Schnitzelbahn - Food, Travel, and Adventures in Germany

There are certain milestones in learning a language, those moments when you feel “wow, I can communicate!” They’re particularly sweet, buried amongst all the other failures and inabilities to express yourself.

People say you have truly learned when you dream in the language. But before that we have:

When you successfully argue with the telephone/utility companies
When you can give directions to someone who asks you on the street
Making small talk with strangers
When you can help someone who asks for help

Normally, I have trouble understanding random questions from strangers - I need context to understand, so something out of the blue can be difficult. Today, a sweet little old lady asked me in the grocery store to help her read the expiration date on a loaf of bread. She had forgotten her reading glasses. I read the date, which was yesterday’s date (odd in a German store!), and we both said that was too old. Then I looked for another loaf that was good for another week. It usually feels good to be able to help someone. It felt GREAT to finally be able to do it in German.