Level 6
My
in Germany
Body Lotion
My first month in Germany without knowing the German
language, I had an embarrassing experience. I immigrated to
Germany from Eritrea on April 14, 1993 for political reasons. I had
never spoken or heard the German language before in my life.
I lived with my first cousin the first month. The second month I
became independent and started living by myself. I went shopping
for groceries by myself. I needed body lotion but I didn’t know
where I could find body lotion. I couldn’t ask where I could find it
because I didn’t speak German. I decided to find out by myself. I
found the trademark NIVIA. NIVIA is a body lotion in my country.
I grabbed onto a big bottle of NIVIA. I paid the right amount and
went home. The next morning I used my body lotion after my
shower. My body lotion started foaming on my leg , and I couldn’t
believe it was foaming. I thought European body lotion foamed
at first. I grabbed it again and again but nothing changed. There
was more and more foam. After a while an old friend came to my
house to see me. When he saw my body lotion on the table, he
said to me, “Why are you using bubble bath if you aren’t having
a bath?” I laughed loudly to myself and I said to him, “I thought
it was body lotion.” This is an embarrassing experience I had had
in Germany. It is good to learn a language and good to ask a
question. There is no stupid question; just a stup id answer.
Samiel Mehary
Teacher: Sally McElroy, PM
64