Let's Speak English!

We sat anxiously in the café waiting for people to arrive - hoping that people would arrive.  We smiled as we saw our friend turn the corner and enter the café.

But how should we greet her? we wondered.  We always speak in French, but the purpose of today is to speak in English. 

We greeted each other with kisses on either cheek and spoke in French.

Another girl entered the café hesitantly.  "Tu es là pour le groupe d'anglais?" we asked her.  "Yes," she replied with a smile.  Jordan and I breathed a sigh of relief; people were coming!

We had a game-plan, but it was difficult to know when to officially start when people kept trickling in the door to join us.  We simply introduced ourselves - in English - and assured people that, we, too, are language learners so there is no reason to be nervous or embarrassed.  We went around the circle to complete the introductions and then offered each of the 8 women a random question.

"If you could go anywhere on your next vacation, where would you go?"

"What's your favorite meal from childhood?"

"If you could teach a class on any subject, what subject would you choose and why?"

And the conversation flowed.  Each woman took a turn reading her question aloud and then she - and whoever else wanted to - would respond.

In hindsight, we should have broken the group of 10 (including Jordan and me) into two to help those who are more shy to feel more at ease.  However, for our first meeting together, it was a good opportunity to get a glimpse of each of the women and their levels of English.  It was a positive environment; people gave us positive feedback and are eager to participate in another English Conversation Group soon.  I hope to find another opportunity before Christmas with the goal of meeting more regularly starting in January.

Thanks for praying!  Keep praying that this would be the start of a beautiful community.