Yesterday was ANOTHER birthday in our class! We had cupcakes and cookies, and again we lit candles. Somebody played Happy Birthday in German from their phone, and we took photos together with the cake!

After class I went to a print shop in my neighbourhood to scan and print some documents. I had brought my dog with me, since I tend to bring her with me wherever I go. The man who helped me remembered me and my dog from the last time I had been there – in early July, when I had just barely begun Deutschlernen. This time I was able to communicate much more with him. I gave him instructions about the scan quality, about the purpose of the scan, and the file format. He told my my dog was his TraumHund, and I said she was also mine, and that we were Aus Kanada. He had some treats that he gave her, and while he was helping me, my dog was speaking a bit, because she wanted more treats. When I got to the cash the woman asked why my dog had been speaking, and asked if she was impatient. I explained to her that she wanted more treats – in German! – and the girl commented that my German is so much improved since the last time I had been there. Success! This made me very proud. Small victories in German make a big difference to my daily outlook.

And, today was the last class – sniff!

It is so sad to say goodbye to my new friends, to the people I have grown accustomed to seeing four days a week three hours a day. We have our dynamic, our ongoing jokes, our games. We have started sharing food together, and our German is getting good enough to actually communicate some interesting things about ourselves. It is sad to know that we will now disperse and fade from each others‘ memory. I really enjoyed the class and my teacher, and am so proud of how my German has improved this summer.