72 Hours iPhone-less

So, I may have had a bit of an accident last week. I drowned my iPhone.

It kind of fell into the toilet when I was getting ready for work which, if you have ever experienced, is a terrifying ordeal. I quickly scooped my phone out of its watery grave, turned it off, and promptly buried it in a Tupperware container of uncooked rice. And there it remained for 72 hours. I thought that my poor iPhone 5 might’ve been done for, but I was thrilled to discover that it was still working. So thrilled, in fact, that I went around the house screaming “It’s alive! It’s alive” a la Victor Frankenstein. For all you doubters, the rice trick does seem to work. I think that it's imperative that you keep your phone off the whole time and let it dry out slowly.

My 72 hours without my iPhone was an interesting experience though. I haven’t been without my phone for more than a few hours since getting it nearly 3 years ago. There was some withdrawal going on, but I did learn a few things along the way.

• My life is on my iPhone. That sounds hyperbolic, I know, but it’s the truth. I didn’t realize how much I relied on my phone until it wasn’t there to rely on. I use it as my alarm clock in the morning and as my radio while I get ready; it’s a source of entertainment and a work tool; and it's how I communicate with everyone. I found it so inconvenient to have to check my emails on an actual computer, and let’s not forget how often I had to call people instead of sending a quick text message.  Without it, I felt so disorganized, so out of touch.
• I can send text messages online.  I discovered that you can send text messages online on a lark. It did make it a bit easier to stay in touch with some people, and it helped me to not feel quite so cut off from the world.
• Text messages are so convenient. There was more than one occasion when I had to call people to say something that I would’ve simply sent in a text. Text messages are so quick and easy. You don’t have to worry about ending up in a long conversation with a person or do the whole small talk thing. You get right to the point, which I prefer. What did we ever do before text messages?  Seriously.
• I feel naked without my iPhone. I roll my eyes when my Dad goes on about how this generation doesn’t know how to put down their phones, but he's right. I felt so uneasy without my phone on me and kept reaching for it, only to remember it was in triage at home. I think that using my iPhone is just as important to me as knowing that the option is there. 
• I’m more productive without my iPhone. I was able to get so much work done on the train when I didn’t have my phone there to entertain me. I read for work and for leisure, I did some creative writing, and I got to turn off my brain for a while. There was no Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter to check or update, no emails or text messages to read. I have to admit that it was nice to have some downtime.

So, will I make it a habit of leaving my iPhone at home in the future? Probably not. It’s as much a technological security blanket as it is a convenient tool for staying connected with the rest of the world. And nowadays I don’t know if we really have the luxury of disconnecting. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. Hmm.

Have you ever drowned your phone or gone several days without it?

4 Helpful Apps for Learning French

I’ve been so lazy when it comes to my French. Between working full-time and living life, French hasn’t been a priority since I studied the language in college. And even then, despite my love of the language, I wasn’t able to fit the classes into my schedule after my sophomore year. So, for more or less the last five years, I haven’t had much of a reason to practice speaking French, and I learned that the cliché “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it” is more than a little true.

When I decided that I was going to France this year, it gave me the kick in the seat that I needed in order to pick up French again. This past fall, I resumed my studies with the hope that maybe I’d be able to get by in Paris without asking everyone to speak to me in English (even though many French people speak English too). Since I don’t have the funds to take classes or pay for fancy software, I had to find a way to immerse myself in the language again--reading, speaking, and listening to French whenever possible at little cost--and I think I’ve been managing thanks to my iPhone and some great apps. So without further ado, here are my go-to apps for learning French!

Duolingo is my godsend and a popular free app to boot. It makes learning a language (French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese currently) an interactive game instead of a memorization chore like some courses. Not only is the Duolingo owl super adorable, the app is fun (not kidding!). You complete units at your own pace and learn to read, write, and speak as you go along, and the app sends you email reminders to practice daily. I just hit my 100 day streak which was an exciting moment for me. Duolingo really has helped me to review the skills I learned in college while expanding my vocabulary and teaching me new grammar rules. If you want review a language or take a stab at a new one, this app should be on your phone.

News in Slow French is just that—news spoken in slow French. Each episode is like a radio show focusing on current events and also grammar. The cool thing about the app is that you can adjust the speed of the announcers, and the app provides a French transcript if you decide to read along. There is a paid version, but I’ve stuck with the free content and have been quite pleased.
La Dépêche is a regional daily newspaper from Toulouse, and the app lets you read their articles for free on your phone. I found the language to be the most accessible of the French newspapers that I tried to read, and the fact that I could read the articles easily on my iPhone was a huge plus. I’m a bit of a news junkie, so I like the fact that there are articles on a variety of topics at my fingertips.

VidaLingua French-English Dictionary has been a user-friendly resource for those moments when I’m struggling to understand something I’ve read or heard. There are free and paid versions available (the paid one comes with more words), but in both you’re given definitions, conjugations, and audio clips for pronunciation. The app also comes with phrases and vocabulary quizzes. I’ve stuck with the free version because I’m being a cheapskate, but I probably should upgrade. There’s been more than one occasion where the definition I need is only available if I download the paid version, which can be more than a teensy bit frustrating.

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I’d love to be bilingual one day, but I know that, realistically, I’m a long way off, but I’m going to keep at it. I hope that you’ve maybe discovered a new app to download, especially if you’re studying French like me (or trying to anyway). I’d love to know what language(s) you’re studying and if you’re using any apps to help you! xx