So I get coaching and learn the nuances of the language such as what sounds American and what does not in the classroom, but I personally think I learn more from my host father than anything. He oftentimes corrects my “Aussprache,” or my spoken German. He does it in an encouraging way, so I’ve learned quite a bit about pronunciation errors and common mistakes I make, but he always makes fun of me when I make silly mistakes. For instance, I once told him “Ich muss mich meine Zahn putzen.” He just laughed and replied, “OH you’re going to go brush your TOOTH,” then proceeded to make a scrubbing motion on one tooth. Another correction he has been particularly adamant about is the difference between schwul and schwül (gay and humid, respectively), and today at breakfast, I accidentally said I would like “eine Scheide, bitte,” instead of “eine Scheibe.” Haha ooooops. Sometimes I get frustrated with myself though because I came in making a million and one mistakes, and it initially made me feel like my personality was watered down. I sometimes felt rude, insincere, or disingenuous, and it has been very hard to feel satisfied with how I express myself. I mentioned that to my host mother, and she said it was natural and will come with time-“Das kommt mit Zeit.” So in the meantime, I’ve just learned to make some jokes and roll with everything that I don’t know. | I’ve only been in Germany for a week, but everything is so new and I have been so busy exploring the city, it feels like it has been so much longer. The biggest struggle I have encountered so far, aside from the language, is being on time . Put your hands in the air if you called it! Fortunately my professor operates on just about the same time schedule as me and also loves to tango, salsa and drink wine, so he tells us about all of the good places and areas to go to. Our class is very flexible and we are offered the freedom to learn German not only through grammar and listening exercises, but also through political discussions, reading the newspaper and other interactive activities. In our small class of ~15 people, it feels more like we are just hanging out with our teacher than anything, which makes it easier to pick up the language. |
On another note, Köln is very beautiful and a lot of fun. There is a great Turkish part of the city about 5 minutes from my school, and they have THE BEST BAKLAVA IN THE WORLD. Going out in Germany is great too because they have no open bottle laws. So for all of you who were at Golden Gardens with me a few weeks ag, you’ll understand how good it feels to freely walk around with a beer or bottle of wine (YES) in your hands. The people here are quite nice too, contrary to what I’ve heard, and nearly every time I step outside of the house I meet someone friendly and new. For instance, last night I went to a “singenden Bier Garten” with some friends, where we sang some classics and drank with an older, drunken German version of Russell Crowe. It was wonderful. I also found this lovely picture of a banana by Andy Warhol! It’s supposed to symbolize the battle between corporations and independent artists in Köln, but I am convinced that Freud was in on it as well. |