Oui oui... hohn hohn

At work I speak English with my boss and French with Britney. Our clients are mixed – some English, some French, and German in Zurich (with whom I speak English). I’m totally comfortable speaking French with Britney because I know she likes me anyway, but I used to be scared to speak to others. I am now also over my fear of speaking to strangers. After many days and nights at SwissCom, speaking to the plumber, electrician, health insurance lady, apartment agency, and deadbolt people, among others, I’m totally over the nervousness of speaking to people I will never see again.

And now, I have officially communicated solely in French with three of our clients. And not just a quick email, this is full on audit French. Chargeable hours. And I have understood most of it. Go me!

This morning I was on my way to a client on the other side of Geneva. I took the bus, got off, and walked down towards where Google Maps said I should go. I walked around for a bit carrying my little laptop and files in a weird industrial part of town with a highway through the middle. Eventually I called the client because I was late and had already gone in two circles. I didn’t understand all of his French directions (combination of being on the phone, next to a highway, and he probably used a key word I didn’t know), but I started walking in the direction I thought I was supposed to go. I was getting frustrated and had a why-am-I-here moment (not to say I’ve never had those in, say, Tacoma at a client). About 20 minutes later the CFO at the client calls my cell phone and says he’s going to come pick me up. For the same reasons mentioned above, I couldn’t understand all of what he said when he described where to meet him. And, sure enough, I had been walking in the opposite direction. He had to call me two more times to figure out where I was. Anyway, it was pretty not cool to have to be picked up by the client to go to his office this morning. And I’m usually not directionally challenged. Dang.

And then tonight, as it was pouring rain, I couldn’t find my connecting bus stop. I waited on the corner for my bus hoping I would see where it would stop only to see it whoosh by me at full speed. I still couldn’t find the stop, so I ended up walking to the next one. In the rain, in flats, and carrying three bags of stuff. My hair is now frizzy, to say the least. Total loser.

Last week I received my report card from my French class, however, and now I’m a “beginning advanced”. Wouldn’t know it today, but yay!