Last week in Hamburg, I was one of the only non-native German speakers in the group of people I was associating with, and I felt really rather inadequate about my linguistic skills the whole time I was there.

This week in Berlin, I’m basically the only German speaker period (besides Jeremy) in the group of people I’m hanging out with, and I suddenly appreciate my linguistic knowledge a whole lot more—not least when we’re all in a restaurant with no English menus.

Also, after having traveled to France, Italy and Spain over the past few years and having felt extremely frustrated about my inability to communicate properly in any of those countries, it’s very nice to be back in a country where although they speak a foreign language, I can still make myself easily understood. Since I haven’t had to use my everyday German in such a long time, I’d forgotten what it feels like to slip into a language that’s not your own, but in which you still feel oddly comfortable. I even dreamed in German the other night, something which I haven’t done in ages.

It feels like a dormant part of my brain is waking up again, or like I’m tapping back into that “new soul” I acquired by learning a new language in the first place (as the Czech saying apparently goes). Whatever it is, it’s a very enjoyable feeling, and it makes me think I really need to put my German into action more often. After all, what’s the use of a half-dormant brain or a half-dead soul?

Further reading…