Migration: Three Years of My German Language Journey : I Smiled, Nodded… and Understood Absolutely Nothing

Moving to a new country is prone to challenges . Learning a new language its like you are just right now born, while trying to build a life? Even harder. This is the story of my messy, funny, emotional journey through three years of learning German  in the heart of Switzerland.

My Journey to Switzerland (and Into the Deep Waters of German Language)

This is not just a story about a language.
It’s the story of a girl who moved countries, carried her hopes in a suitcase, and thought learning German would be a side quest.
Spoiler: It was the main boss battle.

Even before I moved to Switzerland, I had already started learning German.
From my room, watching YouTube videos, casually practicing vocabulary, saying “Guten Morgen” to my mirror like it was a warm-up.

When the decision to move finally came, I felt prepared.
“This won’t be so hard,” I told myself.

I signed up for a course immediately after arriving, full of optimism  and full of confidence.
The classroom was mostly older people, struggling to remember even the alphabet.
And there I was, thinking:

“Awww… this will be easy. I’ll be fluent before the year ends.”
Reality answered quickly  and not in a friendly tone.

My Big (Mis)understanding

That job interview was just the beginning of a three-year rollercoaster of pretending to understand things I didn’t.

Why did I say I understood?
Because I wanted people to like me.
To think: “Wow, look at her, she’s learning so fast!”
I wanted to fit in.
I wanted to seem capable.
And for a few seconds, I did.
Until they kept talking… and I kept smiling… and my brain went completely blank.

 My Ears Were in Shock (and So Was My Personality)
In the early days, German sounded like a crashing waterfall of sharp, fast sounds.
I couldn’t tell where one word ended and another began.
Every sentence was a puzzle. Every conversation felt like a battlefield.

And speaking?
Speaking German wasn’t just language practice  it was a full-body workout.
After one short interaction at the supermarket, I needed a nap.
I wasn’t just mentally tired.
I was physically exhausted from pretending I had any idea what I was doing.

Also, something really weird happened:
When I speak German, I develop a completely different voice.
I go from friendly, warm Balkan girl to… strict German robot aunt.
Suddenly I’m saying:

“JA, ICH BIN DA. KEIN PROBLEM.”…in a tone that sounds like I’m about to lead a military drill.
Why? I don’t know.
Apparently, my brain decided that to survive in German, I need to become a new person.

When You’re Not Swiss, You’re Family
In my first months in Switzerland, I often felt like a ghost.
There in the room but invisible. Present ,but quiet.
Surrounded by people with fluent words and confident smiles, while I hid behind “Entschuldigung” and “bitte?”

But sometimes… magic happened.
Someone would mention where they were from another country,
not Switzerland. From somewhere closer to me …

And suddenly, it was like finding family in the middle of a crowd.
I’d light up. My heart would smile before my mouth even moved.

“You’re not from here?”
“No, I’m from down there, from the Balkans.”
And I’d say:  “Wow, you too… you also know how hard this is.”
No more pretending.
No need to explain why my German is weird or why my eyes are tired.
Because I know they’ve also nodded politely at things they didn’t understand.
They’ve also smiled too much. Stayed too quiet. Felt too foreign. Tried too hard.

In that moment, I didn’t feel like a stranger anymore.
I felt seen. I felt understood  without saying much at all.

From Chaos to Confidence (Mostly)

Three years later, my German is not “cute beginner German” anymore.
It’s solid. It’s real. It works.

I can speak, I can write, I can fill out forms without crying (most of the time).
I can survive small talk, understand Swiss bureaucracy, and yes , I can even decode Swiss German, which is practically a superpower.

So yes , I’m functional. I’m adapted. And honestly? I’m proud.

But of course, being me, I had to complicate it.
In a recent job interview, the woman asked me:

“Do you speak German fluently?”
Now, was the answer yes?
YES.

But instead, I said:

“I understand about 90%.”
Because, you know… I wanted to sound smart and humble.
Because in my head I thought:

“There are always words we don’t know , even in our own language.”
But not everyone sees it that way.
She smiled and nodded, but I could feel the shift.
In her mind, I probably became “the girl who almost speaks German.”

Meanwhile, I walked out thinking:

“Wow. I just downplayed three years of hard work in one sentence.”
But here’s the truth:
I speak German. And I understand Swiss German — enough to laugh at jokes, follow conversations, and exist in this society.
Not just tourist-German, but real-life Swiss German.
I work, I study, I pay bills, I survive — in this language.

And yes — there are still words I don’t know.
But honestly? That just means I’m human.

 A Language, A Fight, A Funny, Beautiful Mess
Learning German wasn’t just about verbs and nouns.
It was about surviving, adapting, and trying to feel human in a system where I felt invisible.

It was about smiling politely while being completely lost.
About wanting so badly to connect, to belong, to say:

“I get it. I live here. I’m part of this now.”
And slowly, through broken grammar, accidental insults, and a robotic voice that doesn’t sound like me ,I did it.
I’m still doing it.

💬 What about you ?
Have you ever smiled, nodded, and understood nothing , just to look like you belonged?
Share your funniest language fail or “pretend I understand” moment with me below.
Let’s laugh, cry, and Google Translate our lives together ❤️