It's been more than a year, since I've moved to France. And today, I passed a sort of a C3 speakng exam.
I am proud of myself, it's something I couldn't have done that well a year ago. By far! And it shows a lot of growth in terms of the language use, personal development, professional skill, and all that mixed together. I guess it's not that weird. Up to C1/C2, the language is catching up with the rest of your intelligence and character. After a certain point, you're growing together. My story is also a satisfying "I told you so" situation, truth be told 
It is a bit hard to describe, but extremely briefly and superficially and language oriented-ly: a difficult patient with tons of demands and a huge ego, who is used to speaking over people, being their superior, Mr.Director, thinking he always knows the best despite his current situation proving the opposite. His previous stay was difficult, and the same attitude issues have been described by various professionals. He was the only patient in over a year, who made me lose my composure (and trust me, not for the lack of trying from the rest) a few weeks ago. At one point, it was the only way to not yield to his demands (immediate attention to his whims instead of the more urgent matters at hand). I even had to shout over him (because he simply didn't let me say a single word for a looooong time, unless it would be to comply and obey. I don't think he would be just as rude towards my older male colleagues, especially the 2m tall one). He asked for an early discharge,and I did my job informing him about the risks and the appropriate follow up outside the hospital. It was a very unpleasant situation.
But today, he came back and not in a good shape (due to lots of "I told you so" factors). Our conversation started like "There is no point in talking, as I certainly don't want you as my doctor" and "I don't want you as my patient either, but it's my turn to do the admission, so we'll just have to deal with each other for now", but I got him talking, the examination fulfilled all the purposes, I managed to clarify the relationship between him and the hospital staff, put him in line, explain things and give examples, answer his questions well (both the very good ones, and those just used as an attempt to assert dominance). I may have been the first person in years, to be rather strict with him. We got through the talk, and he thanked me a few times by the end, and sounded honest (he isn't used to just being polite). And the nurse present complimented me on how well I handled the situation. I think I've prepared a bit more solid ground for the next doctor, who will be in charge of him.
So, I feel proud of this achievement. It is just one situation (and you may find it not that impressive. Less than the patient who got better thanks to a treatment I had chosen and prescribed. I saw one of these today as well), but it is an example of a very intense situation and a language challenge, rich in emotion and context, requiring advanced comprehension, persuasion, and nuanced speech skills. And something I couldn't have achieved even half as well a year ago.
Back to the original reason to share this: my progress "beyond" the C2:
-6 months on Erasmus, those had barely left a scratch. But 13 months here, with my language skills really being a huge part of my job every day, that's very different
-my comprehension skills haven't improved, they were already hitting the ceiling before moving abroad. Of course I still miss a word sometimes, that's ok, I'll keep learning till the day I die.
-my vocabulary has improved a bit. Some colloquial stuff, some formal stuff that should be taught in the coursebooks but isn't, and quite a lot of stuff that the beginners tend to despise as "the boring useless lists to memorise". Be humble, you might need the vocab one day. I've also learnt tons of professional vocabulary, that I don't even know in Czech.
-my grammar was already very good, it is now in some ways better, but I have also acquired or solidified some mistakes (and I speak worse, when I am really tired). It needs maintenance. Grammar matters a lot and affects the so called "fluency". It is a huge part of speaking with enough nuance and precision. And it is a part of making a good impression. Sure, you may learn it differently from me (tons of exercise books+tons of input), but I don't agree with the "you don't need it" opinions. You either learn it, or you'll forever underperform and look less intelligent. And most people can only profit from opening a grammarbook and clarifying some stuff, few people can learn it well without ever opening the unpopular books.
-I am a better storyteller in French now, and my sense of humour is almost unlimited by my language skills (if you find it bad, it is either the quality of my jokes or you, but my French is not to blame!). But this is still something to improve. And actually, I think partially memorising a dictionary (a long dreamed project, that I haven't started yet) could really help me get even better. Rich vocab is important. People socialise a lot by sharing what exactly did their cat do this time, which car part they need to get fixed, or what type of shoes or garden tools they've bought in sales, or why exactly is Louise from the other bureau so annoying
. The basic and intermediate strategies of avoiding a word, those won't do anymore. The tons of "worthless and rare" words can make the whole difference between a boring beginner exercise, and a fascinating little anecdote from your life. -my writing skills are MUCH better, but it's almost exclusively medical writing and email writing. The disparity between my spoken French (better) and written French hasn't changed that much.
