Communication achievement!
Feb. 2nd, 2014 09:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
highlyeccentricAchievement for the day: I managed to ascertain that the hoarse-voiced lady in the wheelchair wanted a push, and whither she wanted pushing.
I'm still not sure what she actually *said*. I didn't want to assume she needed pushing, even though she was going very slowly, and if she was asking for directions I don't know what directions she neeeded. But I got "if you have the time to help..." and she wanted to go to the crossing nearest the tram line. So I did that.
Meanwhile, I need to stop deferring toleareth as the Competent Adult when we're out, because then I don't pay close enough attention to the waitstaff to actually be able to rescue her and/or the waitstaff from language crises. It'd be one thing if my French was good enough to just swoop in, but I need to be paying attention and planning ahead! (This is not a common problem, but today she was having French-blank-brain, and I totally could've fixed it... if I'd been paying attention. Or if I didn't always default to assuming someone else should do the speaking instead of me.)
I'm still not sure what she actually *said*. I didn't want to assume she needed pushing, even though she was going very slowly, and if she was asking for directions I don't know what directions she neeeded. But I got "if you have the time to help..." and she wanted to go to the crossing nearest the tram line. So I did that.
Meanwhile, I need to stop deferring to
leareth as the Competent Adult when we're out, because then I don't pay close enough attention to the waitstaff to actually be able to rescue her and/or the waitstaff from language crises. It'd be one thing if my French was good enough to just swoop in, but I need to be paying attention and planning ahead! (This is not a common problem, but today she was having French-blank-brain, and I totally could've fixed it... if I'd been paying attention. Or if I didn't always default to assuming someone else should do the speaking instead of me.)