Both, really. Maybe it helped that my first time was really only speaking to waitstaff or hotel employees, or pharmacists (I’d gotten a cold)? That first time my French was my worst, high school French and I’d been out of school 2 years (did not go to university right away). The next time I’d been to university and minored in French, and the last time I was with my wife’s family, who are French.
Both, really. Maybe it helped that my first time was really only speaking to waitstaff or hotel employees, or pharmacists (I’d gotten a cold)? That first time my French was my worst, high school French and I’d been out of school 2 years (did not go to university right away). The next time I’d been to university and minored in French, and the last time I was with my wife’s family, who are French.