my new career - interpreter for old German men

My french has significantly improved during my time here and I feel lucky to be able to communicate as well as I can with the people around me. A few people have very little language and it makes life really difficult. I was travelling at the same pace as Eric, an old guy from Finland, who was so lovely but spoke very little french. I often did some translating at the gite about instructions and times, but usually he was ok. The other day I got lost leaving Aire sur L'Adour and I met Olfrid from Germany, who speaks very little English and no french. We were lost together and everntually got back on the route and walked together for most of the day. Nothing was open in the small town we passed at lunch time but Olfrid went into the boulangerie to buy some bread. When I walked in I found the woman trying to explain that the hotel was closed so he couldn't get a coffee. I translated and then he turned to her and said "Café, 2 café. You make?" The woman was a little taken aback because it sounded more like an order than a request, so I asked in my politest french if she could make us some coffee. Meanwhile Olfrid just went behind the counter to a table and sat down. The woman was surprised but agreed and we ended up having a lovely conversation and she was very kind.

We arrived in Arzacq separately and when I went down to pay I found him and his friend Karl and the woman running the gite having a very hard time together. I did what I could in basic english and french and off they went. I was having a snack 20 minutes later when the woman came back and asked me to help. Another old German guy was there and she couldn't get through to him that he needed to break his 20 euro note somewhere because she had no change. Using sign language and props (my shopping) we got there and I started to wonder if I should charge.

Two days later I arrived at the gite boulangerie in Arthez-de-Béarn and met Emmanuel, a french pilgrim who had hurt his leg on the route and was staying at the gite and working with the baker who ran it. I was reading in my dorm when Astrid, a german girl with excellent english but not much french, came upstairs to say that Olfrid was downstaris and needed help. He wanted to get a train from there to Pau, but there's no train station. So, with Astrid doing german to english and me doing english to french so Emmanuel could help us, we worked out a plan for him and sent him off with a note in french explaining what he needed. It was really bizarre, but it's amazing how we find a way to communicate under the most difficult circumstances. So that's a new job possibility for me, anyway... who would have guessed!