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Fi
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Why do I have such a nightmare dealing with numbers over the phone?  My French friends say I am pretty good, but as soon as numbers get involved it all goes horribly wrong.

For example, I took a booking for a weekend in one of my gites.  It all went swimmingly until the postcode bit.  I thought I had it right, but when I went to check it doesn't exist.  And I thought the lady said "Vallonge" (no such place) post code 56525 (doesn't exist).  This is really embarrassing!  I have texted the lady and said I couldn't read my writing and could she please confirm her coordonnees, but this is pretty feeble really.

I am a bit distracted by other things at the moment but this is getting to be no longer a laughing matter!

I did learn one new word today - piccoler (sorry about the spelling) - I think I should try it out tonight ........

Fi

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I am good with numbers, but also find it incredibly difficult to write down words accurately when someone is spelling out their surname or something. I am also a laid back, but fairly confident person, but show me a urinal full of blokes and I can't pee after 10 pints! I also get conscious when writing out cheques and signing them in front of people. I don't have a problem with any of this, I see it as some kind of survival instinct which kicks in when you come to repeat something you have previously had an experience of that for some reason created a rush of adrenelin or stress.
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My weak point is days of the week, I am fine with numbers, when I hear them I just visualise the figure, I never think of the number in English, I count and do calculations in my head in French, with the exception of having a mental block when I hear seize which I always think of as dix-sept, somewhere in my head I think that there is a dix-six [:)]

Buy boy with days of the week I often have to count from scratch Lundi, Mardi, Mercredi......... etc as I doubt myself, I think that it is because I cannot visualise a day nor (because of my situation) can I identify Lundi as the day I go work, Vendredi the last day, Samedi and Dimanche as being the weekend etc.

I was discussing this the other night with a friend, he lived in France for around 20 years, he's been back in the UK for about 5 and most people say his French is fluent. I was really taken aback when he told me that he coud  never discriminate between Vendredi and Dimanche as I have exactly the same problem.

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I just own up and say I'm useless.  Nobody seems to mind and generally they will read out numbers digit by digit if I ask.  Most of the time, I'm right, but it's when we get onto the multiple numbers that I begin to doubt myself (you know four 20s plus ten-nine - what's that about?) It's one time when I reckon the Belgians have it right.[Www]
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I  did own up, and asked her to send me an email (cop-out class I), but no email and I messed it (taking down her details correctly) up.  [:$]   Some kind person (doctor's receptionist) said my accent was "attachant" but I think she was being kind!  Think I'll have to ring my booking tomorrow and confess! [:$]

Fi

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[quote user="J.R gone native"]

Buy boy with days of the week I often have to count from scratch Lundi, Mardi, Mercredi......... etc as I doubt myself, I think that it is because I cannot visualise a day nor (because of my situation) can I identify Lundi as the day I go work, Vendredi the last day, Samedi and Dimanche as being the weekend etc.

[/quote]

Only one solution JR.......   You should sing this while working !! [:P][:)]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAzr-s9dH0g

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Well the lady phoned me last night and gave me her email address (which I did manage to get down correctly) - I sent her a blank booking form for the gite (apart from price etc) so, unless her writing it totally illegible [;-)] I should get away with it this time.  I hope. 

Now I know why my kids find reciting tables etc in french so tricky - not only have they inherited my "rubbish with numbers" gene, but they've also inherited my "confused by numbers in a foreign language" gene.  They have no hope, poor things.

Fi

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I hated giving telephone numbers - i.e. 643278 soixante-quatre, trente-deux etc.  I get flustered trying to working out the combinations to end with a double digit while at the same time giving them in french. 

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What floors me is people who talk in old francs (eg. "x million"). It was bad enough when it was just between new francs and old, and the pound was at 10, but now you have establish that they are indeed using old francs, and then convert from old francs to new, to euros, and then into pounds sterling.

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