I always hear that Germans are so educated and rank so high in English proficiency. Not my experience at all.

I’ve had to help some German tourists before who came to my island, and their English sucks. Trying to tell them that there’s something wrong with their tires when they don’t even understand what a tire is in the first place is maddening. Also, having to explain directions to them when they don’t remember where their hotel is, but still don’t understand what you’re explaining to them is exhausting. They’re very unpleasant about it too, they don’t ask for your help they demand your assistance as if you were some kind of service, I’m just a random citizen.

Now, I’m not going to learn German just because these tourists come here without bothering to learn any Spanish. It’s already good enough that I speak English and French. I’m not going to learn another foreign language especially for Germans, who tend to be the type of people who are snarky and rude behind the pretense of being “straightforward and genuine”.

Where does the stereotype that Germans know how to speak English come from? Even the ones with some grasp of it have that terrible accent that sounds like a goose trying to mimick human speech but failing terribly.

My apologies for my lack of appreciation for these barbarians, living in a touristic place causes a deep tourist fatigue when they don’t even bother to do the bare minimum.