In my first post, I revealed a few situations that happened to me and many of my bilingual and multilingual friends. Although some of these situations happened to us at the most unexpected times, how we chose to react to them, how we let them affect us and even how we chose to remember them were all up to us. We stayed focus on what really matters just as pointed out by Epictetus in his famous quote:

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters”

In this part 2 of those hilarious situations, I will continue to have fun sharing a few more situations that happened and that have become a source of laughter for myself, my family and my friends.

1- People trying to guess my nationality

I think it is really funny when people are trying to guess where I am from. The hint of excitement in their voices, followed by their puzzled expressions even after I clarified the matter for them, and their unwillingness to give up on their efforts to explain their guess goes beyond my knowledge. I remember meeting this very sweet and charming lady at an event. In the midst of introducing ourselves to each other, she exclaimed: ” Oh my God, I love your accent!“. With a slightly intimidated smile, I answered “Thank you“. Then she asked” Are you Jamaican? no no no…” , she continued vividly without letting me answer, “ I think you are from Africa because you kind of have a French accent? ” Amused, I kindly answered ” No, I am Haitian . And pensive with a high pitch voice she said, “oh really, I really thought you were African!“. “Hummm, no, I am Haitian“, I said. Then, with a defeated demeanor, she started telling me how she knew that one girl who was Jamaican and then another one who was African. For some odd reason, I felt like she needed a win and told her “ Well, for the record, I do speak French as it is one of our official languages”. Suddenly, her face brighten with a large smile of satisfaction just like a child being rewarded.

2- The joy and the excitement of hearing a forgotten words

I was recently talking to a friend whom I have met through another lady who caught the similarities in our accent ( guessing again where I was from lol) and put us in contact. When we were finally able to meet we talked for hours jumping from one topic to another. As we were talking and laughing at so many memories from home, we were also discovering this brand new friendship. The excitement of finding each other and the energy our conversation could be spotted miles away. Every single time a word such as  ” demagoji” or ” Kokoday” or “Malfwendeng” or “Tèt bochèt” or “ti bray la” (please do not ask me to translate lol) that I haven’t heard in years would surface, I would giggle and jump with joy. We would laugh so hard at the meaning of the word itself and how good it felt to not only hear it but being able to use it. It was music to my ears and food for my soul. It felt like receiving a surprise gift that your heart knew you have always wanted.  I was euphoric. That joy was mutual and immeasurable.

3- Mixing languages when speaking

Having two children whom we are eager to teach all three languages that my husband and I speak, brings a lot of fun in our home. We often tend to mix Creole, French and English for multiple purposes like there is no tomorrow lol.

  1. I often laugh at my children’s awkward pronunciation of the words that were basic for me at their age. Mostly as way to get back at my son  because he enjoys making me repeat certain English words such as “hamburger” too many times too lol.
  2. My husband and I found ourselves reverting to English whenever we need a quick and immediate reaction. For those of you who have or have had a toddler, you understand the urgency behind the need to have them get off of the table or to not stick their little finger in the outlet plug or to not eat the play doh lol.
  3. It is also a fun way for them to learn new words and to practice the other languages without pressure: “Give me de l’eau s’il vous plait” ( Give me some water please)  and to help them understand the various meaning of homonyms: “Kale zoranj lan” ( Peel the orange) and “ Tèt kale” (Bald head) .

4- Commenting in a public area in your native language and getting an unexpected response

A couple years ago, my family and I ( just three of us at that time) were at the San Diego Zoo and we decided to hop on the bus for a quick tour ride to rest our feet. As the guide was talking about the different sights the bus stopped, we looked around and suddenly felt a little nostalgic and said in creole: “How come we have not met any Haitians so far?”. Then this couple who was a few seats down answered in creole “Oh yeah, we are Haitians!”. My husband and I looked at each other surprised and we all started laughing and joking about the situation. We were laughing about many other awkward situations of speaking in your native language and getting a response out of nowhere. Later that day we were grateful for our innocent comment because things could have been very different. Until today, everywhere we go my husband would make random small comments in the hope to get a response from a fellow Haitian lol.

Languages are a beautiful way to communicate and yet can offer as much fun and dilemma for many. The latest New American Community Survey Statistics report that over 20% of Americans speak another language other than English at home. More and more people are taking interest into learning a new language. Nowadays, more languages are being included in official correspondence with the objective to reach more of the population and for more accurate data. According to the new measures adopted by census, we can see the various languages of the 2020 Census is offering to target more of the population.

Whether you are bilingual, multilingual or not, you might have found yourself in one or two of those situations below on either end. Tell me, How did you react? How did you feel?

Remember whether it is one of the above situations or any other arguably embarrassing ones it’s not what happens that matters, its how you react to it. Choose your reaction!

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