Lost in Translation

This post is an interlude to my Israel trip. I've been wanting to write it for some time, but the longer I delay, the more material I get, so it's okay.

I'm finding living in Germany to be quite difficult. The language and cultural barriers are higher than I expected. Overall I'm enjoying myself, but there have been some very frustrating incidents that kind of make me want to stay inside for a while. (Here they are in no particular order.)

1) When I went to the hardware store to buy some screws to get the license plate affixed to the van, the cashier told me the price and I handed her a €20 bill. She just stared at me. I said, "Alles klar" (which means "everything is fine"). She shared a knowing look with the lady behind me and pointed to the amount on a very well-hidden screen. I was about €15 short. I felt very judged by both ladies. Meanwhile, I'm thinking that they ought to be proud of me because I up and moved to an entirely different country!

2) I had the opportunity to get a loaner fridge from the army for the duration of my stay. My housing counselor was on the phone with my landlord, and we were trying to figure how tall of a fridge I could get. He told me there was a huge fridge there with plenty of space; he had bought it from the past tenant. Although I didn't remember seeing it in my initial walk through, I took his word for it and didn't get a fridge from the army on my one opportunity to do so. But it was a freezer, not a fridge. Now we're stuck with a European-sized fridge the whole time were here.

3) I was walking with Alex to his bus stop and we were crossing a road. A bus started turning into the road and the bus driver raised his hands at me in a gesture that looked like, "You idiot! What are you trying to do, kill yourself and your kid?!" Fortunately on this one, I was able to indicate to him that he did not have his turn signal on, and then his expression changed to, "Oh, you're right. I'm the idiot here. So sorry!" (Yes, I would say he was that expressive, but maybe I was reading too much into it.)

4) I keep ordering things and getting other than expected. One time I ordered an eiskaffee, expecting to get coffee with ice in it and actually getting a fufu coffee drink. (That worked out in my favor.)

One time, I walked up to a dinner counter and said, "Ich möchte angebot." The woman smirked. So I said it again like this: "Ich möchte angebot?" Still smirking. "Angebot. Angebot?" Finally she said, "Yes." I said, quite flustered because this did not happen as quickly as you can read it, or maybe because God was having fun that day and actually slowed time for a minute or two while watching this fiasco, "Should I just sit down or something?" "Yes."

So I sat down and immediately began to reflect. They had a sign in front that said that their deal was a cold fruit salad. I was envisioning one of those salads with lettuce and fruit and maybe a raspberry vinaigrette. I went up to her, I realized as I reflected, and told her, "I would like deal." Ha ha. "I would like deal?" "Deal. Deal?" Reminds me of a caveman. Me want food!

To top it off, she brought out this beast of a dessert that looked like it was a giant kid's sundae (because it was). I had stopped for lunch and I had completely ordered the wrong thing! It tasted fine, of course, but it wasn't at all what I had been looking for!

None of these little things really matter, except as nuisances, of course. I could give up on learning German, but I really don't want to. My next door neighbor seems like a sweetie and not judgmental at all, but she also doesn't speak English. I'm hoping to invite her over for Thanksgiving dinner. I think that could be fun for her and her family. But how would we communicate? I envision uncomfortable silences and awkward smiles. We'll see if I have the guts to do it or not. In the meantime, I'll keep looking for deals and trying my hardest!

Me want food!