I should know better than to try to talk to anyone when I have a migraine. In English. Let alone French.
But this morning when I took Kaitlyn to school, I was overwhelmed with the sudden desire to ask a question. When her teacher said bonjour, Kaitlyn giggled and hid behind me. It’s a daily… and annoying… ritual of hers. So today, I decided I just had to know if Kaitlyn acts this way all day long, or if it’s a treat just for me.
First I asked if I’m not speaking here, does Kaitlyn speak French? Well, that was nonsense and the look on the teaching assistant’s face confirmed that. So I quickly tried to correct myself. If I’m not have here, does she speak French? As I said it, I knew it was wrong. But I couldn’t figure out why. (If you care: instead of saying je suis i said je est which doesn’t exist and came out like j’ai) The assistant saved her language from another butchering by figuring out what I meant. oh, oui, elle parle boucoup. Mais, en americanne, pas francais.
And when I left, she probably figured she knew why!