So, the O-man is embarrassed that Americans don't know the language of every country to which they may travel (nevermind that English is the international language of business), and yet he's going to give a speech in Berlin in Englisch. Give me a break.

I'm still trying to figure out how to continue learning German--I was able to buy stamps and order off a menu as long as the responses followed the script in my head--but it really wasn't necessary for a week in Bavaria. Roland, mein Deutsche Freund, says it's pointless to try to become fluent unless I plan to move there, which doesn't interest me, but I enjoy learning stuff (I'd also like to learn how to knit and how to drive a standard transmission, neither of which is necessary to live in the 21st century).

This whole insistance that we should all be learning Spanish instead of continuing to use English as a common language, though, annoys me:

It is profoundly selfish of him to profit from his excellent English, and then to suggest that young Hispanics and other immigrants who have difficulty with English remain in their linguistic ghetto.

Well, yeah. As much as I like to wax faux-indignant about members of my ethnic background being forced to Anglocize and forbidden to publish German newspapers during WWI, I'm so much better off that my actual ancestors learned to speak and write English (imagine how cool I'd be if they'd shown any interest in my education instead of dumping me off at the daycare in my hometown for ten years.). So why wouldn't I want other people to learn English and succeed as well? Seems kinda racist to me to insist they shouldn't...

So where do people who already have high school diplomas go to learn German? Bah.