I burned out a brake light bulb on the motorhome the other day and we stopped at a Ford dealer where I hoped to replace it. Claude was following me so we both went up to the store where an employee was outside taking a break. I showed him the burned out bulb and asked him if they had a parts department. He started speaking rapid Spanish that I did not have a hope of following. I asked him again in a bit simpler manner and got the same response. This time Claude understood and started walking away with me following. As we walked back to the motorhomes he told me what the guy had said. The only problem was, he translated the whole conversation into French! I let him go on for a bit and nudged him. He looked at me and I said, “Claude, you are speaking French! The Spanish was just as easy for me to understand”. We had a good laugh and he told me in English that it was a holiday and the Parts Department was closed. It must be nice to be tri-lingual! I have no excuses!
Great story!
ReplyDeleteWe were living in the Netherlands and taking Dutch classes. Our friend, who learned German when he was there in the air force, was very proud of his Dutch. One day in a meeting the Dutch people gradually all started speaking German and our friend didn't even notice! Of course I imagine his Dutch was half German to start with.