Ou est ta mere?

Today at work a little girl came up to us at the counter and said, "I'm French, RalphLauren?" My co-worker and I just looked at each other confused. She asked if we spoke French. I told her I knew it "a little" or un petit peu. She pointed to a sign and said "le marque Polo et Ralph Lauren?" My co-worker thought she wanted to see our Ralph Lauren cologne and signaled over to the other counter. I wasn't sure and just observed thinking "Ok she said, the sign Polo Ralph Lauren." We watched her for a bit as I scrambled to remember French from 3 years in high school and one year in college. She looked lost and I was trying to find the words for "Are you lost," but I couldn't remember a thing. I asked "le toilette?" thinking she was looking for the bathroom (scrambling for words really), and she said no.

She circled in place, like someone lost, and then walked off really fast. I had a feeling she was lost and couldn't find her parents, so I followed her as I tried to recall what little French I could. If you don't use it, next to never, it's hard to remember things out of no where without just staring and looking dumb. I saw her stop in women's fragrances and she started to cry. I finally remembed how to say mom, and muttered a pathetic "ta mere?" She noded and said she was with them toward whence she just came. Then she repeated, "le marque Polo et Ralph Lauren." I put two and two together and figured she came from men's (which looks totally different from where she was and it's really easy to get lost in the store even for adults) by the Ralph Lauren section. As we went back the other way she looked like she remembered where she came from, and voila, her parents were there. They looked so relieved to see her. I was relieved to help her find them. They said "Merci" and I couldn't even remember how to say "Your Welcome." Which I know remember as "Dorien."

5 minutes later I remembered "Pas du tout" (not at all) and "Pas De Probleme" which was what I ended up saying in English. 20 minutes later I finally remembered how to say "Ou (where) est ta mere?" instead of grunting out "ta mere? (your mom?)" I spent the car ride home trying to conjure up a lot of lost French. It would have been really handy if I could have remembered to say something like "Vous direz moi en Francais et j'assiste." This is probably like child-speak but "You tell me in French and I (will) help." (I can't even remember the correct future verb tense.) I couldn't think of the words, but I understood most of what she said.

I was just glad I was there to help. I was worried for what could have happened had she not run into someone who know barely some French, especially when she was heading towad the opposite direction of her parents. Having been lost in a foreign country myself (because I went down the wrong street in Germany) I understand how frustrating/ worrisome it is to be lost when you can't even ask for directions or get them back in a way you understand. This poor girl only knew how to say the word "French" as a response to our English questions. I wish I could have remembered more to be of more help at the time; I guess that's what happens when you are caught off guard and you haven't used a language in almost 10 years.

I still can't think of how to ask "Are you lost?" I can only conjure "Je cherche" (I find/look). Only twice have my conversational French skills been challenged and both a failure. C'est la vie.