Breakthrough

Arriving at the school was slightly painful... the teachers don't speak English at all. I could understand the hand gestures and a few of the words well enough to get the general gist (you're going to take a test, then meet the host family), if they spoke really slowly. And then I met the host family and found out that while the husband speaks a little bit of English, the wife speaks none.

It was a little daunting. I did find that I didn't need the crutches as much as I used to think I did, but I still found myself in the deep end trying to swim. Suffice to say it was a quiet first couple of days, outside of the English that I was occasionally speaking with the Canadian and the Dutchman who were also staying there.

(And I still felt guilty about much of that - Diana would cook us dinner and then sit quietly while the three of us rattled on in English, which she doesn't understand. I've been the one who can't understand anyone else, and it sucks.)

But today was a breakthrough.