ok, after a solid 11 months of working on it, i can speak okayish. and when people speak to me i can get about 40 percent of what they’re saying. it’s still frustrating sometimes, definitely, but people don’t hesitate to speak to me like i fully understand, meaning, they don’t speak slowly to me (i wish they would), or in simple sentences (although that would be easier for me). i’m also getting pretty good at writing. i haven’t had that breakthrough moment where i’m speaking fluently on the level that i’m at, but i definitely am much less awkward.