So far while gallivanting around Berlin most of the people I have come across speak at least a little bit of English. The little bit of English they know combined with the little bit of German I know has helped in situations where I have wanted to order food, get directions or work on assignments. Instances where language really plays a big barrier are in the area named Wedding. Wedding is where our hostel is located. This area also has a large Turkish population. The Turkish immigrants speak only Turkish, German, and just enough English to let you know they don’t speak English.
The pictures above are of Lorenzo (110% Italian) and myself trying to order food from a Turkish restaurant one particularly cold day in Wedding. When we walked in the restaurant the menu was on the wall and it was all pictures. In my mind I knew that if we didn’t communicate verbally we would at least be able to point at the item we wanted on the menu. We tried to order in English like the pure tourists we were and that did not work. Lorenzo then tried ordering in Italian, this also did not work. What we tried next was implementing the little German we knew with a lot of hand movements. In the end we walked out of the restaurant with exactly what we wanted and with no one feeling offended.
In instances where I needed directions, I almost always had the name if the street I wanted to go written down. In these cases I could just point at the road name or someone could help me in English. I am also happy to say I have never been lost in Berlin. Surprisingly I was working on a campaign for the Berlin Welcome Card and this is where I noticed the language barrier. The Berlin Welcome Card is a product for tourists that offer discounts on the many different attractions in Berlin over the period of up to five days. My assignment was to go up to several different kiosks and see if they offered this product or its competitor or both. I must admit this is where I thought I would find the most English speakers. On the contrary, it is where I found the least. It seemed when I went up to the desks they were upset when I asked if they spoke English. So what I found regarding the language barrier is in an instance where I most need an English speaker I was not able to find one. I also noticed that most of the English speakers were younger and in this case acculturated. Then I thought, well I am in their country- so shouldn’t it be I speaking the native language and not expecting special treatment?
It is with the above points that I sum up this entry. I didn’t expect to come to German and run into handfuls of English speakers, that they are here is acceptable but that is not something I should think is owed to me. I feel like Americans always think we are owed a big favor and I am not sure why, maybe its because slowly but surly we are trying to westernize the globe instead of globalize it (thoughts of mine you will read in another blog). There is an old alliteration: proper, preparation, prevents, poor, performance- I think it is best that when you go to another country, especially if you plan to stay for an extended period you should learn the language. Or at least learn key phrases so the language barrier is not so large.
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