I had no idea that the form was supposed to be adapted, based on the nature of the relationship.

You can have a fairly good command of a foreign language, but still fail at communicating. You also need to understand cultural conventions and customs, and for that there's no substitute for living there.

I've never written a formal letter in French. I don't know why they sent me to school at all, really.

/me went to a French school, in France, for two years. When I was 4. I know French nursery rhymes.