“I am pregnant.”
Showing off my new ability to speak French to my fluent friend, I was so proud of myself…until she busted up laughing. My bubble of pride quickly deflated, making that annoying tooting sound. Instead of stating after a delicious meal, “I’m so full!” I had mistakenly announced I was having a baby. Nice. Time to go back to my audio lessons.
At the end of this month, Jay and I are going to celebrate our 20th anniversary with an amazing week-long stay in the eternal City of Lights. I’ve never been to Paris, and I simply cannot wait. And what does every Type-A overachiever do when going to Paris? Learn the language, of course! Mais bien sur! I’ve played a French person in a play once and pulled off an amazing accent, so that’s the same thing, right?!
I’m as clueless as Joey in the sitcom “Friends” who was absolutely certain he was speaking French with his counting, “Un, blu, bla, flu, flank” and his “Je de floop flee.” (For your viewing pleasure, I’ve attached those video clips below so you can have a good laugh.) But for the last few months, I’ve been diligently trying to learn the very difficult French language, and frankly, I’m terrified I’m going to make a fool of myself. Just thinking about stepping out and saying something other than Bonjour or Au Revoir makes me pit out.
Especially because there are words that if just say a little wrong could be super embarrassing, like:
(Walking in the summer heat) “I am so sexy!” instead of “I’m feeling warm.”
“What a beautiful necklace around your butt!” instead of “around your neck”
Or making the huge error of simply by accident using the English word for preservatives and asking, “Excuse me, does your food have condoms in it?”
However, I have decided that I’m just going to go for it. Even if I look ridiculous, and even if I get laughed at. My heart will be beating fast, and my voice will probably shake, but I’m going to do it anyway. Because I know that even if I make a fool of myself, if I can just keep a positive attitude about it, it will make the trip so much more fun and meaningful.
So my challenge to us all this week is…
The Fearless 365 Week Eighteen Challenge: BE FEARLESS TO LOOK STUPID. Go big or go home! Sometimes the greatest joys and the most exciting adventures in life only happen when we are willing to step out on a limb and risk looking really stupid. I’d rather look stupid, actively engaged in the game of life than looking perfect sitting in the bleachers.
Let’s take up this challenge this week and just do ONE THING to step out of our comfort zones and risk being wrong, or looking funny, or telling someone we’re pregnant instead of that we simply are full. Here are some ideas for you:
** Take a bus or train to a new town and explore
** Compliment a stranger
** Try out a new hobby
** Introduce yourself to someone and strike up a conversation
** Attempt a cartwheel
** Plant some seeds and see if they grow
** Do a cannonball into a pool
** Go dancing
** Ask God to give you a special word for someone…and then go deliver it!
** Skip through Walmart…maybe you’ll go viral
This week, let’s take risks. Let’s live life fully engaged. Let’s grab Joy by its neck and let it take us wherever it wants to go! Joie de Vivre!
Here is the FUNNY scenes from "Friends" as Joey is learning to speak French:
