It's essential to keep an open mind, and to be willing--better yet, eager--to try new things
-Michael Abrash
Out of all my memories, the one of my first day in a German school makes me smile every time I imagine it. I remember standing in front of an old school building on a warm, breezy European day. I see myself carrying a big heavy backpack up the staircase to the main entrance of my new school. This was my first none American school and like any other kid, I was nervous. The phrase "Hallo” and “Guten Morgen”, along with any other phrases that I had practiced so diligently preparing for this moment, left my mind without a trace. Choking on my own fix to the German words and turning in my papers, I felt the nervousness increase. Following the counselor to my class, I looked in front of me and came to the realization that only a door stood between me and my class. The room was full of people. Some of them greeted me, some just kept on starring. Still, I could not make a single phrase from my practice. All I could do was to concentrate all my attention on looking straight forward and pulling my out of my backpack and putting them into my cubby.
The first day was a big surprise to me. I saw tons of different people with different backgrounds and cultures that could easily talk amongst themselves in a foreign language. All of them were able to do it, except me. It was strange for me to feel so out of touch from a place that was supposed to become my new home for the next five years.
My first week was sort of tough. I realized that I could not keep myself together when trying to us my small knowledge of German from the top of my head to talk to people, but I also could not do so in an. I took an exam results that were supposed to place me in a class according to my knowledge of the language. I could tell it would be a hard transition.
Seeing my classmates communicate in a totally different language without any effort, and not being able...