During the Soviet occupation of East Germany and East Berlin after WWII (or "World War Squared", as I like to call it), learning the Russian language became mandatory in East German schools. English, on the other hand, was optional and not as encouraged, as the English-speaking world was almost entirely capitalistic. Therefore, it's not surprising that many of the adults ages 35 and up in former East Germany can still speak and understand more Russian than English (if they know any English at all).
This is good for me, because it forces me to speak German to these people.
It's funny, because the very basic Russian that I knew before coming here has widely impressed some of my new friends. Who knew an American could be familiar with one foreign language, let alone 2, 3, or even 4? :P
So one of my co-teachers has been giving Russian lessons once a week after school, just for fun, and I've joined the little group of high school students. So now I'm learning more Russian, via the German language. It's intense, but in a good way. Even though it's really hard, at least at first, I am happy it gives me something to do, and something new to study.
Not to mention, now German seems like a piece of cake!! :P
