Parlez vous Français?

Did I tell you how lucky I am to be travelling to Belgium and Paris with my sister who speaks French? I took 4 years of French and can only remember a few things.  Of course my reasons for taking French in high school were not at all practical.  It's a  beautiful and romantic language, but when would I ever use it? Who knows, maybe someday I'll be having croissants in a cafe in Paris and I can call out "garçon!" Maybe that someday is next week!

The only time I remember using French was in college, with a colleague, Claudia.  Say that five times fast.  Claudia and I did our undergraduate research in a laboratory at the university.  We would use it as our "secret" language to discuss things that we didn't want anyone else to understand.

One day, the phone rang and I answered it.  On the other end of the line was a gentleman who spoke with a heavy, obviously French accent.  He asked for another lab mate, Lauren.  I handed her the phone.  She then begins to speak to the gentleman in perfect, fluent French!! Both Claudia and I turned to each other with a look of horror and surprise! What have we been saying to each other this whole semester? Did she hear us? Did she understand us? And how much did we butcher her language? I'm sure my French teach, M. Brownstone would have been very disappointed.

Monsieur Brownstone

I'm sure it wasn't that bad.  But I seem to recall the most scandalous thing I might have said in our secret language was "Il a un mari aussi."  Now, with the magic of google translate, it appears I said "He has a husband also."  Yeah, Lauren had no clue what we were talking about.

That will teach me to never use French as a "secret" language ever again.  That's my reason why I don't try to speak French anymore, especially in front of someone named Lauren.

Since 2016 is near approaching, I think learning a new language will be one of my resolutions.  This year I'm going to learn Japanese.  I've already started with some CDs from the library - a great way to get some free educational materials.  I listen to the CDs in the car as I'm driving around town.

Once I feel confident enough, I found a Japanese Speaking meetup group to practice.  My son will be in Japan for the next three years, so hopefully the next time I go I'll be able to say more than just "Engo wa wakarimas ka?" or "Do you understand English?"