I can finally communicate basic things with the children playing outside and I can order food at a restaurant, but if someone starts talking to me in German, I have NO IDEA what they're saying. I know just enough vocabulary to ask for what I need, but it's not enough to understand other people when they respond.
Plus, the Germans I meet don't know which words I have learned and which words I haven't. For example, when I order something at the bakery, if the lady says, "Is that all?" in German, I understand it and can say, "Yes, thank you." But if she says the equivalent of, "Do you need anything else?" or "Will that be it for you today?" I have no idea what she said and have to tell her that my German is bad, ask her to please repeat it more slowly, blah, blah, blah...it's a huge hassle!
Lucky for me, no one knows I'm not German until I open my mouth, so if I go through the grocery store and don't talk to anyone, I'm just fine. But on the other hand, since no one knows I'm not German until I open my mouth, they usually talk fast and use slang when they do talk to me. Then I have to look like an idiot and say I can't understand them.
One day at the grocery store, the package of sliced ham I was buying didn't have a bar code on it (because the sticker fell off), so the guy at the register called a service person on their phone system (and I couldn't translate it), said something to me (which I didn't understand), set the ham aside, finished ringing up the rest of my things, took my money, and then started ringing up the next person. I had no idea if I was supposed to get another package of ham myself, wait for someone to bring me another package of ham, or walk away with no ham. I had no idea! I stood there for a minute (thinking the person from his phone call would bring me a new ham), but I tried to look busy so people didn't think I was standing there for no reason in case no one was bringing me a ham! Thank the Lord, my neighbor came to the rescue. She was a few people behind me in line and so I went to her, asked if she could translate (since the cashier didn't speak English), and then she figured out that I should go get another package of ham myself, but I didn't have to pay for it since I was inconvenienced. Whew!
PS: Here are the definitions of the words in the title, which I use OFTEN:
Enschuldigung = Excuse me
Weiderholen = Repeat
Bitte? = Huh? (or please)
Cara, I can TOTALLY relate with you on this. It sucks when you think you are improving so much and then they respond with something you aren't expecting :) I used to get very embarrassed and for a while I would first tell them that I want to practice speaking Dutch with them before I would make my request. It just made me feel much less embarrassed if I gave them a blank stare when they responded with something that confused me. Also, talking with kids is THE BEST because they have a smaller vocabulary and they don't laugh at you if you say something wrong :P
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