Skip to main content

English at the playground

As a language-obsessed person, I want B to also learn different languages. Since his parents are natives of two different languages, of course he's learned both (English and Polish) so that - most importantly - he can communicate with his grandparents and relatives. I speak to him in English even when we are out and about. Especially at playgrounds, this always gets the same response.

1. Ambitious child.
This one is my favorite response, because it's usually so random. Kids will recognize that I'm speaking English and will blurt out the first words that come to mind. The best was when a girl started singing Rain, Rain Go Away.

2. Staring.
Usually this is from a child, who hears that I'm not speaking Polish and may mention that to a friend or parent. But usually it's just staring. Sometimes it's an adult who stated, but then it usually leads to the next point.

3. Ambitious parent
The parent recognizes that I'm speaking English and wants their kid to listen and learn or take example or something. The exchange usually goes like this:
Parent: Piotruś, did you hear the lady speaking English? What words did you hear? You should listen.
Piotruś: Wut?

Of course, most ignore me and most don't think I speak Polish also. Playground season is coming up soon, so maybe I'll meet more people with different reactions.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Queen of the Night - Alexander Chee

I'm a big fan of opera, so after reading the book's description, I was very interested. The book is this: Lilliet Berne is a famous opera in Paris, but she has a hidden past that only four people know about. An original role is presented to her that turns out to be based on her hidden past. The plot of the story is Lilliet going through her past - from a child in America to a hippodrome rider to a courtesan to a maid to a singer - to figure out who's told her secrets. The one big thing that bothered me about this book: all throughout, she was very clever recreating herself and finding the necessary connections to keep herself alive and safe. Except at the end - suddenly she becomes totally clueless. I also have basically no knowledge of France and French, so the references were sometimes lost on me. The big gossip that I am, I loved the intrigue and drama that made up Lilliet's life, though many parts were just sad. The text is a bit dense and har...

Returning

Well, I spent the second half of 2018 in the hospital. You'd think I would've been bored and blogged more, but nope. I was bored, but didn't feel like doing anything. All that time in a Polish hospital, especially as an American, was very... Interesting. I learned a lot - like how to be patient - and actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Maybe this time I'll actually keep going with the blog stuff ? I'm thinking of doing a challenge this year: the A-Z Challenge, and reading one book for each letter of the alphabet. I'm currently working on the letter S, but I don't like the book. Here's a list of what I read in the hospital: Glennkill Half a King Half the World Half a War Mord im Orient Express Scrappy Little Nobody Norse Mythology Howl's Moving Castle Kiss Quotient Bad Bachelor Cream of the Crop - didn't like, didn't finish Caraval Bad Bachelor 2 Heat Wave Unquiet Past Invisib...

Born A Crime - Trevor Noah

It's pretty apparent from the books I've read in the past that I'm a fan of the Daily Show . I was a huge fan of it when Jon Stewart hosted and, like most, I was a bit wary of the change - I had never heard of Trevor Noah before. His first show was awkward, but I kept watching and now am an even bigger fan of Trevor Noah as the host. If you quit watching after Jon Stewart left or if you're not so sure about watching: just go watch. I've read a lot of books-from-television this year. And this is another one of those. It's a completely different book from what I had expected, but Born a Crime by Trevor Noah is so very much worth the read. This book is a-ma-zing. I had expected (again, not really fully reading the book's summary before reading) a book similar to the memoirs that other comedians have written - a book that touches on the comedian's childhood, but moves quickly onto their career and experiences at work. Not this book, and that'...