My German Level

During my first week in Berlin, I noticed I was making a rookie mistake. I had assumed that merely being in Germany would help my German improve, but still making almost no effort to practice. For instance, I am living with a German person, yet we speak English all the time! I went to a language conversation group and spoke some German, yes, but also some French and Italian. And while I do acknowledge that at giant gatherings of international travelers (like the ones I've been attending, the loveliest of which is a huge picnic near the banks of the river!), the default language is English, I should really be making an effort to speak more German. 

So, I decided to rectify the situation two days ago and found a not-so-expensive intensive German course. Signing up for it was already forcing myself to practice—there were two online tests before I could even think of going to the building and signing up. The first test I passed with flying colors (almost every one right)! The second one was almost impossible—it was a fill-in-the-blank format with no word bank at all. I'm not sure how they expect anyone to know exactly which words they intended for each blank! But, I still got above 50%. After submitting the online tests, I got an email (entirely in German) telling me to come in for even more examinations. Fun times, seriously! I had a 30-minute oral exam with a very nice woman who, in the end, informed me that, by EU standards, I should be in a B2-level course. What is B2 you ask? Well, let me tell you: 

"You can communicate spontaneously and fluently - even in longer conversations with native speakers. You can follow complicated texts and discussions and express your opinion on abstract topics."

Well, that's that! I don't know why I even want to take a course! Just kidding—there's always room for improvement. So, long story short—I have signed up for a German course, which I hope will resolve my laziness issues. I've also started reading German children's books that Eileen has lying around the house. My first one, Oma Paloma, is a lovely tale about a little girl's very unusual grandmother from South America. International, adorable, and most importantly, at my level (plenty of cute pictures too!)!

Off to Lithuania for the weekend! As they'd say here in Berlin: Tschüss!