Now that I have a permanent job in a school, I have to relearn English. Not because I forgot my English, but because most of the staff in the school doesn't speak English at a very good level. Therefore, as I wrote about before, I have to learn Vietlish. In addition, I also need to complete the last syllable of words in my head (becau = because), understand what someone is talking to me about when they change the subject but don't tell me, etc. All of this, especially in a new environment is causing me some stress. Not so much stress as aggravation. Why? Because I'm getting older. And I'm discovering (okay, I realized this many months ago) that at 41 I don't have the patience that I had at 37. Yes, a mere 4 years makes a big difference!
And so, instead of getting fed up and screaming at the person in front of me that they need to pronounce the entire word completely so I understand what the hell they're saying, I just smile and nod. Because smiling and nodding is always the best medicine when you don't have a fucking clue what a person is saying to you.
