I thought I knew English until I needed it for small things. Not for an exam, not for a film without subtitles, but for a doctor’s appointment, a question about the bus, a short conversation with the neighbour watering her flowers.
Everyday English has its own speed. People say polite things very quickly, and sometimes I am left with my smile ready, finding the meaning after the moment has passed. I have learned expressions that do not appear in textbooks, questions that mean more than they seem, short answers that can be warm or simply efficient.
At first everything made me tired. Buying a ticket, answering the phone, explaining where I am from. In Romanian, my thoughts have large, bright rooms. In English, they sometimes seem to live in a smaller flat, with furniture I do not yet know where to place.
But each day adds something. A sentence said without hesitation. A joke understood in time. A thank you received with a real smile. Perhaps I do not need to speak perfectly in order to be present. I only need the courage to begin, and then to let the language slowly become part of my ordinary life.