A silly question is one that hasn’t been asked yet…

I recently met an international student who was bewildered at ‘class participation’ points that universities have…and you'll agree I'm sure that its a general feeling of discomfort having to ask a question in a class full of people.  So this post is specifically targeted for international students who come to the US to study – or if this is true for you elsewhere in the world…then this ones for you too!

One thing I learned at university here, and I’m glad I did, is that ‘no question is a silly question except for the one that hasn’t been asked yet’. I don’t know about you, but where I grew up, asking questions was chalked up to you being silly or “un-intelligent” or downright rude for interrupting the teacher/professor… BS!! And when I started school here in San Francisco, it took me a while to ask questions without worrying if people would think of me as completely stupid. But over time, I started asking questions…any questions- even those to which I knew the answer.

If you’re going to school here in SF...you can take comfort in knowing that there will be many others just like you and me - with expressions similar to a deer caught in headlights.  And know that almost all the time, people are grateful to you for asking that silly and obvious question because those that sit tight pretending to be Mr./Ms. know-it-all are the ones that are relieved you asked the question!

Not every thing is hunky dory. In fact there’s a lot to whine about and what follows is one of my pet peeves. I hate how people can’t string a sentence without using words and verbal crutches such as “like” a million times! I’m famous for checking and re-checking every conversation I have with a person, because by the end of the meeting, I’m still trying to figure out the point of that conversation!! Not to forget, I come off as a complete fool for my persistent need to decipher the few words buried in all those “Like” or scrambling to understand if a person says “Man he is sick!”  do they mean it in the real sense of the word (should I be sending this ‘sick’ man a get-well-soon card?) or is this Californian for something totally different. Hrrmmph!

Sometimes speaking English is not enough, you need to speak Californian to get around!