The moment we landed in Germany our thoughtful European colleagues had arranged a living situation for us which was as good as you’d get for language-learning, which was now our daily focus. They found a Lutheran pastor, and his wife and family, who had a parish house (with an extension) big enough to accommodate all of us.

Having our whole family live inside their whole family was almost unheard of but it was a godsend for us. The couple, Traugott and Almut Fränkle, knew what we needed to do and went out of their way to help. They could both speak passable English, but they never did – just so we would be immersed in German. Now our language-learning had to be front and centre.

Our first task was to for Pam and me find a local person who would help us to say our introductory greetings. My helper taught…