Thinking in francais

I almost started writing this post in French. That’s what a few days at my job does for me! I’ve only been on the phones for about a week and a half on my own, and already I can tell that my fluency is returning. I’m thinking in French, catching myself right before the words come out…it’s kinda fun…like being back from France all over again. I love the feeling I get every day now from learning just one or two more phrases or pieces of vocabulary that enable me to understand at least 20% more context the next day, or even on the next call. It’s like being immersed again, and I love it. I’m not so nervous anymore when my phone beeps and the stoic woman’s voice says “Prepaid…French.” I can understand the accent a lot better now and I’m even getting to the point where I’m comfortable enough with the card information and the language that I can make a tiny bit of small talk and not sound quite so machine-like. And the number of people who ask to speak to someone who “actually speaks French” is dropping, thank goodness! That’s a morale booster. Every person up here has gotten that comment though, native speakers included.

So I’ve been introduced to the wonderful world of insurance. *sarcasm flag* Yeah, the one time I try to enroll in JUST the flex spending account for health care expenses in 2012, they mess up my enrollment and start taking money out of my paychecks in 2011! I don’t know when I’m going to get the money back…now I know what people are talking about when they say insurance is a major headache. On the flip side, I do get other great benefits here, so I’m looking at getting a new Ford Focus, since the price with my company discount is comparable to the price of a used car. Makes more sense to me to get a new one with the longer warranty! I’m working on getting the rest of my bills transferred over to my name…a daunting task. Kinda scary, being out in the world, but exciting too.

Can’t believe that it’s already the middle of November. Veteran’s day, then Thanksgiving, then fall is over and winter begins. Everyone is already hyped up about Christmas, and I’m sure they probably think I’m a scrooge for saying it, but I’m not ready yet! Thanksgiving comes before Christmas, so why shouldn’t it be given a proper celebration? And why shouldn’t autumn should be enjoyed and celebrated while we have it? There’s no sense in skipping ahead!

Anyway, on a different note, if anyone is in need of a job, please let me know. I know of some really good openings right now.