Francophile
I am a huge Francophile, which means I love all things French. The language, the food, the country, the culture. I have always had an affinity for France, even before I found out that I had French ancestors.
I remember in Junior High, we had an assignment to make a coat of arms and to fill each quadrant with something that had meaning to us. In one quadrant, I put a painter’s palette because there are several artists in my family, one quadrant had a stack of books because we are avid readers, one quadrant had some gardening tools because my grandpa was amazing and could grow just about anything. And in the last quadrant, I put the French flag because I thought our family was French. I got an A on the assignment and was so proud to show to my grandmother. When I did, she asked me why I had put a French flag on it. I told her it was because we are French. She asked me where I got that idea and told me that we weren’t. I was devastated because I was sure that we were. Fast forward about 20 years and I found my French ancestors while researching our family tree. Ironically, they were on her side of the family. I don’t know why, but I felt vindicated.
It turns out my French genes are strong. I spent a summer in France in a French immersion language program. I had only taken one semester of French before I went, but I tested at the beginning of the second year on the placement exam. I felt so at home there. Within two weeks, I was dreaming in French, and was even mistaken for a local one day while I was shopping. That was a great feeling.
HootOwl Handicrafts 