Literacy (she said)
10 Jul 2015 by Heather
No, I do not know what this means!
“Parking allowed until July 8th at 11:45 am,” stated the sign along the village of Wasserbillig’s boat mooring quay. As I read the sign, a felt a tension release I didn’t know my body held. Of course, what the sign actually said was, “Parking jusqu’à 8 Julliet à 11:45 am.” My anxiety evaporated because I was no longer illiterate — I was in Luxembourg. They speak French in Luxembourg!
After five summers in France, my brain continuously performs a low-level scan and strains to understand the unfamiliar language around me. It’s become a habit, and back in the US I find myself eavesdropping on African immigrants shopping at the Bailey’s Crossroads Trader Joe’s or the Quebecois skiers at Beaver Creek. Thanks to this habit, I now understand some very basic French and feel quite comfortable navigating every-day tasks in France.
But then, we traveled to Germany. Although excited to see the lovely Mosel Valley and cruise the famous ‘chou cru route‘ (French for the ‘cabbage route’), I was anxious because, honestly, I hardly knew two words of German. From the moment we crossed the border, I couldn’t read street signs, follow instructions, or communicate with those around me. Germans proved to be kind, patient and helpful, but it really was an alien landscape. I managed to do laundry – in German (and pantomime)! I bought groceries (slowly) – in German!

I think I understand what this is – dino Müsli!
But faced with an unknown language on all sides and constantly attempting to decipher the situation stressed me a bit, like a little hum in the background you don’t notice. But suddenly, the hum ceased. The Luxembourg village posted mooring instructions in French, waitresses and shop-keepers spoke French, and we easily made the acquaintance of a lovely restauranteur and his crew over a delicious meal at La Frègate. We could communicate once again!
German seems like a pretty interesting language — where else can you make an entire sentence into a single word? Nonetheless, I’ll continue to focus on improving my French going forward, although I will certainly have more to say next time I visit Germany.