The Inevitable Stages of a Second Language Carpool

 1. Walking to the carpool feeling optimistic and prepared. I can do this.

 

 

2. Nailing that "Buenos Días" and feeling basically fluent.

 

 

 

3. Successfully answering questions like a normal human.

 

4. The questions get faster. Or there's unexpected follow-up questions. I get flustered.

 

 

5. Struggling to remember my vocabulary

 

 

6. Desperately searching for the correct verb conjugation but trying to act cool.

 

7. Or the dreaded "failure to respond to the question you thought was a statement" situation that every language learner knows all too well.

8. Feeling thoroughly embarrassed and deciding its best to be seen and not heard. I'll just listen to the conversation.

 

9. Deciding who to listen to because I can't understand everyone all at once and they all talk at the same time. 

 

 

 

 

10. Maybe if I just listen, like, really hard?

 

11. Debating whether my Spanish is that bad or they are talking in Galician. Please just be Galician.

 

12. Oh I know that word! I know what we're talking about!

13. But I have know idea what you're all saying about it. UGH.

 

14. Wow, now that I know curse words, you guys really swear a lot.

15. Catching myself zoning out. I need to focus. This is important practice.

16. Tuning it all out and realizing I've spent 20 minutes thinking about the fog outside and missed everything and have no idea what's happening.

 

17. Well, time's up. Nothing to do but crush that "Gracias, chao" on the way out.