For many of you reading, you are likely not familiar with life overseas as an American, especially what it can be like living overseas as an American in a military community. Here is a brief explanation.
First, regardless of what Americans may think in America, we really do not have the greatest reputation around the world. Just because many Americans think that they live in the greatest country in the world does not mean everyone in other countries is in agreement. Take that attitude and multiply it by the fact that anywhere there is a military base, there is naturally a large American population in the local area, and you can cause some initial friction. Second, as we all know, English is a pretty popular language world-wide, which can definitely come in quite handy when traveling abroad on short trips. However, the downside to that is that the very common American attitude of, "If you're in my country you should know my language" often carries over into countries where there are American military bases in the form of, "Well, you speak my language, so why do I need to learn yours?". That is not to say that there are not Americans who learn the language of the country they live in, but the large majority do not. Because of this, natives in overseas areas with high American populations will often judge Americans on their lack of willingness to learn the language of the country they live in (which, let's face it, it's pretty arrogant to not even try, and I don't blame them...). Often, this will lead to negative interactions and discrimination (regardless of other potential discriminating factors such as race). Once again, that is not to say that all interactions are negative or that all Germans (or whatever native to the country) will shun you. But, it is far less common for it to happen in areas with lower populations of Americans living there than in areas that I am often in for work or living.
So, with that said, I remind anyone who has never seen this blog (or has but completely forgot that I mentioned in my long-ago last entry that I am taking college courses online) that I am currently enrolled in classes through a university in the states for German and am working towards earning a Language Certificate. I am currently half-way through my second class, so I am not fluent by any means, but can put together and understand fairly complexes sentences at this point.
Tonight, as I am traveling for work, I have my last night in a Gasthof (basically a German B&B), and went to pay my bill. As I walked into the restaurant area, there was a middle-aged couple sitting and talking. I walked in and gave a customary greeting to them, and they called to the owner for me, for which I thanked them. Apparently the hard work that I do to get my accent right had them fooled and they assumed I was German. But, to their surprise, the owner came out and started speaking with me in English (since I booked the stay through a reservation website in English, he knew that's what I spoke). As soon as he did so, I could hear the couple's surprise that I spoke English, and then picked up on the subsequent complaining that I spoke English (intermixed with the conversation I was having).
At one point in our conversation, the owner was trying to think of the word "zip code", and I used the German word (which now comes to me easier than the English word since living here). At that point, he looked at me surprised and said that I speak German well. I thanked him and told him that I was currently studying online. We continued to have a conversation for a few minutes, and I was so proud that I could understand about 85-90% of what he said (and even genuinely laughed when something funny was said instead of that awkward "I know you said something funny but I don't know what" laugh). I messed up a couple times in speaking and spoke pretty slowly, but I got it out and contributed to the conversation. At the end, he reiterated how well I speak, which I take as a huge compliment, but the kicker was that the German couple complimented me, too! It totally caught them off guard that I do, in fact, speak some German, not just English. I giggled all the way back to my room. I definitely felt quite proud of the interaction, and it gave me confidence in my speaking skills, which are difficult to hone when doing an online language class.
All in all, I thought it was a funny story and wanted to share. Anyone else have a funny story about learning a new language that they want to share?
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