You’ve understood the second time around. The person always repeats what they’ve said and at this point there are two options:ġ) Success. OPTION 1: My first instinct is to say a simple “Sorry?” or “Can you please repeat what you said?” (in French of course).So what do I do when I don’t understand France?: Yes, it can be a little nerve-wracking when I don’t understand in French, but not understanding is the WORST when you’re in a group or are being singled out to talk in a crowded line at the bakery or some other social situation. If it’s just something on TV, something said by your mother-in-law or during a one on one conversation in a shop, it’s not that bad. But when you live here and don’t understand? Well, that’s just the worst feeling. The French almost expect dictionary wielding tourists to be lost and will help you out when they can. Not understanding what was said isn’t particularly embarrassing if you’re just a tourist passing through. Wayyy too complex.ġ9 Things that are true when you have a foreign accent > And people talking over each other is the worst. TV: Sometimes it’s just too fast with too much slang.Like specific healthcare reimbursement questions or income tax inquiries. Anything detailed on French policies I leave to Tom. Complicated subject matter: Literary discussions with lots of figurative, complicated ideas and expressions I don’t know.Some even do all three of these things at the same time to make our conversations extra amusing - for me. I don’t know if it’s due to the lack of dentures that fit or what, but all the senior citizens here seem to mumble, look down when they’re talking and use weird phrasing/expressions that just leave me lost. Mumblers (old people): I dread elevator conversations with the over 70 crowd in my building.If you have a heavy accent, I’ll be lost. But I digress… So while I understand 95% of what’s going on, there are some exceptions to this when I don’t understand in French: What do I need to do to bridge the barrier to fluency? Well, I’d have to watch a lot more TV, find some friends and MAKE TOM SPEAK ONLY IN FRENCH. Sure, I make mistakes, but my level at this point is advanced. I can talk about my ideas and dreams and recount what happened yesterday at an advanced level. I can go to any store, office, agency and take care of whatever needs to be done. I’m perfectly capable of interacting in any social situation and getting my point across. My level of French is actually quite good although I beat myself up about it just about daily. Oh and did I mention Tom is disgustingly fluent in English? So between the lack of friends and my job, I’m a tad isolated. I live in an apartment building full of retired people (not exactly the type to invite out on Saturday night) and work in English all day. after my work contract was up) and my life consists of talking with Tom and his family and small talk with shop keepers. Why? Well, I’ve been here since Christmas (was here in 2009 but returned to the U.S. My level of French is advanced, but I consider myself far from fluent. So what do I do when I get myself in a pickle and I do not understand French? Read on! I’ve made major improvements since then, but I still have instances when I don’t understand in French. I got a major wake-up call when I arrived and realized spoken French in real life is way harder than I thought. When I first came to France to live in 2009, my French was at an intermediate level from taking it in high school and at the Alliance Francaise and I thought I was OK. If your skills are a little rusty or non-existent, you’ll go from frustrated, to lost, to confused, to homesick and back again just about all the time. If you move to France and aren’t great at French, the French language will be one of the biggest hurdles you’ll face - especially if you live in an area where people don’t know English.
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