From Culture Shock to Cultural Competency

Even before leaving, I know that I will have trouble adjusting to some things in France. One of the biggest problems will most likely be adjusting to speaking French. While I know some of the basics, I would not be able to carry on a conversation in French. At first, this will probably be the hardest part of going out, experiencing new things, and attempting to find my way around. Not being able to communicate with anyone is going to make things kind of terrible for a while.

The best way I can think of to remedy this is to get out and talk to French people. Hopefully they will be fairly understanding and patient with me as I stumble over my words. I will not allow myself to say anything in English if I need to, even to other students in the program. I will get sick of French at some point, but that's okay. It will make things so much easier once I can speak it with ease, and it is a skill that I will be able to have for the rest of my life, so it will definitely be worth it. I will have to remind myself of this over and over.