It goes without saying that as a bilingual person, you will hear or experience all of these things.
1. "Wow! Say something in *insert language here*!"
The first thing you always hear when someone finds out you speak another language. It's always awkward, especially having to come up with a sentence off the top of your head that isn't just "hi, my name is..."
2. People assume you're from the country the language is from.
Maybe you are, but many of us are not. I don't have a drop of French in me, but people assume I am from France because I can speak the language. Maybe you learned Spanish in school, or taught yourself Korean online. It's always difficult to explain that just because you speak the language doesn't mean you are from the place.
3. Meeting someone who speaks the same language and wanting to be best friends.
If you speak a language that isn't all that common and hear someone speaking that language, you really want to just jump in and become best friends. Even if you have literally nothing else in common, it's so exciting to find someone else who shares this bond that sometimes, you just don't care.
4. Wishing your friends spoke the same second language so you could speak secretly together.
You know the feeling when you hear a group of people speaking a language you don't understand and wondering what they're talking about, or if they're talking about you? Or being in public and wanting to say something to a friend without other people understanding? If only. Depending on the language, even friends that also speak another language may not speak the same one as you, so this situation cannot be achieved.
5. Getting to watch international films without subtitles.
Guys, there are some seriously great foreign films out there. The only problem: subtitles. Some people like them or need them, but a lot of us find them annoying and distracting from the actual film.
6. Sometimes you forget the English word for something.
It typically happens in the middle of a sentence or conversation, and your brain just can't grasp the English word you want for something, but the people around you don't speak your other language. Or, it can be as simple as forgetting the English spelling of a word, like that time I spelled vinegar as "vinaigre" on an exam.
7. Sometimes you just forget a language.
Occasionally, nerves or exhaustion get to you and you seem to just blank in a time when you're language would be extremely helpful. This is just straight up embarrassing, and leads to you wanting to shout "I swear I really can speak it!"
8. People rely entirely on you while traveling.
If you're with a group in a country where only you speak the official language, expect to be the main translator the whole time. Unfortunately, the pressure of this can lead to the I-just-forgot-everything-I've-ever-learned situation of number seven, which makes for an extremely awkward time.
9. You speak other languages with the wrong accent.
When you're accustomed to the pronunciations of one language, it can be hard to try and speak another. Take for example the guttural "R" sound of French compared to the tongue-rolling "R" of Spanish and Italian, despite that they are all Latin romance languages. When you speak one and try to learn another, it can come off as awkward, like speaking French with a Spanish accent or vice versa.
