Lost in Translation

I admit I am language challenged. I took 6 years of French and did not think I remembered anything until I started learning Spanish and then I realized I retained way more French words that come out of my mouth when I am searching for the Spanish word. My language challenges often result in interesting situations.

This language issue has led to unrecognizable food in Korea, a week worth of carbonated water in the Netherlands that caused major stomach distress and countless wandering around a town looking for a street or museum and having to ask a bunch of people for the same location and never getting a direct answer that I understand.

Last July, our lack of a command of the French language led to a one hour boat ride that went to 5 ports instead of a 20 minute with 1 stop. That problem was OK as we were tired of walking around the city and were cruising on the beautiful Lake Leman.

This trip to Paraguay led me to be in a car on the side of the road thinking I was being kidnapped. After pointing and yelling "Jota Cee Eee (JCI)" over and over and repeating the hotel name, a call was made to Fredrico (the head of the conference) who told me in English that I was with his body guard and a police officer and we were waiting for an escort that would be there shortly and we would head directly to the hotel. If only I understood Spanish, I would not have been looking for sharp objects in my bag!

So, I can tell you, when I have a kid, I will be sending them to language lessons as soon as they say "Mommy!" It certainly will lead to less confusion!