La Langue de Moliere

As I noted in an earlier post, I take weekly French lessons with a tutor. It’s not that big a commitment – only 2 hours once a week. However, I find the lessons very helpful in improving my ability to speak French (as opposed to reading French, which I can already do at a relatively advanced level).

There are several good reasons for me to learn French: (i) it’s helpful for my career; (ii) it’s useful for day-to-day tasks given that I live in Quebec; (iii) it allows me to read the back of cereal boxes; and (iv) it sets a good example for Margot, who we want to raise bilingual. However, I think the real reason why I’m taking these lessons is simply because I like the idea of doing something just for myself while I am on parental leave.

Don’t get me wrong – Margot is the number one priority for the next few months. But having two-hours of dedicated Simon time is nice.

Today my weekly French class was at the usual time (from 10 am to noon) at a local coffee shop. I ordered my standard drink, a large cider, because (and this is mildly ironic), I don’t drink coffee!