As one of the Mohito 10 I was very impressed by Aran’s persuasive powers, as the bar staff went from “Sorry we’re closing,” to “Well maybe we could let you have some beer or wine, but definitely no ice,” to “Well maybe some ice for a g&t but no cocktails,” to “Oh go on then we’ll make you a mohito”. I’m not sure what he said but I assume it was along the lines of “If you don’t make me a mohito right now I will never love anyone ever again”.
He then turned the full force of his will on anyone expressing doubt that they weren’t already an absolutely competent Welsh speaker. It was the perfect end to an inspiring evening.
Yes, I was one of the Mojito 10, without a lot of confidence. I hadn’t spoken much Welsh in the three weeks before the party, with visitors, going to Wembley, etc - there hadn’t been much time.
At breakfast the following morning, @aran had not forgotten - oh no. And his persuasive powers that he had shown in the Mojito bar were still going strong. He persuaded me to accept the challenge of measuring how much Cymraeg each week and recording it on the forum. So here it is:
Monday night - Cymraeg yn y Dyfi - 1 hour - only four of us, but quite a lot of Saesneg spoken
Tuesday - lunch with two friend in Cafe Alys - 1 hour
Wednesday - Discussion with the Chair of the Canolfan Owain Glyndŵr over lunch - 2 hours
and 7-8, a chat with a couple I had met at Cletwr - 1 hour
Thursday - Welsh Class, 10-1, where I made an extra effort to tell the class about everything I’d done in the previous 3 weeks and then chatted with the tutor for 15 minutes afterwards.
Saturday - chatted with @Isata in Caffi Alys for over 2 hours
That makes 7 hours of conversation, plus what I said in the Welsh class. Obviously I wasn’t actually talking all the time, but I was involved in the conversations! I don’t think I can beat that next week, but even if I can’t get anywhere close, I’ve shown myself that I do ‘siarad Cymraeg’!
…and well enough to tackle some very interesting and complicated topics of conversation. Thanks for the chat, and da iawn i ti for tackling the challenge!
Helen, this is a brilliant start - but please do NOT beat yourself up when (as will happen) you have weeks with much less than that - because that is a stunningly impressive opening gambit, and even if it comes in much less than that on average, THIS IS the measuring process that is going to show you that you’ve cracked it…
So this week, the total is more than 4.5 hours plus my 3 hour Welsh class.
I’m pleased with that, as I thought I was going to have a quiet week. It includes Monday evening in Y Dyfi, unplanned chats in Caffi Alys, having lunch with @BronwenLewis (thanks Bronwen) and the Saturday coffee morning at Cletwr. On top of that, I also had a few short conversations in shops and a brief telephone call from Merched y Wawr about 10-pin bowling next week.
Reporting in with the total for this week - over 8 hours!
Obviously, I wasn’t actually speaking for 8 hours. The total = 8 hours of conversations, some in groups and some one-to-one.
Monday night - Cymraeg yn y Dyfi - 1.5 hours. @Nicky and @LaraRobs came to visit us. It was a really enjoyable evening, but I suppose Nicky did a lot of the talking
Tuesday: @BronwenLewis and I went mini 10-pin bowling with Merched y Wawr, followed by a meal. We didn’t say a lot while we were trying to keep the bowls out of the gutter, but there was a lot of laughing.
Wednesday: an hour of 1-2-1 conversation over lunch in Caffi Alys.
Thursday: I managed to spend an hour talking to the tutor after the Welsh class and then went on to the Owain Glyndŵr Centre for another hour - dusting, sweeping and chatting.
There were other little exchanges in Welsh too. In some ways it’s those that I’m most pleased about. Just yesterday I was buying fuel in a petrol station I don’t go to very often. I don’t think the conversation started in Welsh, but when I was paying for the fuel, the man asked me in Welsh whether I wanted my vouchers (to win something) and whether I had a Nectar card. I replied in Welsh that I didn’t have my card with me at the time but no matter. Similarly, last week, my mum dropped her purse while we were on the way to to see Blodau Gwylltion and Lleuwen. Fortunately a young girl chased after us and returned it. So I was able to thank her and her mum in Welsh and then we ended up chatting in the queue about where to get tickets.
But I still end up thinking, do they realise I’m a ‘fraud’, and don’t really speak Welsh? But then again I did, and they seemed to understand!
Oh dear, that ‘I’m a fraud’ thing. It’s not just about Welsh is it? Women everywhere (and maybe men too? I’m not trying to start an argument) confess privately that they’re waiting to be unmasked as frauds pretending to be brilliantly successful teachers, health workers or whatever. Time now to accept you’re a good Welsh speaker, using your Welsh whenever the opportunity arises, and you can and will only get better!
It started with Welsh in the Dyfi with Nia on Monday(1 hour), which was followed by another intensive hour chatting to my neighbours who were out in the garden. We discussed our mutual rising damp problems, their new chickens, all sorts of things.
On Wednesday, it was off to games night in Caersws with @Bronwen and @Isata (2 hours). You really find out how competitive Isata is when she’s playing Ludo.
On Thursday, there was my Welsh class (3 hours), but I don’t count that. I did tell them the story of how I nearly wrecked my new oven by melting one of the cat’s plastic bowls in there (don’t ask!).
On Friday, there was an hour in the Senedd-dy and Caffi Alys.
Then on Saturday, there was Clonc-edigion in Tresaith and the drive home with Isata (thanks for the lift), with a stop off for lunch on the way. After the chat in Tresaith and meeting the bootcampers, we didn’t want to stop on the way home! (3.5 hours).
Another good week. It’s amazing how, if I wan’t recording it, I wouldn’t have thought it was anywhere near 8-9 hours.
You should see my family playing word games at Christmas. It’s ferocious.
Well done on another Welsh-speaking week. There’s your evidence that you not only speak Welsh often, you use it in your daily life, unexpectedly and unplanned. You are a natural, community-grounded Welsh speaker. [quote=“helenlindsay, post:17, topic:12684”]
if I wan’t recording it, I wouldn’t have thought it was anywhere near 8-9 hours.
[/quote]
Exactly! I doubt that you’re speaking any more now than you did before you started noting it down. You’re just recognising it. I hope you’re recognising how amazingly fluent and flexible you are as a speaker, too!
I’m a bit late in reporting this week. It’s been a quieter week - about 5 hours, including the Owain Glyndwr Committee meeting and stewarding at the Ras yr Iaith (plus the usual 3 hour lesson).
I don’t know whether the committee meeting really counts as ‘conversation’, but I am taking the minutes, so it’s Welsh going through my brain the whole time, some of which I translate into English for my notes and some of which I leave in Welsh. The thing of note for this meeting was that I actually said a few things as well!
plus my 3 hour Welsh class.
