Monday, August 07, 2006

Did it

Well I said I had an exam, I was really nervous. I was sure my french would let me down. I was allowed to make 5 errors on 40, no more than that.
We left Monaco in a car with an 18 year old girl first time behind the wheel. Given that driving in Monaco is difficult the best of times, and at one stage she let go the wheel and laughed nervously, instead of breaking gently, well you can understand why I was a nervous wreck by the time I got to Menton. The trip took about half an hour or 40 minutes and the distance was about 15km ( I think). The instructor ran through the questions before hand. I managed to get all of them wrong. Boy was I confident? NO! We waited around for an hour, went in and I worried when the tester examined my passport. Maybe this was another French civil servant who didn't know European law. The exam started and it was okay. Then I forgot to validate a question with the button and I panicked. There were lots of different types of questions. I didn't do well. One or two I didn't understand at all but I took a stab at the answer.
We handed in our zappers (look like remote controls) at the end and the results were printed off, given to the instructor, and he took us outside. He turned to each one of us, he shook his head, 'Sept Fauts'7 faults 'non', '6 fauts, non', My God and some of these people, well it was the 3rd or 4th time they had tried, and it was my first, he looked at me, .........ca va, and continued. One of the younger students I didn't know jumped up and whacked me on the back. I was speechless. I had passed. I was so proud of myself. 3 years struggling in French being told I am no good, being corrected all the time, and my faults being pointed out as faults and errors that only I posess, and being scolded, for not speaking perfectly when no one around me communicates perfectly, anyway 3 years and I managed something a lot of french people don't manage in the first go. ..............well lets just say I was on air and I still am.

On another note, I am cracking up laughing realising my last post was 69, it must have been fruedian or something. I do wonder what he meant when he spoke about the Irish. I wonder was it an amazing complement, out and out racism or an admission that his science wasn't exactly perfect?

6 comments:

Camilla said...

Better to be in Monaco than Morocco with a first time driver. I would hate to yell, "Belah" out the window.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, bro! I can relate.. was 47 when I did mine! Don't let the big 40 get you down.. it's just another milestone. My life has apparently just begun at 48!.... hugs, hon :)

sysfixr said...

Hello from Canada! stumbled across your blog thru NEO. Interesting page, and congrats on passing french! :)
GuelphCAM

Anonymous said...

Well done hon! And will you stop going on about being 40? You are not even 39 yet!

Anonymous said...

Well done Man, hey I failed mine this year here in Ireland, so passing yours in french?? truly an achievement, as for age? I still think myself 18 so you can't be much older, cos you were always my littlest uncle! lol

Jim

Warrior said...

sounds like my little nephew needs a slap in the back of the head ;)