Made somebody laugh uproariously when they asked how the weather was when I’d been in another town.
“Yr ein peth” i replied. (Bwrw glaw)
They must be easily amused!
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This is only a little thing, but it surprised me. Another SSiWer (@EsmBoone) and I were manning the Welsh Society of Manitoba table in the UK pavilion at a cultural festival in Winnipeg, Canada last week. (Sidenote: If you’re interested, the festival is called Folklorama, and it’s the largest and longest running cultural festival of its kind in the world.)
Anyway, I was sitting there one day towards the end of the week, and some member of the public came up to me and said (in a VERY mocking tone), “Yeah, but I’ll bet you can’t speak Welsh.” To which my mouth replied (without at all consulting my brain), “Yndw, dw i’n siarad Cymraeg!” It actually startled me - my mouth deciding that I wasn’t going to say, “I’m a learner” or “I speak a bit”; but at that point I was committed, so I just smiled innocently at him and carried on, “Dach chi’n siarad Cymraeg?”
It turns out that the man who asked me couldn’t speak Welsh at all, so I think I startled him even more than myself. …Karma? 
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Yes, it’s true what Margaret says–she answered as if it were part of a conversation we were in the middle of. And though I haven’t had as much experience speaking I also replied indignantly right on the tail of @margaretwerdermann’s statement so he couldn’t deny that we both spoke Welsh although I may have added in dysgu as well 
I think he was actually quite impressed don’t you Marg?
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That sounds like a genuine fist-pump moment! 
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Glad it felt like a breakthrough for you though Marg–sort of like that time in the bookshop in Wales. 
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Major breakthrough or at least it feels that way. Just listening to Y Bandana after having a wydraid neu ddai. We actually worked out some of the lyrics to O Be Nawn Ni. Ready to go to bed on a high.
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Da iawn. If only we could bottle that sense of achievement!
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Another little stepping stone for me this morning.
A friend was asking me where she could find a cloth. I asked if it was ok to speak Welsh. Perhaps a mistake, as she then explained in great detail why she wanted it and some problem over someone spilling something, etc. Strangely, I understood every word and stranger still, I found myself chatting about it. Anyway, the conversation moved on to a mop and bucket, which did the trick.
Thanks so much SSiW. It might sound mundane, but I feel sure that I couldn’t have pulled it off without you.
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Great job @JohnYoung. Most conversation is probably “mundane” and not about meeting your friend’s sister in the pub who had too much to drink…
Yes, SSiW (or any decent language course) is there precisely to prepare one for the mundane, ordinary, real world.
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Hi Mari
I met my friend John today, but it seems that your paths didn’t quite cross. His companies were called “Consolidated Construction” and “Consolidated Space”. Not connected to the company of similar name in the US. I felt it was worth a try anyway.
Looking forward to chatting on Slack again.
John
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Thank you John—yes it was worth the try because it really is a small world, especially when you think how we are able to link up like this.
I am starting to get the hang of these hangouts, but am still having difficulty with the Slack texting, constantly being told my computer is not connected. Hm. As Max Boyce’s song went ‘Where there is a Will, there’s a way.’
There is another example of a small world—a South African friend and keen rugby player in his hey day (now living in Canada) was just talking about his heroes—JPR, Barry John, Gareth Edwards, and host of others—all Welsh players, but he had never heard any Max Boyce. We had him crying with laughter at the ’French Trip’ as I call it. Coming from Cardiff ‘back then’ I saw these players at the Arms Park.
There used to be a ‘bonus lesson’ somewhere here especially for rugby, so I am wondering if you know where it is being stored—maybe on the Forum. I would really like a refresher 
Hwyl,
Mari
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Yes, we could do with this before the autumn season kicks off - @kinetic any idea where the file might be?
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I’ve just released (and am releasing) a set of videos that help French speakers learn Welsh, through the medium of French - and a set of videos for Welsh speakers to learn French, through the medium of Welsh.
Neither of these would’ve happened without the brilliance of SSIW, so thank you all!
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Saw these on your twitter! Very intriguing!
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Personally it’s a bit different for me. I learned’ Welsh before starting SSIW after years and years of night classes and reading. There are no courses left for me to do I’ve successfully completed them all.
But since starting SSIW I’m now happy to actually use it in everyday life and no longer give an answer like “yeah I’ve done a few lessons but I can’t really speak it.”
This thread is inspirational felly diolch.
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That’s the real deal right there… 
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