Do you say what I say?

Yesterday was [supposed to be] my first day of school. I [would have] had so much fun! The teacher was [probably] great, and I [could have] met new classmates from all over the world!

What actually happened is that I showed up for class, they looked at me funny and told me in German that the class doesn't start until January 10th. After a series of miscommunications with 3 different employees who refused to talk to me in English, I left the building and responded the way any Californian au-pair in Frankfurt would have-- I cried, walked along the river, stopped for a chocolate croissant, and ended up in Starbucks. (Consistent readers may think that I cry too often for this to be taken seriously, but it was actually the first time I've cried since being here!) My frustrations were a culmination of the omnipresent reality that I can't fully and completely communicate here. Without going into too much detail of the 5 hours following my Starbucks binge, I now start class Tuesday instead. Peggy stepped up for me and I am so grateful.

It's a strange concept-- going to a grocery store and hoping that the cashier doesn't make small talk, or ordering food and preparing yourself to answer (in a different language) all the normal questions that will inevitably be asked. I always end up drinking my coffee or eating my meal in the place, because in German "for here" is pretty much the same: "für hier". The "to-go" option is always said too fast, and I've not yet conquered the phrase. Therefore, if I don't have time to sit in a restaurant or coffee shop, I just don't go. This little game that we English-speaking folk play daily is, like any game, win or lose. If the German you're engaging with doesn't start speaking to you in English, you win. If they do, better keep studying, you lose. Sometimes a sentence is thrown at you and there are only milliseconds to think of a neutral enough response with your limited vocabulary. I'd say right now I'm batting around .450 in the game.


It's supposed to start snowing next week! The word for snow is Schnee-- as in, Schnee White, Schneeflakes, fake Schnee, or "Don't Schnee on my parade."