Yeepee!
I just finished an oral test for my French class and got a 99%! This is great because I was simply terrified of it! I hate oral examinations of any kind. I become extremely anxious if I draw a blank. The longer the blank, the worse I feel, the more anxious I get, and as a result I draw a complete blank! I become aware of the pressing silence and can't stop thinking about it long enough to gather my thoughts! Eeeeeeek!
But I didn't draw any blanks today, so I am very happy! My prof is French, so she speaks English with a very thick accent. Sometimes I don't quite understand everything she says, but mostly I get by. :o) It's funny, but because English is my second language, any accent at all, even a southern American accent throws me for a loop. Hispanic accents make my head spin, for example, and Asian accents completely knock me out.
A few years ago, I worked with a very nice girl from China. She was a software engineer whose office was just three doors down from mine. We really liked each other but could only have meaningful conversations through email. :o) We tried going to lunch together once and it was a complete disaster. We sat accross from one another at a nice cafe, and every time she spoke I was completely lost. Nothing, I mean nothing was registering with me, so I kept nodding like an idiot silently begging Father Time to just... hurry... on! Needless to say, we didn't do that again.
But I didn't draw any blanks today, so I am very happy! My prof is French, so she speaks English with a very thick accent. Sometimes I don't quite understand everything she says, but mostly I get by. :o) It's funny, but because English is my second language, any accent at all, even a southern American accent throws me for a loop. Hispanic accents make my head spin, for example, and Asian accents completely knock me out.
A few years ago, I worked with a very nice girl from China. She was a software engineer whose office was just three doors down from mine. We really liked each other but could only have meaningful conversations through email. :o) We tried going to lunch together once and it was a complete disaster. We sat accross from one another at a nice cafe, and every time she spoke I was completely lost. Nothing, I mean nothing was registering with me, so I kept nodding like an idiot silently begging Father Time to just... hurry... on! Needless to say, we didn't do that again.