"la transaction, what???"

Bonjour!! In picking back up today with the random fact friday initiative, I thought a general area that would be fun to talk about, that I bet a lot of us fall into, is knowing (or even sorta knowing) a second language. I'd love to know how many of you fit into this group, and too, your interest/background of the language! And the regular PDF is below for those wanting to keep up with their RFF facts personally.

So, this week's random/interesting fact for me: I can speak a little French. 

I took two years in high school and two semesters in college. So when I say "little," I mean, just enough to be dangerous. Just enough to make me confident enough to step out there and act like I know what I'm talking about. Literally.

In early April, some of you who are my friends on Facebook may recall that I was baited by an ATM machine to complete a transaction in French. I just thought it'd be fun to try and test my French skills in this not-yet-attempted way. And for whatever reason, I really thought I could do it. The short story was: it didn't work. Following, are rounds one and two of, to quote the legendary Paul Harvey, "the rest of the story."

post-French-fail photo on the drive home; we thought this kinda summarized the mood of the weekend; Courtney and I being silly/laughing over whatever, and good ol' David just thinking, "what am I gonna do with these two??" :) 

round one

Setting: At the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg, TN with work pals, David and Courtney, about to get back on the road to Birmingham after a conference we'd been a part of. They only take cash, and the ATM is located inside by tables and near the cash register. Since I never keep cash on hand, I had to use it. And I really can't even pretend to know the last time I used an ATM. Which proves to complicate this endeavor . . . 

I walk up to it with Courtney, who, in addition to being a great co-worker, is also one of my so-fun best friends who easily brings out the silly in me. We are regularly laughing over little to nothing, and our conversation started like this: 

Me, walking up and seeing the welcome screen and four language options: 

"OOH. I wanna try it in French and test my French skills!"

Courtney, with raised eyebrows and sarcastic thought bubble, "this should be fun."

Going through the first screen, I can tell I'm supposed to type in my pin, so I do. Check.

Next screen goes to the options for the type of transaction you want to make, so I turn and say to Courtney, "Now . . . what all can you do on an ATM???" (really, I can't think of the last time I used one, so I really couldn't remember the options.) We laugh.

So then I'm staring at the screen trying to figure out root words/syllables for what might make sense for "withdrawals and deposits." And there was a third and fourth option, but I thought surely, those two main transactions would have to be at the top, so I just eliminated the last two altogether (mistake #1 . . . orrrrr #2, depending on how you view the whole thing).

After I guess I selected "withdrawal", I got to a screen to type in how much I wanted to take out-- which I thought was a little odd not to get the automatic choices of $20, $40, $60, etc., (I did remember that much), but thought, "whatever" and typed in $20 and just kept going.

Courtney standing on the sideline, still laughing. 

Next screen took me to two choices that were "oui" and "non" . . . I do know that's "yes" and "no", and since I didn't know what the question was, I selected "non." (I mean, who's gonna agree to something they can't really read and understand, right??" ha...) Well, I think I said "no" to accepting the ATM fee, or maybe to not transferring money to another account. I don't know. So it cancelled my transaction. UGH. I was bummed.

We laughed though, at my rejection and at this quick little chain of events . . . BUT, not being one to give up that easily, I of course tried it a second time . . .

A preview of the end result. My receipt. In French. Pretty much unreadable to the novice French speaker. 

round two

I once again, confidently select "French" -- which Courtney didn't know I was going to do, so she starts laughing with a "what???" unbelieving response at this move (we were pretty much laughing through this whole saga, if you can't tell). And right after I made this move, a couple walked up behind me, in line for the ATM as well. Courtney was a little worried about how much time I was going to take to do this, but I wasn't. For one, I knew for sure it would work this time, and I still wanted to have fun with it and see. (I mean, they were probably on vacation, right?? And who's in a hurry on vacation?) :)

So, I get the pin screen again and am reading the instructions out loud and say, "okay, type in pin. # # # #." 

Courtney: "Michelle! Don't say your pin out loud!!!!," laughing at me . . . 

Me, not realizing I did that: "OH!" hahahaha . . . (cue shoulder rise and slump) "Oh well." And shrug it off. I am trying to stay focused after all.

Next screen, I select the other transaction option that evidently IS "withdrawal" because now I DO get the automatic $20, $40, $60, etc. options. (feeling good!!) So I select $20.

Next screen, I think is the "do you agree to this terminal's fee", aka, the "oui" or "non" question . . . and as I think I've figured that out now, I select, "oui."

I then get a message screen that appears to say "transaction in process". Now, you can imagine my joy at this point, thinking I've figured this one out!! I was so proud of myself! So we're laughing about it, and I'm all smiles, waiting on my $20 to pop out, when all of a sudden . . . the screen gives me the equivalent of an error message that starts with "La Transaction, blah blah blah . . . " And it disappeared pretty quickly.

To which I then *gasp*, and say out loud in a frustrated response, "la transaction, WHAT???", in probably a most southern, pained, and high-pitched way, with my eyebrows pursed and head cocked to side in confusion, just staring at the screen in disbelief. "UGH!!!" 

And at this point, Courtney is doubled over laughing, and in tears. And of course I start laughing pretty hard too at just the idea (and okay, maybe the absurdity), of it all, and take the receipt it spit out to me IN French, IN response to the failed transaction . . . which of course, I can't read. 

re-enacting the "la transaction, WHAT????" face ;) 

accepting defeat

I'd like to say I was more concerned with hurrying for the sake of the people standing behind me, so I proceeded to finish in English . . . but truthfully, I was afraid if I tried it a third time to see where I went wrong, Wells Fargo would have direct dialed my cell with a fraud alert of some French person attempting to use my Alabama banking debit card in vacation mecca, 9-million-visitors-a-year, Gatlinburg. 

So not wanting to be shut out of my own account or have to explain all of this to an operator, I opted for standard, old, everyday English (somewhat deflated). But I quickly and easily got my $20. And in the process, laughed off a good many of those indulgent pancake calories I had so enjoyed just moments earlier :) 

this week's question

So do you speak a language other than your native? How well, and what is it? When did you learn it, and do you have any interesting learning/speaking the language stories? Here's the downloadable PDF you can write or type into. And as always, I invite you to share a comment below!

If you're looking to practice or learn a new language, my new favorite app for that is Duolingo. I've been using it on my phone since last month (obviously inspired) and love it. It's free, interactive, and fun! I'd encourage you to check it out or share any others here that you've found beneficial. 

Au revoir!!!