Month-in-Review Highlights: July 2021
The view from the back window of the small cabin we rented on a farm property in central Normandy, France. July 7, 2021.
I postmortem each month shortly after it ends, reflecting on what happened in general and, more specifically, in the context of my goals. Though I don’t share all my insights here, I have made it a practice to share at least one key highlight or insight. (To read previous months’ reviews, click here.)
In July, my novel progress slowed considerably. Blame overarching life stresses, a post-vaccination road trip through France to see Arnaud’s family and close friends, and a big, sticky plot-point detail that I needed to work though before I could proceed. This decrease in pace means I’ll have to work much harder in the coming months to reach my goal of a completed draft before the end of the year.
The road trip through France should have helped me progress with my French language learning, but it instead depressed me a bit with how little I feel I’ve progressed compared to how much work I’ve done over these past eighteen months.
True, I understood much more than I have in the past, yet I felt blocked when it came to communication. I felt as though few people could understand me, as though I couldn’t communicate what I wanted to communicate when I tried, and when people asked me questions, many times, I couldn’t follow the thread. (News to me that “baguette” refers to chopsticks as well as to bread? Helpful tip: The word references drumsticks as well. Alrightey then.)
This feeling of inability in French didn’t improve when I came back to Lausanne and it felt like I hit one wall after another when trying to have conversations out in the world. I truly thought I’d have reached a different place in this language journey after this much work. I continue to put in the work according to my goals sheet, but I find it hard not to lose hope for fluency, some days.
Otherwise in my progress against this year’s goals, everything has progressed mostly according to plan in June, though I feel slightly disheartened that I haven’t done more than plan, given that I really thought I’d set realistic to even overly low goals for 2021. Given the intensely stressful plague year that we all experienced in 2020, I figured I deserved a little easing back—yet thought I’d achieve the eased-back program much more easily than I have.
On another and final note, I still seek video ideas to improve my skills and use some of the ideas I’ve learned in on-line tutorials in practice. (My video review of the best books I read in Q2 2021 didn’t turn into a hit, alas.) Send ideas.