I'm thrilled because of something that might sound silly, but is a big deal for me: I spoke for several hours in German with one of my good friends.
One might wonder why that would be a big deal for someone who's at a B1 level. I got over my shyness about speaking German with my tandem partner (which is a good thing because what would be the point of having a tandem partner otherwise). However, this was one of the first times that I spoke German with friends from another circle.
I'm not sure why, but initially I was nervous. It sounds weird; after all, my friends are very nice and very kind. Once we got started I lost that feeling and we had a lovely evening. We even had complex conversations, talking about organic farming and wild food foraging.
It was both wonderful to spend some time with a dear friend whom I haven't seen in such a long time and to be able to speak in his native tongue. This is something that I had wistfully imagined when I lived in the US: I had hoped to incorporate myself into German life, meet some new friends (including some Germans), and speak the language.After one year of lessons in the US and two years of lessons here, it feels so good to connect with my friend this way.
That's cool! I had four years of German in high school and have studied on my own off and on while over here, and I am lucky if I can understand what other people are saying around me for an hour much less join in the conversation.
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