cooles internationales Erlebnis - cool international experience

i have always said i wanted a cool international experience where people from all kinds of countries were speaking all kinds of languages and getting along. i had imagined myself taking in the sights and sounds of this cool international experience and happily taking in bits and pieces of conversation, and generally appreciating my surroundings.

today i had my cool international experience. in my german class we have many english speakers, 2 french speakers, 2 spanish speakers, 2 russian speakers, 2 danish speakers, 2 african girls who speak english with an odd phrase they seem to share thrown in every once in awhile, and, of course, we are all trying to learn german. during a break today all of these languages were swirling around the room in a symphony of sounds.

like i had imagined, i did appreciate my surroundings, and i was taking in the bits of the conversations i could recognize. everyone was getting along and teaching each other bits of language and culture, just like i had pictured. but i hadn't anticipated it would give me such a headache! it was worth it to have the cool international experience i always wanted.