In my fourth of eight weeks in Europe, I was still a stranger in a strange land. My trusty map was supposed to lead me down a tree-lined path towards the museum, but my addled sense of direction could easily lead me to Fresno. A pair of walkers approached from the opposite direction, leaving me 500 meters to craft a grammatically-perfect question regarding my navigation. I asked, “Ist das der Weg zum Museum?” Her fumbled German response lived within a British lilt, so I alleviated her stress, telling her I was an American. “Thank goodness. Yes, it’s that way.” “Danke.”
Jay Heltzer doesn't remember much German anymore, and is writing microfiction and his first novel (in English) near Washington, D.C. Find Jay on Twitter @JayHeltzer.