I finally did it: I went entirely cold turkey and have now been 100% fluent in a foreign language for a year without ever studying it

Well you guys it's been 1 year since I decided to finally take that plunge and I haven't cracked open a textbook since.<br><br>For those of you who don't know, I'm a native English speaker born and raised in the United States who moved to France after college and inserted myself into French society.<br><br>Over the course of 12 years it went from neutral and academic to nearly native fluency, and I even started to notice changes in the way I think as a result of being an active participant in the culture and society.<br><br>I feel as though I'm at a point where my proficiency in French is on par with my proficiency in English, and last night I found myself thinking (in French) about how I can even tell when someone here is being "passive-aggressive" or "sarcastic" but how I still have trouble applying those words to actions in English.<br><br>I think it's because my exposure to those concepts was so much later in life than in English, and while the words and actions are familiar to me, I still don't have the same level of instinctual recognition as I do in English.<br><br>I'm also aware that while I may have the level of fluency of a 12 year old French person, I'll never have the same level of fluency as an adult native speaker.<br><br>Anyway, here's the part where I try to convince you to insert yourself into a foreign culture and society.<br><br>I did this through work, so I get paid to be here, but what I really mean is to fully immerse yourself and to do it 100%. I have no English speaking friends here (I'm not being critical, I just don't want it and it would distract me from my goals).<br><br>I look at this as an opportunity to try something I've never done before and to see if the end result is something I like.<br><br>It's not the right choice for everyone, but I'm glad I made the decision to do it and I think you would be too.<br><br>I've been considering doing this again in Spanish, German or Arabic, but I don't know if I have the desire at this point in my life.<br><br>&#x200B;