Out of Sync

Wandering in the void

“Tackle the challenge with technique, not speed”. A family friend who also happens to be my driving instructor offered his insight as I accelerated the car at the intersection. It dawned on me that I have caught this habit of rushing off all the time. I was never like that.

Clicked on Sep 30, 2023

How did that happen? When I was growing up, life was like a classical singer who gradually introduces you to a note, setting the stage for what’s to come. Now it's like a mindless army marching to conquer the unknown. And the number of casualties of those getting in the way is growing exponentially.

Not everything can be conquered with speed. You need technique. I realized this as I am preparing myself for an upcoming language exam. And it is a language I was never exposed to. I wasn’t familiar with the culture as well. And you cannot separate the two.

I have been documenting my progress in My French Diary, which I publish occasionally. So far, my progress has been good in writing and reading, but I have to work hard on two components: Listening and speaking. I can only catch a few words while listening to Radio France. As for speaking, I am at a phase where I am just staring at the wall, hoping the word I am looking for will magically appear. It won’t. LOL….. I gave myself a challenge this time with a French Song. It is a real tongue twister.

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Let me break it to you that no amount of memorized vocabulary and verb conjugation will help you unfreeze when you are in a situation where you actually have to communicate with a real person. My professors, Phillippe and Karina, have been working with me to increase my proficiency. I know it will take time.

The marketing campaigns will have you believe that you can master French in a few weeks. Umm No! You might think AI can help you. Not much. I can tell you from experience. Even the version of ChatGPT that claims to be smart has disappointed me when I was trying to practice my French speaking; it mispronounced the French “R." That’s not good. I caught this error because I have been practicing with native speakers. I don’t know what it is doing to the people who completely rely on it.

Also, I no longer take those small language learning bites from social media. Yes, my Instagram feed is flooded by “Stop saying bonne journée, it’s so basic, use this instead” kind of reels. Arrêt! I am a beginner, and I might be using it for decades to come. I understand we need to level up our vocabulary to get the desired score. But all I am saying is, can we slow down a little?

Sometimes my mind gives up. It doesnt help me process the complex grammar structures. But that’s part of the learning process. I have been through many. And I will get over this, too. I am glad that I have genuine support from family and friends.

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Thanks for reading.

It’s funny that whenever I try to publish without a button that is supposed to let my potential readers subscribe to me, Substack notifies me in a way that makes me feel that I am making a huge mistake. Well, I don’t think so. I hope you are having a great time.

Bonne journée!

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My favorite writers on Substack (They are my favourite people who happen to be writers.)

Neela 🌶️ Her recent post Why The Technology That Saved Us Time Is Stealing Our Lives! has inspired me to start writing a reflection after a very long break. By the way, she speaks high-level French. That’s what Karina said when I showed her my response to one of her comments to make sure it was correct.

Steve Fendt is a fiction writer and a fascinating storyteller. I loved his series Blind Spot. He announced his Upcoming Series, “Devil’s Chord.”

David ☕ is an artist and a brilliant writer. I have watched him paint live on his YouTube Channel - Pastel Art. Now I am going to read what he has to say about it.