You would think that when your next door neighbor and mom away from home comes for a visit that you would have a nice relaxing lunch and day of shopping. Not so, when she is also a language consultant and evaluator. She definitely made me work for my lunch.
The first test was buying a basket. Step 1: figuring out the word for basket. Step 2: trying to say that I want a small, square basket. Step 3: asking for a discount. Here’s the irony, the next day’s language class include shapes and information on bargaining and discounts. We did have success though, she did get a basket.
As we were leaving the shop, she gave me the encouraging pep talk: “Wow, you can say a lot more than I thought you would be able to at this point,” and “I only saw you turn red once, but it didn’t last very long.”
There were several more tests along the way as we shopped and took taxis to different locations. Most of the folks I talked to knew enough English for her to ask, “so, do you understand my friend when she talks to you?” I held my breath as I waited for a yes or no. . . Got all yes’s. Yippee Skippy!!
No comments:
Post a Comment