Well, it was only the one small step for me yesterday when I went for a simple check up at the hospital, on my own. The brilliant thing was I conducted the whole interview with the Specialist in French and understood everything. On my return home Malc asked if the Doctor spoke English, well I will never know as the question never arose. As always it seems at hospitals one has to wait a short while to be seen but I got talking to a guy in the waiting room who was an' Aveyronais agriculteur" with 40 cows in the process of calving. Cows have a gestation period the same as humans of nine months, unlike donkeys who can be 12 to 14 months. I only made one error, that caused misunderstanding when I was telling the man about the pictures of Aveyron cows that last summer they had at Najac. I always muddle placard with panneau, always do it. Well you all know a placard is a cupboard and what is a cupboard full of cows doing in Najac the man must have thought. I did though quickly remember my error and it gave us a laugh.
Do not be afraid to talk French, it is the way you learn and generally French people are so pleased to hear you try that they help you with your mistakes.
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