German update

[lethargic_man]

Here's how my German is after three weeks of German lessons here (following a year and a half of trying to teach myself from a book at home):

lethargic_man:	"Entschuldigung. Wo gibt es Studentenfutter, bitte?"
Supermarket staff:	"剩下的很可能會成為在中國的語言 Obst und Gemüse， 為所有我可以 Seite 告訴大家."
lethargic_man:	"Danke."

The rest may as well be in Chinese, for all I can understand at the speed she speaks it. I head off, hoping desperately I picked up all the key words and didn't miss a "nicht" or something in there, and successfully locate the nuts and raisins ("student fodder" in German) to the side of the fruit and vegetables.

That's the best-case scenario. The more common alternative is that I'm still trying to parse what they said, when they interpret my blank look as incomprehension and repeat it in English.

I need to learn to say "Wieder, langsämer langsamer, bitte: mein Deutsch ist noch nicht so gut" before they get to that point.

Comments

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

You're lucky you even get the Chinese. German-speakers usually cut straight to English whenever I address them...

[green_knight]

I'm waiting for the point where someone addresses *me* in English, next time I'm in Germany...