You spin my head right round

Living my life in German sometimes makes my head spin just like is described in the Flo Rida song. (Who knew that Flo Rida = a play with the word Florida, btw? I didn't until I actually saw him perform in Taiwan and he had the state tattooed on his back...the things you learn).

But anyways, some thoughts on learning German here:

1) Total immersion is a thing of the past. I try to speak German most of the day and if a German is cheeky and responds to me in English I always answer in German. That said, it's extremely easy to fall back on English here. I know that anyone I meet my age will most probably speak English; They start them early - 5th grade or earlier! In some ways it's nice to be able to throw in an English word here and there, but I also know it's probably a crutch. Sigh.

2) The more I learn German and travel around this country and elsewhere in Europe, the more I realize what an asset it is to be a native English speaker. Along with our passports that get us into almost any country in the world (looked into Russia...it's a bit tricky), English als Muttersprache is such a trump card. I feel a bit arrogant saying that, but it's true. We Americans (or Brits, or Australians, etc.) can march into basically any country we want and most likely still be able to communicate. In Norway, for example, I eventually stopped asking if English was OK, because everyone spoke it almost fluently. In many parts of the world native English speakers can go and make a very good living teaching our language. It raises an interesting query: Yes, it is unfortunate that foreign language is not pushed so much in the US. But, if it's a question of the best allocation of resources, should foreign language be up there with math, science, and the English language?

3) A side note on the last point: Last night I was out at a party with some German friends, and when one girl saw me singing all the words to whatever rap song she stared at me with a bit of wonder and made an interesting point: "You can understand all the words in that song," she said. "Just like we understand everything in German." So yes, I live in a country where I do not have full comprehension of the language day-to-day, but I walk into any bar, club, or even grocery store and the music I hear makes perfect sense to me. And this music informs the culture of so many parts of the world. Interesting.

4) I speak so much better German when I'm not tired. I think my brain has to be completely "on" for me to be able to slip into the mode where I'm not automatically translating everything, but rather just understanding and responding. I love that I have German roommates, but I often find it challenging to go home and attempt to speak German with them (especially Lars with his heavy Bayerish accent) after a long day.

5) I spend alot of time these days analyzing how good my German is. Most Germans I speak to for the first time tell me my German is good, and I always respond by clutching my heart and a bit dramatically saying, "oh danke schön!" I doubt them though...there's so much more to learn, and so much quicker I need to speak! I always have to remind myself that I'm only three months into this experience, with eight months left. I gotta have a little faith.