Eurotrash

Ha!



(Get it?)

Unrelated, I had a subtle linguistic breakthrough earlier today. I ordered a coffee (in German, but this is no big deal), and the guy asked, "Zu mitnehmnen?" I replied without thinking, "Ja, bitte." For that moment, I did not do any mental translating and simply knew the answer was yes. But then I started thinking, "What the hell did he say? What did I say? What did it all mean?" While he was getting the coffee, it came to me: "zu mitnehmen" means "to go." Simple as that, and hardly on par with understanding a Wagner opera or anything.

But here's why it may be remotely significant: for probably the first time in my entire stint in Deutschweitz, I reacted instinctively to a question in German (as opposed to turning it over in my head like a thorny crossword puzzle), and my instinctive reaction was right. Given the slow rate of progress and my limited chances to practice, the likelihood of progressing too far is slim. But hey, little victories.

Two slightly related linguistic notes:
--Germanoswiss people seem to have no problem with referring to us Americans as, well, Americans. In Spain, for example, this is a big cultural issue. People will argue til they're (literally) red in the face about this, and insist on referring to us as "Estadounidenses" despite very compelling arguments to the contrary. Germanic types seem completely indifferent to this, and actively use the term "American" (or, more accurately, "Amerikaner" when identifying us).

--One of the great things about being in Switzerland is that it's been weeks now since I've heard anyone use the term "douchebag." A few years back, for reasons that remain opaque to me, a massive norm cascade caused this term to be the insult of choice around the States. I found the prevalence of "douchebag" gross and overused when it first happened, and I still do. Blessedly, this term has not yet crossed the Atlantic, and I've been enjoying life without having people refer to lurid feminine hygiene objects every ten goddamned minutes.

“Das wetter ist schlect. Es regnet.”

This is a phrase I remember from the German language CDs I listened to before heading over here. It means “The weather is awful. It’s raining.” It has come very much in handy—every damned moment since I’ve been here.

A rueful but refreshingly honest reflection on the state of DF's German skillz

Let’s be honest: my German sucks arsch. All I can really do in German well is explain that I can’t speak German well, and politely ask that people speak English with me. They do, of course—everyone in this country, or at least those who travelers need to interact with—seems to have a solid grasp of the international language. It’s just a bummer that this is necessary. I’ve worked pretty hard at getting basic German down, but I just don’t have very good language skillz generally, I guess, and I pretty clearly lack the confidence that would convince people that I know what I’m doing. Also, no one I interact with seems to have any time or interest in helping me engage in the struggles that would be necessary to get to a point of adequate fluency. I get it—it’s not the job of a hotel desk worker or restaurant waitress to be my language tutor—they’re busy, and they just want to get the interaction over with as quickly and efficiently as possible. Plus, everyone here speaks anywhere from solid to perfect English, so it’s just simpler and more efficient to go ahead and use our common, fluent tongue.