Making myself understood with little German experience.  I felt misunderstood and awkward.  Now I am trying to use the German I've learned and all other means of communication.  I learned some German and put forth effort to be like them.  I am trying to adapt.  I'm trying to live life through an immigrant's point of view.  I think realistically that I will be changed for a couple of months, but through the years, I will probably forget about what I've experienced culturally unless I travel abroad again and relive these experiences so that they are fresh in my mind.