WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY!

Picture this: Two “mature” (One of them is my age! That is NOT OLD!) women, who speak different languages, are sitting side by side. One is the mother of the woman whose house my dear, sweet, high school friend Glenda is living in for the summer in France through a house-swap company. We’ll call that mother “Bridgit!” They have exhausted their dramatic talents trying to get each other to understand them.

Glenda has been there long enough that she is desperate for some companionship, and she is determined to have this conversation and get to know this woman. Bridgit has been very welcoming, and Glenda has taken the plunge to drive 12 miles ON THE BIG ROAD (!) to visit her at her home.

You’ve heard the old English proverb, “Where there's a will, there's a way!” I’m not sure which one of them thought it up first, but before long they both had their laptops out. Sitting side-by-side, Glenda and Bridgit had their first meaningful conversation...using Google Translate to bridge the language barrier! By the end of the afternoon, they both knew all about each other’s pasts and interests. They discovered so many things they had in common.

When I heard from Glenda last, she was looking forward to many more Google Translate conversations with Bridgit. A true friendship was born on line, but with the benefit of eye contact and body language. What a pleasure and relief to look forward to spending more hours in France befriending a French Bridgit!

Thank you, Google Translate!

P.S. When I told my husband Peter about this story, he laughed big and said, “That’s a great story for Mr. Google!”