Any experiences? At home or abroad.

My recent experience:

Tried to talk to someone and it was going well until they said 2 sentences really fast and I had no clue what they said.

I must’ve looked confused, trying to mutter something, ANYTHING! What were the words I’m supposed to say?! I forgot the polite “sorry, could you repeat that” in every language I know.

They caught me off guard, damn it. Then came the killing blow: “English?”.

In my moment of weakness I submitted and gave them a nod. From there on we were talking as equals, but my pride had taken a hit. I was defeated. I must go back to my books and duolingo and hide until I have courage again.

(Sorry for the dramatic text, wanted to make a boring interaction sound bit more interesting)