I am very happy to share my success in German. A year and two months have passed since I started studying, during this time two and a half levels are now in the past and I really found myself in Germany.
Now I understand what people are talking about, I am not afraid to ask and get answers to questions, I started going to official organizations without an interpreter (it wasn’t a simple brave move). Once I even had a fight in the checkout line when someone boldly tried to squeeze ahead.
My language - although not perfect, but is fluent and understandable, this is my protective amulet, and I am very glad that it appeared and is getting better every day thanks to my teacher Natalia.

It helped, helps and will help! Now, when I answer the question "how well do I speak German?", I confidently exclude the definition ein bisschen :) I can speak with pleasure, I listen to super strange, but such cool German music and understand what they sing about, I go to the cinema to see German films in the original and do not want to run away. Yes, I do not understand jokes yet (at least quickly), but there is a lot to come! Once I had to type everything into Google Translate and rehearse the phrase for buying coffee and a bun before entering the bäckerei. It was terribly annoying! And what about making an appointment with a doctor? And answering an incoming call from an unknown German number? At some point, I really wanted to just live a good ordinary life in a new country. That was the moment when I clearly understood - I want and will speak German.

The fear of speaking hasn't completely disappeared, but at least we're in conflict now: I have a safe space where I can try, make mistakes, and learn.
I've learned not to be afraid to START speaking.
I've learned to formulate my thoughts in German right away.
And, probably most importantly, I felt supported.
This is a school where the teachers are not just "cool" - they know how to create an environment in which you want to stay because of the feeling that I'm no longer alone in this process.
This is not a conviction from the category "it's necessary", it’s my inner feeling "I want this": it is important for me to be able to communicate in the language of the country that I now call my home - this is my way of showing respect for the people around me. Learning a language not only to understand instructions or answer in a store, but also to express my readiness to become part of a society that has accepted me.

Yes, yes, 200% yes! I feel it every day of my life in Germany. I'm not afraid to speak, I'm not afraid to ask again. I can hear what I was asked and what they answered, I can eavesdrop on people in the s-bahn (not because I'm rude, but simply because I can!), I can read ads, watch TV (the tax has been paid, after all) and in general. And my favorite thing is that I no longer set a language filter when making an appointment with a doctor! Nur Deutsch? We'll figure it out! (although once I told an orthopedist that I was paralyzed, instead of "I was limping" 😅)