optimistic follow up

So over the next day or two after I posted about the two ratings of my French ability I came to a realization that how you are "rated" is dependent on your level.

That sounds weird but let me explain.  When I lived in England for a school year in undergrad I had a bunch of non-English speaking friends and flatmates.  So one day one of my friends (left call her "A") commented on how people rated her English.  She said that whenever she asked someone how her English was we would say it is "good" (my self included), but that A thought that another mutual friend (lets call her B), who spent most of her time with her friends of the same nationality, had worse English than she did though everyone told B that her English was also "good."  Well it was true that's A's English was significantly better than B's.  That is when I realized that A's English was "good" in regards to someone how is basically fluent, while B's was "good" in terms of someone who is learning and struggling a bit.  Now we weren't intentionally being confusing we were just naturally putting them in categories/levels before we then rated them.  Therefore, when I am at the level of "tourist" I am rated really well, but when I am rated as "someone who uses French daily and 'should' be fluent" I have some work to do.  So my optimistic realization was that I had made the transition from "tourist" or "short-term visitor" to the next level up and in accordance to the next level I am only sorta so-so (comme-ci comme ca).  So hurrah!! my French is improving (which I know but it is nice I have some confirmation).  

On a related note - I am also trying to pick up some habits that are going to improve my French.  The first is I have started to read the second Harry Potter in French - sans le version original.  So far it is going pretty well.  I don't understand everything but I was able to work things out.