to get something for lunch, we finally settle on a small cafe just outside the square. Trois euros quatre-vingt. For some unexplainable reason my head translates that to 3,40. WRONG. So that was mildly embarrassing, and I believe the first time that someone has switched to English while speaking to me. She waved my 50 cent coin around and explained, in English, how much I owed. Faillll.

Third instance: My hostess made fun of me for cutting up my spaghetti with a fork and knife rather than using a spoon and wrapping it around my fork. She then proceeded to tell me how she once had a student stay with her who also did what I did: "J'avais une autre etudiante qui a aussi coupe le spaghetti comme ca. Une autre petite Americaine. Elle ne savait rien manger." Translation: "I had another student who also cut her spaghetti like that. Another little American girl. She didn't know how to eat anything." OK so she called me American, which I guess is forgivable. But I'm pretty sure she was in a way mocking me, telling me my way of eating spaghetti (and maybe inadvertently other foods as well) was wrong. Well, I didn't really care, I just cut up my pasta, ate it with ease, and watched on as Tara and Mme struggled with their falling noodles. Tant pis pour eux. Even if it's not culturally appropriate, I don't see anything wrong with cutting up spaghetti. Personally, I'd rather not look Italian than get spaghetti sauce all over myself.

So it wasn't the best day. The good news, though, is that I finally acquired a cell phone. I managed to complete that transaction in comprehensible although not perfect French. I feel like my confidence took a few hits today, but I can't let it get to me. In order to keep practicing and using my French, I have to remain confident in my abilities....otherwise one mistake will inevitably cause another, which will cause another, etc. When practicing/learning a language, I think you're so much better off if you're positive and sure of yourself....from what I've learned (at least of myself), I don't do nearly as well if I'm anxious, nervous, or insecure. So I'll keep trying. :)