team time

So for the classes that I’m taking here, the grades tend to consist of one of two things. Either the class will have an end of the year exam, and 100% of my grade is based on that, OR I will have a group project. In my marketing and communication class (in French) we have a group project. So the teacher is lecturing for the first half of class, and then we have a ‘pause’ (a short break), we all come back from the pause and the professor then says, alright, now find groups and start coming up with some ideas for the project. And my first reaction was, well shit. So three nice people sitting near me turned around and we sort of formed a group. They all started talking to one another throwing out ideas for the project. And the entire time I sat there with this stupid look on my face. And then one of the girls looks at me, and says, ‘well, what do you think, what ideas do you have.’ To which I managed to muster the response… ‘well, ahh… I’m American, so I uhhh, don’t really know French brands.’ And they all sort of go, ‘oh. Well.’ And that was that. Me, the sole American, with loads of frenchies. Oh joy. And when I talk with each of them one on one I’m fine, but the second that you put all of us in a group together they all talk so fast that most of the time I just sit there mute, like the awkward staring person who sits alone in a corner at a party. Yeah, I’m that guy. Entirely devoid of a personality because of a lack of vocabulary. Alas, things are going better now though. They have started to say to one another, ‘hey guys, maybe we should talk slower, I think she’s lost.’ (note: this is only after I start to get a really really really super confused look on my face, and cease to talk) but on the bright side, they’re all super nice when I can understand them.