Home stay fail.

K so from the front end, I was kind of nervous about the home stay situation.  I realized in my couple of weeks home in Memphis that my French vocabulary is entirely academic and if I need to ask for a stapler or something, I'll be completely at a loss.  Let's recall this exchange between me, Elena, and a hotel worker last summer at our place in Buenos Aires, in which I try to tell the maid that I need a plunger. In Spanish, except for the parts that obviously aren't:

me to hotel worker: hi, so our um...
me to elena: omg, how do you say plunger?
elena to me: i dont know...
me to hotel worker: that thing in the bathroom, it doesnt work.
me to elena: how do you say toilet???
elena to hotel worker (unsure if it was the right word): the toilet? the place where you sit in the bathroom? (makes a sitting motion)
hotel worker: oh...the toilet??? (elena was right about the word for toilet)
me to hotel worker: yeah!! our toilet doesnt work.
hotel worker: so what do you need?
me to hotel worker: i need a...(make a plunging motion) to fix the toilet
hotel worker: oh a plunger!! ok, i'll be there soon.

So, yeah, I was scared of that happening.  Well, up until tonight, so far so good.  My host brother kind of does his own thing and my host mother has been on vacation in Jordan or something so for dinner, it's just been me and the host dad.  And my conversations with him are great.  I tell him what I did in the day, he tells me his reactions, I ask him about a recent news item in France, he tells me his reactions, I ask him if he watched the World Cup, he tells me his reactions, I tell him I like the food, he tells me his reactions.  It's a wonderful exchange.

Well today, my brother and his girlfriend decided to join us for dinner so there were three French people at the dinner table and me.  They commence some conversation about God-knows-what at 5 million miles per hour and I'm lost in the first 30 seconds.  I pick at my food, carefully avoiding any eye contact or anything that might otherwise prompt their need for my opinion.

Pass 20 minutes.

I realize no one has said anything for an awkward amount of time and I look up, only to be greeted by all of their inquiring eyes.  Apparently they have asked me a question.

I mumble something about fromage.

They look at me, a little confused, I think, then continue their conversation about, I gleaned a few minutes later, Israel and Palestine.