So, I had an encounter that caught me completely off-guard.
i work in a bookstore, and I am one of the few people speaking English. I'm fluent, so I'm the one they sometimes ask to translate. Or they send them directly to me.
On Saturday, I had a customer looking for a book for the daughter of his host. We had a good look and finally found something...
when I took the money, I asked him whether his accent was really a welsh accent. He said yes, and asked me how I knew. We talked about distinct accents, and somewhere along the way I said that I am learning Welsh.
Immediately, he looked and me and said
"Well, Sut ydych chi'n dod ymlaen?"
I did not understand him, but he smiled and said
"How do you get along? Can you say something in welsh?"
I was gobsmacked, but somehow I managed to say
"Dw'i ddim yn gallu siarad Cymraeg da iawn." ... I don't know how I did it, but he said I sounded very good. (In fact he said "Da iawn, da iawn." ^^)
He told me to keep going and was really amazed that someone outside Wales would learn the language... and I was really amazed by myself. And happy.
I think I might have been a bit... giddy for the rest of the day.
