German is, overall, much more complicated than English, especially the grammar. I know that in the United States, it is an advantage to be bilingual. I thought this to be true until I was in Europe. Here, the people of my generation who graduate from high school often already speak three languages, and they normally learn their fourth language while in university. When European people travel from country to country, they are hearing a new language each time, so having a billingual background definitely helps them. They don't see this as anything other than normal!
I love learning languages, but I am not a genius when it comes to learning a completely new language in a new country. This is because learning a new language is difficult! The trick is never to ask why. When you ask why they speak this way, you compare your language with their language. This is not a fair thing to do since every country is different in culture and politics. As I said in my biography, I am a first generation immigrant; my mother tongue is not English, and I spent at least 10 years speaking English fluently. Now, since I can understand the meaning of people who speak English, I can also understand more about these people themselves. My favorite quote from former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela is this: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart”. To me , this is the beauty of diversity and culture integration. So, please learn a language!
