I did not understand the plans for lunch and the time after. And so I was a bit cold, without anything (like
my backpack with sunglasses, water, book, and my camera) for nearly the entire afternoon. Comprehending. It can be difficult when one recognizes most every word but then realizes too late that the unknown verb was very important to the meaning. My empathy is growing for
those living with a language different from that of their birth. Understanding runs a half-second behind hearing
in each conversation. And subtleties, those little twists and turns, are so very easily missed.
To make this topic a little bit bigger, think about listening to your gut to know the next step of action. At first, it can be easy to miss something subtle and then things turn out less than ideal. It is tempting to want to give it all up when practice, listening harder, and maybe a tutor might help to learn this important new language.