Here's why it was awkward

Last night I went out to dinner with some of the teachers from one of my schools. It went from 8pm to midnight and most of it I just sat trying to follow the conversation but not really being able to contribute anything. I actually really enjoyed myself, but it was fun trying to analyze the awkwardness.

First, following the conversation between French people is a lot harder than understanding the language when it's directed at you. Usually they know I'm American so they slow down and probably use easier words, or after the third time I say "pardon?" they just assume I'm an idiot and the result is the same. But when they are talking to each other they are talking at full speed, and I don't always catch the words.

Even when I do hear all the words being spoken, I might not have the vocabulary.

A lot of the times though, I understand all the individual words, but they're strung together in some idiomatic expression that I don't know, so I end up not having any idea what they are actually trying to say.

On another level, even when I understand the words and their meaning, I don't have the social and cultural background to really get it. Things that are not normal are funny, often, so the teachers would make a joke about an off the wall request from a parent for example, and they'd all laugh. But I don't yet have a strong grasp of what is normal in French society. Or they might make a reference to an old French rock band, and all I hear is the name, Téléphone, and I assume they are talking about telephones.

Teachers have a culture of their own too, which I am even further from understanding. And all of these teachers have been colleagues for a while, so they might talk about their students and I would neither recognize their names nor know anything about the kid's background.

Finally, in general, I am just not very good at wedging myself into conversations, even in my own country and in English. So maybe I am just making excuses.

But the restaurant was really cool. They had olive oil and vinegar in spray bottles, and it was literally right on on the beach.

In other news, I wrote a song. I realized that the younger kids weren't even following the "What's your name?" conversation (and by conversation I mean one question and one answer). So I've decided to put aside trying to teach the CP and CE1 students how to speak English and just do my best to expose them to the language a bit. And that exposure has to be fun--bust out my camp counselor skills. It's based on a song in Chinese, with the same tune:

Look and look and look and look.

Look for a new friend.

Say "Hello."

"What's your name?"

"How are you today, friend?"