Just Ask

I have recently moved to Angers, France, in order to undergo some work experience. While I thought I had some idea of what I was getting into, I realised I was really just psyching myself up without paying attention to what I might have to do here.
As a result, I now see how underqualified I really am to work in any field of even mildly advanced electronics. Even though the other guys I'm working with are my age and in the same course, it's like I'm a 1st year dropped into a 4th year project. I am in a little over my head.

This really got to me during the two weeks prior to this last one.

I was horribly nervous in work, the language barrier bothering me, worried that I would be seen as the "stupid Irishman" amongst these well-educated higher-up-in-the-course French students. Last Monday I bit the bullet and just asked some simple questions about the material I was working on (that I was too nervous to ask before), and now I feel like a million fucking quid. As predicted, I'm surrounded by prefectly reasonable people, who have no qualms about helping if I just ask.
It's so stupid, all it took was some basic confidence. I will say that this revelation to "Just ask" came from steadily drinking Jameson all weekend. Oddly, unlike the effect Jack Daniels has on me now, it didn't make me horribly depressed. I felt emboldened after sobering up, having drunkenly thought through what I was worrying about all this time. It was sort of the equivalent of having a wonderfully drunk deep conversation with your mates and coming away with positive thoughts. Heh.

Of course, when it comes to women, biting that bullet and Just Asking might not work out so well. But at least you tried, and you know, there's a lot of energy in that.

On second thoughts, maybe, more often than not, it does work out well.

All you have to do is ask.

(Possibly with a few pints on you.)