Why are you studying in Aix if you don’t speak french? This is a question I have had to answer many times in my 3 months of being here.
I 1) chose Aix-en-Provence for the location and it’s beauty and 2) was not required to know the language prior to being in France. It has been quite the struggle being in a French speaking country, still to this day, but I have learned the necessary phrases to get me by the slightest bit: how to order a double espresso, how to order food/ drinks in general, how to ask the cost of something, the list goes on.
I get kind of offended when my host mom gets annoyed at the fact that I will not continue studying french once I leave Aix. She drills me with questions that belittle me such as why am I even in France, why have I never learned French, why do I not want to continue learning French, why do I not speak more French with her, etc. I have came to realize that I honestly could care less about the language. Yes I care to learn the necessary words and phrases but beyond that, no. In America, the French language will get you nowhere. It is important to know Spanish, which I have studied for many years and I know it, but knowing French is as good as knowing Russian – it won’t get you very far in America.
Aix-en-Provence has became my home, I really enjoy it here but I don’t feel the need to become fluent in French. I only have 2 more weeks left in Aix and I am anxiously awaiting hearing the English language spoken everywhere again.