Quote Originally Posted by Herbert Augustus Chapman View Post
Luis my dear boy. I lived in the old West Germany for four years - and three years in Berlin as a teenager and yet can only manage a vulgar 'pidgin' German if pressed.

This is now a source of acute embarrassment to me and when young germans I meet through work discover I spent nearly seven years there without learning the language, I can see they dismiss me as a stubborn old mule.

I must insist you immerse yourself in study and rectify this nonsense immediately. The fewer of us speak German, the more superior they start to feel, and the highly increased likelihood of them starting off on their 'adventures' again.
My German used to be pretty good (albeit there was that slight misunderstanding in Prague that resulted in me being sexually assaulted and having to claim to be a pàedophile to get out of it). Now - although I spend loads of time there - I barely ever get to use it, since they just speak English the minute I open my mouth. As a result, I barely even bother trying beyond the basic politenesses.