How to Push Past Fluent to Fluency in a Language

Even if all the tests tell you that you’ve arrived when it comes to fluency, you can still improve. Here are a few tips for continuing to increase your fluency in your target language.

MigratingLeslie FarnsworthAugust 23, 2023language learning, culture, French, expatComment

Great Restaurants, Snacks, and Treats in Strasbourg

Wondering where to eat in Strasbourg, France? Here’s my guide of where and what to eat for all your food needs while in this gorgeous city in Alsace.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthAugust 16, 2023travel, food, france Comments

Why and How France, Switzerland, and the United States Celebrate National Holidays

I’ve noticed an interesting confluence of holidays celebrating their nation’s founding over the three countries where I focus most of my energy these days: France, Switzerland, and the United States.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthAugust 9, 2023Culture, France Comments

Month-in-Review Highlights: July 2023

A hectic July didn’t make for much rest, relaxation, personal time—or goal progress, much less achievement. However, I made a few things happen, despite it all.

JournalLeslie FarnsworthAugust 2, 2023goals, postmortem, writingComment

Strange (and Untrue) Stereotypes about the French

You’ll find all types of people in France, as you will in all countries and cultures. As blanket stereotypes, though, these haven’t proven true in my experience.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthJuly 26, 2023France, French, language learning Comments

Videos: Pyramids and Temples in Egypt

The pyramids and temples in Egypt need capture in video for better representation of the experience and the place, I decided. (And I was right!)

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthJuly 19, 2023travel, culture, history Comments

Books I've Read: Q2 2023

Here’s a list of the books I read in the second quarter of 2023, with my favorites (and recommendations) in bold.

JournalLeslie FarnsworthJuly 12, 2023books, reading, literatureComment

Month-in-Review Highlights: June 2023

And on into the second half of the year. I hope the midway of 2023 finds you as centered and as peaceful as possible.

JournalLeslie FarnsworthJuly 5, 2023goals, postmortem, writingComment

The Positives and Negatives of Rituals and Routines

I’ve done a bit of thinking recently on rituals and routines. The differences between the two, and the positives and negatives of both.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthJune 28, 2023cultureComment

How the Obsession with Monetizing Hurts Us

Even the suggestion that you should not spend your time and energy on something without monetizing it significantly reduces the value of the activity.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthJune 21, 2023business, culture Comments

What to See and Do in Lausanne, Switzerland

I’ve lived in Lausanne several years now, and I finally feel I’ve done and seen enough to have a few favorites and a few go-to handy recommendations.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthJune 14, 2023Lausanne, Switzerland, travel, culture, historyComment

Month-in-Review Highlights: May 2023

My goals for the year included a yoga event of some kind. As of the end of May, I’ve now attended one of the two I’ve scheduled. The question: What did I think?

JournalLeslie FarnsworthJune 7, 2023goals, postmortemComment

The Problem with “Yes And:” Sometimes the Right Answer is “No”

If you say “yes and” to everything presented, including projects and ideas and even opinions, you don’t protect your own values and wants and projects and visions.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthMay 31, 2023culture, business, happiness Comment

What I’d Like to Read: Novels with Older Main Characters

I want to read more novels about people who’ve gone through the stages after childhood, youth, and the twenties into full-on adulthood.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthMay 24, 2023reading, literature, books, culture Comments

Tips for a Better Travel Experience to Egypt

A few universal tips I’ve gleaned could help other travelers prepare for their Egyptian vacations through knowing what to expect and how to navigate certain situations.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthMay 17, 2023travel, cultureComment

How to “Go Local” as a Tourist

Yet if you want to go a little deeper into exploring your destination by getting a feel of the life in that place, here’s how to find genuine opportunities!

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthMay 10, 2023travel, cultureComment

Month-in-Review Highlights: April 2023

April didn’t go as planned, but in entirely different ways than March’s derailment.

JournalLeslie FarnsworthMay 3, 2023postmortem, goalsComment

The Moving Target of Language Fluency

I’d just assumed, as I believe do most of us, that a person reaches a given point at which she’s just fluent and—a-ha!—goal reached. You’ve made it.

MigratingLeslie FarnsworthApril 26, 2023French, language learning Comments