Si or Oui?

It's not what you think.

I'm in California, where English is a second language and Spanish is the spoken word. Yikes, I'm barely dealing with my french noun-verb agreement and now I'm thrown into Spanish.

I know a few pleasantries. I can't read or write a thing in Spanish.

I'm dealing with expats who are the "trades" working on the renovation of my Mom's house. I have Zak, the Palestinian. We are OK, he can speak, read and write English and he is polite and culturally American. No idea how long he's lived here.

But, the rest of the group are hispanics. They communicate in Spanish. So, when the guy was measuring the kitchen for the new granite, he asked me if "lunes" (SP) was OK for delivery. I quickly translated "lunes" into "lundi" into "Monday" and said, "Oui". A huge question mark appeared on everyone's faces. What did I say???? I answered him in French. Then, I had to try to explain in my non-existant Spanish. Me yamo Sherry (SP) won't do, nor will, "Donde esta los banyos". I feel like it's 2002 in Paris. I am getting sweaty and everyone is looking at me until I realize that "Oui" is "Si" in Spanish. Of course, "si" in french is a contradictory yes and I never use it because if I did, I would have to defend my contradiction in french and I don't have that much life left in me.

We finally work out "si" and the granite is ordered, and even more remarkably, it arrives on Monday. I feel tri-lingual for a brief moment.

In working with a renovation in US, I realize all the subtle differences between this work and our recent work in France. The language barrier is consistent. Even if I was relatively fluent in French, the terms for building are new to me. And, in California, it's mostly Spanish. Culturally it's quite different too. If I have an issue to discuss with a contractor in the US, I speak my mind and the contractor will say "yes" and then decide on his own whether to actually abide by this "yes" or not. I will never know unless I check. In France if I request something or question something, the tradesman flies into an immediate tantrum, screaming and flapping his arms. The basis of the emotion is that "I have no confidence in him". Of course, this is true, but you have to deny it or he will walk off the job, with your deposit, never to return again.

So, in general, despite the linguistic challenges, I am doing better in the US when it comes to a home renovation.

Note that I am "nul" in Spanish, so my spelling might be completely wrong. I meant to say, "my name is Sherry" and "where are the bathrooms", two of the most important phrases in any language, in my opinion.