The opposite of improving

Yesterday, when I tried to do my homework, I became suddenly overwhelmed with the difficulty of french verb tenses. After a very difficult day where I seemed to forget any progress I have made, and seemed unable to understand any french sentence said out loud, I decided to go out and buy the French Conjugasion book that teachers have been begging us to buy since I was in highschool.
This was definitley they best buy of my life. Immediately, I went to my cafe to work on some homework. Whenever I did not know the correct conjugasion of the verb, I looked it up. It literally has the conjugaision of ANY verb tense for ANY verb. Maybe this is extremely nerdy of me, but I almost cried from being so happy.
Speaking of my little cafe, today I learned the cookie lesson the hard way. At lunch, I had my leek soup, which I have everyday (sounds gross, but its not). And I bought my cookie. Half an hour later, I wanted another one. Mistake. I had the worst sugar stomach ache ever. I will never do that again. The man behind the counter laughed when I told him I wanted a second cookie... now I know why he laughed... what a mean man.
Our Bucknell Professor in residence advised us today, the easiest way to learn french is to sit in the cafes and read (read in french). By listening, reading, and sometimes talking in french, while being completely surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the cafe, it becomes easier to pick up the language. I knew I was doing the right thing by going to the "French Coffee Shop" so often!
Today is the 20th day that I have been in France. Some of the abroad programs at Bucknell have not even begun yet. I've realized I am not on a vacation. I'm actually living here. Any progress that I have made, or unmade- depending on the day, will increase exponentially from here on out! It's a long haul to be in a "pays etrangere" for an entire semester (what's sad is I know that french is wrong and I don't know how to fix it today) but the end result, I can already tell, will be worth more than the struggle.
P.S. Happy Anniversary Tommy!

P.P.S. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69ptYXvUo7M Ben L'Oncle Soul is always played at the gym. This isn't my fav, but I know my mom and dad will like it! :)

And this is one I like... This artist is very popular. And she's very pretty too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u81O3n3J7lw