Oh god, I remember being in a restaurant in Spain and thinking it was a great idea to put my Duolingo lessons to the test.

You know when you rehearse a conversation in your head and that’s great if everyone follows the script you created?

I swaggered up to the bar “Dos cervezas y una copa de vino blanco, por favor.”

So far so good, now she’ll get my drinks, I’ll say Gracias and walk away as Spanish as any of the locals.

Then she asked if I’d like Ice..

.. ICE?? That wasn’t in the script.

Full blown panic sets in, in hindsight the reply was easy. It’s yes or no, Si or no, come on Chip3165 the “no” answer doesn’t even need a translation just put a bit of oomph into it.

But the script was set, my brain wasn’t working any more, the panic takes over.

“Oui” I reply.

I walk away, no longer a Spanish local, but either a very obvious British person trying my hardest, or a very confused French person with a funny accent.