well i can get by in France/Luxembourg/Belgium with gestures support…

people always tell me how the French are rude to people who don’t speak French but maybe cos i’m Asian they don’t expect it and are usually very nice and patient with me while i try to express myself like a child… and most of the time they do speak English hahahaha (i know because i eventually give up trying)

i can communicate more than the basics, i think?? there was once while lining up for a restaurant, i managed to convey why i learnt German (to study) and why my friends and i were in this random little French city Rennes (to watch world-class badminton). well, i think they understood because they also paraphrased in correct French and i nodded enthusiastically while repeating “oui oui oui oui oui oui”

i can read better so during the Paris Olympics, when some signages were only in French, i could get the gist of it. most importantly, i know most of the time what i am ordering to send into my stomach without needing to translate, which honestly saves a lot of time and surprises

some recently proud moments: i was travelling in French-speaking places with European-looking people (read: white) so the locals automatically talk to them, mais s’il vous plâit, the person with the best French skills c’est moi

duolingo claims that i’m at intermediate level though i have just been doing the bare minimum to keep my streak alive; i was once on a 70+ quests streak and since breaking it, idgaf anymore :(

so i have been looking for other ways to improve my French, particularly in listening… might start watching stuff with French subtitles hmm

anyway i am wondering if i can start telling people that this is a language i speak o.O