Tongue Tied!!!

I find myself tongue-tied in French, especially when it comes to the smaller, faster exchanges. I find myself quickly wondering whether to use "tu" (for the younger kids and peers and friends; informal) and "vous" (people that you don't know/are older than you; formal). In those moments I hope that I won't appear completely bête, but for the most part I'm sure that I don't I think that I just seem… tongue-tied. Which is okay. Because in English I am often tongue-tied as well. Remembering that makes me feel a lot better when I'm feeling slightly inadequate about my language skills! I feel like I'm a foreigner, especially when I have to speak to others, or when others are saying something that I don't understand. But that's not a bad thing. It's a good experience. A necessary experience. Back home, speaking with people who had heavy accents made me feel unsure if they understood me. For the most part (half the time) I understand what people say to me the first time they say something. But for explanations of broader ideas, I find myself asking for repetitions and always always listening very hard to make sure I catch everything! I watch a lot of TV, hoping that le French will install itself in my head more quickly that way. I also am better able to work on my listening skills that way. This experience reminds me of how I gave a friend who had recently come from Haiti advice about watching a lot of TV and looking for children's books and getting as much exposure to English as she could right before I left. We're in the same boat her and I, she in America, myself in France. It's true that the only way to truly learn a language is to submerge yourself in it/the country/the culture (at least in my experience and others who I've spoken to). If you only try to learn from books, you won't learn everything that you need to know. Especially because language is so fluid, being as how it's always in use. I've got my work cut out for me here, and I'm quite looking forward to it! I'm looking forward to getting my library card so I can get my hands on a dictionary and on some children's books so I can expand my vocabulary further. Wish me luck, my fellow Americans, wish me luck!