We finally tried to sort-of in some way make this crazy German apartment more of a home. Right after New Year's I made it my mission to slap paint on the walls and cover up the weird spot in the wall (the hanging fabric is very clever, no?). That horrifying light is still there, but we have decided that we are too chicken to do anything electrical. With time...We both love it, and when I am working at home, it is much more cheery.
On Jan. 7th I started my German class, and I am so sad that I haven't been able to do it earlier! It is bizarrely fun-- it feels a little like a very international 2nd grade. Today we were talking about food, the food pyramid, etc (along with sentence constructions that second graders would probably already know, but feel very important and difficult to me). I sit between a girl from Iraq and a woman from Turkey, and Mexico, Morocco, Afghanistan, Khazakstan, Pakistan, Latvia, Poland, and Nigeria are all represented. I think the class is especially funny because while teaching language, the book is also trying to integrate everyone into German society (family life, carnival and the Berlin Love Parade: girls with purple hair, hotel customs, etc.). In the meantime, I get to satisfy my voracious appetite for learning about other cultures because the teacher asks everyone how things are done in their home countries. All in German!
I'm already starting to see some results-- I have been blushing and stammering less when speaking to strangers! Even though I still make about a million grammer mistakes a second.
Jeremy's heading off to Bavaria tomorrow for a couple of days to give a talk. What a guy.
6 comments:
Guten tag & Danke schön!
I just found out about your new blogspot so I thought it would be a good place to thank you for the beer goblets! KennyXpress was a tad behind with his Christmas deliveries so I just got them yesterday! They're absolutely awesome, and I'm so glad I don't have to steal anymore because I was starting to feel really bad about that. Merry Christmas and Happy New year! Enjoy the Bavarian cream pies, I'm sure they're like the Krispie Kreme of the U.S.
painting looks like it would be fun. multiple people have told me otherwise. your thoughts? because at this point i have about 3 rooms repainted in my mind
Tell them to speak Hoch-Deutch, and they will drop the dialect... speaking of grammar.... how about some english spelling! (you spelled it grammer... hahahaha)
Hey, link up to my new blog..
www.maltwhiskeyandmotorcarriages.blogspot.com !!!
Oh, dear, spelling is my nemesis in any language!
Hi Nicole! We're glad you like the glasses! Now be a good girl...
Karen,
Painting was kind of a pain, but it helped to have the right tools-- i.e. a fuzzy roller for stupidly textured walls. If I did it too much I think it would give me carpal tunnel. I think the result was worth the pain, though...
Hi Nicole, glad to see you here. Unfortunately, I didn't see any cream pies whilst in Bavaria, maybe I was looking in the wrong place.
To the mysterious K hunde, it doesn't matter what kind of German they speak, it's mostly greek to me. I actually made a small faux pas when I arrived there, when mentioned that I had not yet been to Bavaria. Although the town I visited is in the staat of Bavaria, the people there don't consider themselves Bavarian, instead they are Frankonian, and speak yet another crazy dialect. This country is way too complicated. (BTW, you missed the "s" in Deutsch---the spell checking game can be a dangerous one ;) )
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