Breathing

I'm going to tell you something you might not realize. Your native language is as much a part of you as the voice you use to speak it.  It comes naturally to you.  When you talk to someone you don't have to think about how to say this, and how to use that, you just think about what to say which of course is relative to the conversation.  Being thrown into another language is like hitting a wall.  After 3 months your comprehension is getting to be "good" you can take tests and receive good grades, you understand classes (for the most part) but speaking, well thats a whole nother ball field.  You sound, an I quote my friend and former exchange student Kara, "Like a dying pikachu."  Laugh if you will but its true.  Especially coming into a language with masculine/feminine and a ton of rules.  Basically you know what you want to say but you don't remember until half an hour later and then you pretty much just face palm.  But you realize that hey you actually understood that and thats a weird and amazing thing. You know enough to talk to your friends and suddenly you're speaking english, not because you need to but only when you don't want others to know what you're saying.  Its a weird, difficult, and magical thing.