Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

    One of the greatest things about having friends in Germany is that when we are here, we are completely immersed in the language. It's fun to see Keith brush up on his skills, brush up on my own (though I'm much better with listening) and watch Evelynn try to figure it all out. She told me today that she's learning a lot of German. Well, maybe. She has now come up with her own language. One that is no where close to German or English. I find myself wanting to dive for cover when those who speak little English want me to explain what she just said. I understand her developmental need to express sounds, but hearing the two languages simultaneously has created a communication problem by itself.
    While in Germany, we would like to do as the Germans do. It's hard to do that when your child creates her own gobbledigook, and that's just about what it amounts to. We've somehow managed to get her to say 'Danke' and 'Tchuß' fairly often, but that's about it. It's probably overwhelming to suddenly be surrounded by a language she doesn't understand, but from my and Keith's perspective, that's when the learning is best.
    In the last four days, two of those days have been spent with friends who speak very little English. And I have begun to dream about German vocabulary and in my dreams I'm trying to translate what I'm dreaming. It's quite unusual and my brain hurts, but it's great for me. I wish Evelynn would be a little more serious about the language, but she is five. It's a completely new cultural experience for her. Now that she's caught up on sleep and more like herself she will stop making noise. Maybe. Meine Mädchen ist nicht so klein, aber Sie ist nur eine Kinder. (My girl is not so little, but she is still a child.) I hope she picks up a little more before we head home.