“Young soprano Elizabeth Gentner…has a supple, full-bodied voice perhaps better suited for a larger venue, but displayed a confidence and command of comedy unusual in a performer at such an early stage in her career.” ~Kathleen Whalen, Daily Republic Correspondent
Gerglish
I’m a little sorry for the poor waitress who was the first person I tried to speak to in German after the long trip to Berlin. While my German is far from perfect under normal circumstances, I was particularly incoherent on my first excursion into the city.
Motivated mostly by hunger, after showering and taking a long nap at the hotel, I asked for directions to a good place to eat and set out! I wandered into a small grocery store and realized that I would need cash… I wandered until I found an ATM, grabbed a few things without incident from the grocery store and then decided on the restaurant Hell oder Dunkel Bier based on what I saw people eating outside.
I had been speaking German so much the previous day at the airport, watching movies in German and even reading German newspapers. So I was pretty shocked myself when instead of asking for a table for one in either English or German what came out of my mouth was an incoherent melding of German and English words that even I didn’t understand.
The waitress looked completely baffeled so I tried again to say the phrase in English… Well that didn’t even work! I promise that any american waitress would have been confused, but as far as this girl was concerned, I was speaking Swahili.
I finally muttered something about jetlag and she was so excited that she understood something that she jumped up and said “Ohhhh its ok! You can speak English here… Table for one?!?”
Well, I made friends with the waitstaff but I am absolutely certain that that they think I am a little crazy….
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I’ve been in a daze since driving you all night to Columbus for your flight to NYC. Since you were longer than, I, it’s no wonder you had your language difficulty.
Dad