Life Skills

People who think you can just get by with English in Berlin are mistaken, which makes me more and more glad I took the 8 weeks to glean a bit of German as I settle in. It's fine if you're a tourist, as there are always English speakers in the hotels and some restaurants, the museums and major sights. But life abroad is not turning out to be one prolonged tourist stay. I must deal with the necessities of life here just as I do at home - and for now this IS home - and that requires German. I am very happy to have struggled through the classes on banking, the post office, body parts, weather, travel, and occupations. We even had an ex tempore lesson in dog poop one day, a subject not covered in our workbook.

With my shiny new level B.1.1 German vocabulary I have been able to negotiate the following, where English has not been an option:

• speaking with a veterinary assistant to describe Maggie's ailment and make an appointment;
• purchasing a used washing machine with a one-year warranty; including delivery and installation;
• getting Maggie and me registered with two different city departments;
• getting help with my internet surf stick (my building is not yet set up for DSL);
• haggling over the price of a mirror at the flea market (netted me 10 Euros off! I still think I overpaid);
• getting a haircut and maintaining a conversation with the operator;
• discussing cold remedies with the practitioner at the Apotheke and getting myself dosed;
• making purchases at Oktoberfest stalls;
• getting a customer card for my grocery store;
• talking to people at the dog park.

I don't mean to imply that I am in any way fluent. I stumble and stutter, mispronounce, misuse, misunderstand, and generally abuse this new tool of mine. I suffer especially from the frustration of having enough language to do these basic things, but not enough to make real conversation or understand everything I read. A friend of mine from class said it best when he said, "I'll be glad when I can make a sentence that doesn't just use nouns," and although we've moved beyond that Tarzan-speak by now, it still feels like I'm swinging gracelessly through the trees, whacking into things, and thumping my chest to make myself understood. It's great fun.