Okay, not really exciting, but I tried something new. Well not really new. I decided to go to the Pizza Hut. It's basically a little booth with an exterior and an interior window. I assume they have a kitchen somewhere but I didn't see it. It wasn't a restaurant like most of the Pizza Huts you see.
Anyway, I decided to try the "salami" pizza to see if it was what we consider salami or pepperoni. Good news, it was pepperoni. I ordered the specially priced meal number 1, which was one slice with a soda for 2.49 Euro. Well I gave myself away pretty quickly. I made it through ordering and then she asked me something. I thought she was asking about my drink, so I said 7-Up, but then I deduced pretty quickly (after she pointed to the pizza) that she was asking what kind of pizza I wanted. The young guy working the counter then jumped in with English and finished the transaction.
I always get this weird feeling when trying to use my German and when people respond to me in English. It's almost like I feel as though I've let them down or that I'm demanding something from them that is unreasonable (for them to speak my language when I'm in their country). I think it's all in my head because everyone has been very nice and patient with me so far and nobody has acted annoyed that I don't speak German or that the German I do attempt is very poor. It's my own hangup, I know, but I get one of those funny feelings in my stomach like I've failed a test or something. I really hope that once I start taking language classes and increasing my comprehension I'll feel more confident. I find that my comprehension is the most difficult thing. I feel okay being able to put a sentence together and getting my point across, but it's when they ask me a question or respond that I get all flustered and forget everything I've learned. I was pretty embarrassed when I answered the soda instead of the pizza type, although no one else seemed to think it was a big deal at all and no one laughed. I guess this is just one of those things that comes with adjusting to a new country.
Posted by Shelby at February 18, 2004 08:01 AM