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| Timur, Isabella, Me, Zita, Bonnie, & Felipe |
I knew they were out there! But actually seeing them and talking in English none the less was somewhat of a relief. I knew that there were others going through similar experiences, but I could never spot them out on the street. We exchange students try our best to blend in as much as possible.
Situation A: buying coffee
Me: eins Kaffee, bitte (1 coffee, please)
Starbucks employee: sdklflasfpidhaisdonfklasdnflknsadkl.....?
Me: ja, bitte (yes please)
Starbucks employee: juegkiehflameu EURO (at which point I look at the cash register or hand over my biggest bill)
Me: Danke (thanks)
And so, the goal of this situation is to not have the hardworking Starbucks employee speak English to me as that would be considered not blending in. When these situations go perfectly I can dutifully pretend to be German. But here is a not so good day:
Situation B: Isabella is buying various items from the DM (or the German version of a CVS) and I am accompanying her
~note: Isabella is my fellow AFS New Yorker going to language class with me
Isabella: *puts down what she wants to buy*
Cashier: kdsjfkljaiowenfklnsdfsdaklfkljiojijnklniufedycvklnl
Isabella: ......Uhhhhh (turns to me)
Me: *nodding very knowledgeably*
Isabella: *nods to the cashier*
Cashier: fsdkfjklasdjfiosndfknsadlkfs.....inkejhknsdk?
Isabella: I don't speak German. Do you speak English?
Cashier: Yes, of course I do. I am asking if you have a card for the DM in which you get discounts and such.
Isabella: No, I don't. I just want to buy my deodorant and floss.
And so, that is what Isabella and I call an EPIC FAIL. A normal fail would be talking in English after purchasing our items in German. Otherwise if I'm alone, I usually destroy the persona I create of being German by loudly congratulating myself on my success....in English.
This is so funny!
ReplyDeleteThis John (your Dad). I really enjoyed your new posts. What a sense of humor! I could actually visualize what it is like as you try to "blend in." I wish you luck in your future attempts. I think your approach (German first, then English) is the right one and it can only get better as your German improves.
ReplyDeleteThat is NOT an epic fail! An epic fail is when the other person doesn't speak English, so you sort of resort to speaking more loudly and hand gestures. Or when you meant to get floss and deodorant and leave the store with toothpaste and some sort of a waxy substance that you can't identify because the picture on the box is vague and everything's written in German ... And you just give up! I've been in French pharmacies and had absolutely no idea what anything is because EVERY SINGLE THING has a picture of a smiling woman and a name like Avonne. Trust me, you're doing great! Don't give up!
ReplyDeleteI think you just described my life on a daily basis. Oh the life of an Auslander!
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