The German

My German is coming along nicely. I'm fairly fluent, but I still make mistakes.

When I screw up in German, Boyfriend usually switches to English to try and figure out what I mean. When I'm not with Boyfriend, I'm usually in a situation where not everyone speaks English, if anyone speaks it at all. This can lead to rather amusing situation. The amusement is usually at my expense.

My usual mistakes are past tenses and umlauts. Not all sound changes are predictable or even make sense. Those usually get corrected with an 'awww, you' smile.

Then there's the funny ones. I've offered clients stamping plates, describing the designs as 'indecent' when I meant frivolous, which caused an uncomfortable silence and then two minutes of laughter when I explained. I also expressed my urge to have a riff-raff carrier on my bike when I meant a luggage carrier. False friends just come to me.

And then there are the reverse mistakes. There are words in German that I know don't mean what my gut tells me it means, but it's hilarious when I listen to my gut anyway. I still have the urge to giggle when Boyfriend tells his mother everything is going well, because to my ears it sounds like he's telling her he's close to orgasm. Then there's the meaning my little sister gave to the German word for 'table' when she was little. It's silly to laugh, but sometimes you got to let the chuckles out. The small things in life matter, even if it's difficult to share them with the people around you.

In the mean while, I can usually express myself well in German. I can explain and listen and function. And that's something to be proud of.

(Normal service will be resumed tomorrow)