CHALLENGE №7

 “Learning another language is like becoming another person.” – Haruki Murakami

  My 7^th challenge was to pretend to be a foreigner and speak English in the  shop. I went to the fruit shop because there I could have the opportunity to talk a lot with shop assistants rather than in the supermarket. I think this task was difficult because I was afraid that they could understand that I was pretending. I greeted a seller in English. It was funny to observe his puzzled face because he was trying to realize where I was from. I did my best not to laugh. I asked him to give me a kilo of green apples, a kilo of bananas and grapes. He did not understand what I said and he looked totally lost. I started to feel guilty of my actions, but I repeated what I needed again. He managed to catch a word “bananas” and put them in a packet. Then I was getting tired and uncomfortable because I was purchasing for too long. There were other customers who were waiting, that is why I just pointed at apples and grapes and said “Give me those, please!” I paid for fruits by a credit card and went home with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I was proud of myself as I learned to be more confident, on the other hand, I was so embarrassed of myself. Anyway, it was a funny and interesting experience that I will remember fondly in a few years.