When I was a junior in high school, I wanted to jump from French I to French III honor. I started learning French at 16, which was quite late; I also did not have much motivation to learn it because it is just another subject to me. However, because I thought it would look nice on my transcript at the time of college application, I decided to try.

After taking a summer course, I went to my high school’s language department head (who actually teaches Spanish) and he agreed to give me a replacement test.

I was really weak in speaking and listening but excelled in writing and reading. I passed the replacement test easily, which was composed of reading and grammar solely.

Shortly after the exam, I met the department head in the bathroom. In a great mood, I greeted him most gleefully. He smiled back to me and said, “Félicitations pour votre succès!”

I clearly did not understand the heck he was saying, and since he was actually a Spanish teacher, I naturally thought he was boasting about his Spanish skills. So, I gently reminded him, “Sir, I can’t speak Spanish.”

“But I was speaking French.” He said so smilingly.

So my plan failed just because of that awkward, stupid encounter in the bathroom.