On Disappointment

I have a disappointment about France. I'm not sure how to better word that statement, because if I say something like "I have to face a disappointment" or "I am facing my first disappointment", then it implies 1. an unnecessary gravity to the situation and 2. that I anticipate there being many more disappointments.* Though I had hoped and hoped that I would live in a homestay with a fantastic French family who would immediately love me and bestow upon me all of their numerous French learnings and mannerisms,  I have, instead, received notification that I will be living in my second housing option for the summer: Cité Universitaire.

CU (not CU) is dorm housing for international students. For those who don't know, this was actually my first option for a significant amount of time, but then I realized how important my linguistic growth is to me, and how rapidly I wanted to learn. It is likely that the main spoken language in the dorms will be English. Hencethereforeergo, I decided to switch my first option to a homestay to guarantee that only French would be spoken by me and to me. I was also looking forward to the fact that maybe, if I really worked well with the family I stayed with in the summer, I would be able to stay with them in the fall as well and build an even stronger connection to them. I would learn more and get more out of the experience.

So yes, I'm very disappointed. But let's be real, I'm still living in Paris for 7 months, and it's going to be amazing. My friend Ariel will be staying in the dorms as well, I believe, so we'll have each other to lean on, and I'll have to meet new people (Non-CU students) faster. This is great, actually, because I could use some travel buddies for later in the summer! I just have to make sure that my linguistic goals maintain their position at the top of my priorities list, and everything will be perfect!



* I do, actually, but not because I'm a cynic. This is going to be a difficult transition into a new culture far from friends and family and my normal support systems or ways. And things will be different than I want them to be sometimes, which can lead to disappointment, but I acknowledge this for the sake of being okay with it.