Bienvenue / Welcome / Bienvenidos

Here I go again trying my hand at a blog.  This time round I want to try and track my progress as I study French.  So far I am on week one and finished 5 lessons from "Berltz Think and Talk French."  The mystique of the language is fading away as I listen to Radio Canada all day long and I am getting very good at reciting the rosary in French as well.

So what issues do I have?  Well for starters, the whole double negative surrounding the verb is trying to my soul.  Why can't it just be Je ne suis and leave it at that?  Why does that pesky pas need to follow?

Also, elle...  looks very feminine, sounds very masculine... as in él.  Everytime I say elle in a sentance, the best I can muster in my mind is a very manly she. 

So what can say maintenant? 

Je suis Sebastian.  Je suis américain.  Je ne suis pas japonais.  Il est nuef huere dix.  Il n'est pas le professeur, il un étudiant.  Pierre ne compte les voitueres mais les étudiants.   

Not quite cocktail party material, but we'll get there...