French-abic

I mentioned back in January that I was hoping to practice my French in my recent trip to Casablanca. I knew that most people living in Morocco had several languages, of which French and English are usually second and third, respectively. On the other hand, since I don't know Arabic, I was hoping that we could all default to le francais and muddle along together . . . and I would for once be able to use my second language in practice.

In reality, this is closer to the truth:

What I thought I said: "We would like two salads, please."
What our waiter hears: "I'm eating two salads, maybe."

What I thought I said: "... except, please do not put any fish on my salad. NO fish!"
What our waiter hears: "Two plates of fish, please! No! Three!"

What I thought I said: (waving my hands) "No, I asked that there be no fish!"
What our waiter hears: (indicating where to place the fish) "No, I have no idea what I'm saying!"

What I thought I said: "And . . . two mint teas?" (am corrected by sister) "No. Only one."
What our waiter hears: "There are two morons here." (correction) "No. Only one."

In general, it was easier than I thought to get around, even though I did receive the occasional "What language are you trying to speak, anyway?" I suppose it would be the same as going to India to learn English. Sure, you'll pick it up, but you'll pick up some Hindi, too. Or, in my case, Arabic. La, la, la.