Erica,
Meine Eltern fuhr aus Deutschland eher als ich geboren war. Ich war in Amerika geboren und wohne in New York. (My parents came from Germany before I was born. I was born in America and live in New York.)
That's why I can read and write a litle in German. My old neighborhood had many German families and, as German's will, formed a club ( Deutsch-Amerikanisches Bund) that offered instruction in German reading, writing, culture and history. I hated the extra schoolwork but some of it apparently stuck. Although my grammer is atrocious I can usually make myself understood. Now though, I usually only speak the old language with my mom who, at 78 yrs old and 53 years in the US, still speaks with a German accent.
I wish I looked that good, it's not a picture of me. I have not yet invested in a digital camera and I have no current photos to scan in (which I would have to do at work) that present me in the way I would like. But, thanks for the compliment anyway!
Vielen Dank,
helen