Lost in Translation

Today I had to call France.  You would think after going to France multiple times and taking French lessons for a long time as a small child I would remember SOMETHING.  Not so much.  I realized I remember the alphabet, how to count, and how to say "My name is...", "Do you speak...," and "How are you?"  I had hoped that my limited vocabulary could at least get me directed to *someone* who spoke English.

Nope.

I call France.  BTW, the ring for international calls is annoying.  Someone answers with what I believe was the company name, but he spoke so fast that I'm not totally sure.

I say, "Bonjour.  Je m'appelle Melanie.  Parlez-vous anglais?"

Man:  "No."  Then he said something so quickly in French that I didn't even catch a single word that I recognized.

I say, "Je ne comprends pas."  Meaning, I do not understand.

Man:  Makes a strange noise and then starts talking more.

Me: "Je ne comprends pas.  Anglais?  Anyone?"

Man:  "Yes.  English.  I speak little."

Then we proceed to have a conversation that is half in French and half in English.  But, it turned out that my memory of French numbers and letters was 100% necessary to the conversation.  Seriously.  I'm honestly not totally sure what he said because it seemed like all of the important parts were in French.  Figures.  I did confirm that we were talking about the same thing and that he will be sending me an e-mail tomorrow.  I may be making use of a French translator tomorrow. 

Too bad I wasn't calling Spain.  I can definitely hold a coherent conversation in Spanish.  But, this call to France made me wonder why I ever dropped French and switched to Spanish in high school.  And, I also realized that it's amazing what the brain forgets over time.  I went to France in 5th grade and was fully capable of speaking the language enough that I was able to get by for a month.  Now...I remember only a few phrases.  Maybe one day I'll try and brush up on my foreign language skills.