I don't know what it is with me the last couple of days. I've really been a sheeeeeethead lately when it comes to speaking German.
Thrice in 24 hours, someone has approached me to ask me a question or to otherwise relay information in German. One was a little old lady looking for a particular street. The other was a visitor in my building trying to leave a message for a tenant. Another was a repairman who showed up at my door to let me know that they were going to be working next door. Each time, I just said, "Es tut mir Leid, ich spreche kein Deutsch." (I'm sorry, I don't speak German)
I just don't seem to want to be bothered with even trying to converse in German lately. Is it normal to go through such a "protest" phase when immersed for so long in a new language?
Being immersed in a foreign language is tiring. I've been here for a few months already and I still find that speaking / hearing German all day is exhausting.
So I can quite easily imagine that one might want to have a break from it all for a little while (although not me! ).
I think this is a normal phase for many of us - after making good progress you suddenly reach a saturation point and the little grey cells start a protest action.
At that point, I found it helpful to stop studying, stop pushing myself, stop integrating and confine my German to entertainment: watching films and bad TV. Eventually* I found my motivation again.
14 years on, I still pull the 'Verzeihen Sie mir, bitte, aber ich spreche kein Deutsch" card when it suits me... an effective way to deflect telemarketers and busybodies...
*There's only so much Kommisar Rex one can take before the little grey cells start begging to be put to use again.