Yo kann ein bisschen Español hablar...

Upon learning that I spent a year in Germany and how hard I worked to learn German, a lot of people ask innocently, "What's the value in speaking German? Don't they all speak English anyway?" I give them the usual line about the economic and political importance of the US-Germany relationship, how German is the most spoken native language and second most spoken foreign language in the EU, why being multilingual just makes intercultural communication easier, etc.

But during our long transition back to normality this summer, I quickly realized the limits of German language proficiency and a potential disadvantage of being quasi-multilingual. You see, I've been working every day this summer since returning for my father-in-law's landscaping business. Which means neither my native tongue nor the second one I poured my heart and soul into over the last 18 months helps at all. My mental instinct is still to speak German when stuck in a foreign-language environment, because that has been my reality for the last year. Instead, I have to reach back into the dusty recesses of my brain and dig out the grade school Spanish files because my Mexican coworkers certainly don't speak German and almost no English. This all means that I feel even more inept at work than I did last year and speak the most embarrassingly broken Spanish ever (below in green) accidentally intermixed with German constructions (below in red) and English (in black) when all else fails. And this has some rather hilarious effects:

"Hoy esta das Wetter mucho caliente. " (The weather is hot today.)

"Wir haben already dos shovels. Necesitamos noch zwei más." (We already have two shovels. We need two more.)

"Yo creo that we should start mit digging aquí, oder?" (I think that we should start with digging here, right?)

"A dónde soll ich these tools poner? Aquí oder allí?" (Where should I take these tools? Here or over there?)

"Ja, let's trabajo zusammen!" (Yes, let's work together!)

"Yo kann ein bisschen Español hablar, aber not so bueno." (I can speak a little Spanish, but not so good.)

They just look at me even more confused than my German colleagues ever did. Oh the adventures with languages. At least it all makes sense in my head.

Life Without Umlauts

It's been a while, dear readers. Much has happened since my last post about German words. Namely, we packed up our life in Germany and moved back to the States. But if you happen to be one of our few loyal fans who still continues checking in for an update instead of being productive at work, well, wait no longer.

I have been back in the States for exactly a month now. Culture shock began the moment I was greeted heartily by the "Welcome home" of the smiling, Southern-drawling customs official at the airport. And the culture shock moments have been adding up though ever since. Here are eleven for starters:

-I must drive to the grocery store now rather than walk or ride the subway. Sometimes I need to get back in the car if I want to visit the store... next door.

-Everyone greets me with a big smile and a beautiful tone of informality.

-The check-out ladies at the store gladly bag my groceries, even though they seem shocked if when I present my own canvas bag or decline to use any bag at all.

-Recycling in the US is about a decade behind Europe.

-Air-conditioning exists. Americans don't fear drafts like the Germans do. Thankfully.

-I have two hundred TV channels to choose from rather than twenty. I've quickly realized, however, that more does not equal better.

-Americans wear more colorful clothing and more shorts, and flip-flops seem to be required attire in warm weather months. The very sound of flip-flops is unescapable. I haven't decided how I feel about this yet.

-My pockets are lighter because I lack one- and two-Euro coins.

-A liter of Coke once again costs noticeably less than a liter of beer. I preferred it the other way around.

-I must calculate for tips again at restaurants. This is a royal pain.

-Umlauts no longer adorn signs.

So, our life with umlauts has come to its end, but readjusting to life without umlauts might take a little more time. I will probably still add a few more entries over the next few weeks to wrap up my reflections on the past year. Stay tuned.