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With all the traveling we have done around Europe this past year (12 countries in 10 months) I have learned a couple things. 1 - You can almost always find someone who can speak English. And...2 - Even if you can't find someone who speaks English, there are words you can say that are understood by everyone.Here is a list of words that have migrated into all languages in Europe.Okay.The word okay has become ubiquitous across Europe. I had no idea that people in Germany used it. Then we went to France. They used it there. Then we went to Italy. Okay was there, too. I've heard it said in conversations from Greece to Belgium. So if you want to answer in the affirmative to someone who speaks a different language, answer okay. It's their language too.Stop.I've mentioned before how surprised I was when we came here and stop signs said, well, Stop. I asked Matt why they didn't say halt. All the other signs that tell you to "Stop here on red," say "Halt heir auf rot." It got me thinking. Maybe there is just one company in the whole world who manufactures stop signs and instead of making the signs in individual languages, they just taught the whole world the word stop, there by reducing their manufacturing costs by millions! We've never had to use the word stop when we've been out and about. But I can imagine that it would come in very handy say in a bar or nightclub. "Hey! Stop!"Ciao.Yep. The word for an informal good-bye in Italian is heard everywhere. I really prided myself on learning the sing-song way Germans said tschüss. Imagine my surprise when it's answered with a ciao! instead of a tschüss back. I can't bring myself to use ciao anywhere but in Italy. I remember back home in the States, people who prided themselves on being "international" would always say good-bye by saying "Ciao, baby." It was always met by eye-rolling from everyone else.Pardon.The word for excuse me in German is a mouth full. Entschuldigung. Matt and I went to the crowded local Ikea store one day and I kept bumping into people. I kept having to lean over to Matt and whisper, "How do you say excuse me again?""Entshuldigung." I had to ask him no less than seven times how to properly say this word. Just last week, after months of feeling like I had mastered it, he pulled me aside and said I was dropping the D sound. Back to work. If I had only known then that most people here know the word pardon, said with a long O sound, like the French say it. And not just in Germany. Pardon is said in Romance languages and Slavic languages. So the next time you are in a crowded Ikea anywhere in Europe, just save yourself the trouble and say, "Oh! Pardon!"No.Everyone, no matter what language they speak, knows this one. Say with a firm shake of the head and you'll get your message across.Do you feel prepared to visit Europe now? But I have some advice. Even if you travel to somewhere where everyone speaks English (like Sweden) I recommend learning the words thank you and please in the native language of the place you are visiting. You wouldn't believe the smiles we get when we say thank you to someone in their language, even if they speak English fluently. When you travel abroad, most of the people you will deal with work in the service industry. Hotel staff, waiters, cashiers at small stores. Trust me, you will get much better service and maybe even a smile (a rare thing in Europe) when you break out that dekuji (thank you in Czech) or tack så mycket (thank you in Swedish). It also helps you connect to the people and that culture just the tiniest bit more.Happy travels my friends!KellyWe leave for Stockholm, Sweden, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Tallinn, Estonia in 3 days! Have you been there? What should we see?
Guess what? I have some interesting news. Wanna know? I've actually been working on my German. Like really studying and quizzing myself. I made number flash cards and practice randomly pulling them out and saying them so I can converse (somewhat) with cashiers in stores. Friends, let me tell you it will be a magical day in Germany when I can tell how much my total is in a store without having to sneak a peek at the cash register total display. It hasn't been easy for me. Read about how I was Learning German And Sucking At It earlier.
You might be saying, "Wow. She must really be tired of not understanding people or not being understood."
You would be wrong.
I have become quite comfortable in my bubble here in Germany. I drive along on streets and my kids ask "Hey Mom, what does that street sign say?"
"I don't know."
"Mom, what does that warning message say on that flashing billboard?"
"I don't know." And I'll let you in on a little secret. I kinda don't care.
You get to a point when you live in a foreign country where if you see something and it's not in English, or you don't recognize the foreign words, you start to think it must really not be that important, because the whole world knows that important stuff is always in English. Right? RIGHT?
So why I am I bothering to learn this crazy and difficult language? Because my family is visiting at the end of this summer and I want to look oh so cool and sophisticated and European when they come. That's right. I am learning German to impress my friends and family. Not to make my life easier. My husband already is fluent and I always have him at my disposal. I am learning just for appearances. If my life gets easier then that is just icing on the cake. But where to start?
I started in my German In 10 Minutes A Day book. Pretty close to the front they had a whole restaurant section that deals with place settings and food. The book comes complete with stickers to stick on things around the house. Der Löffel, die Gabel, das Messer. Spoon, fork, knife. Check, check, and check.
We went to a restaurant last week and I was so happy that I understood the waiter when he asked if he could take our plates. Actually, I didn't fully understand him. I got the 'your' and 'plate' but I didn't really know what he wanted to do with them. Since we had a full table of empty plates I could only assume it was to take them so I answered "Ja." Success!
I started branching out into foods and appliances. My German was growing at an exponential rate! (Insert sarcastic voice.)
I hit a stumbling block when I reached the conjugating of verbs. Conjugating wasn't the hard part. It was pronouncing the conjugating. Especially the word möchte as in "Ich möchte..." or "I would like." Here is a sampling of my husband trying to teach me how to say this.
Me - "Itch mocha."Him - "No. Ichhhh (emphasis on throat clearing) möchte."Me as I feel like I am hocking spit on the floor - "Ichhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mocha."Him - "Better Ich, but your möchte sucks."
Normally in this kind of exchange I would sulk or something. But I really wanted to be able to order at restaurants by myself (in front of my family of course) so I kept trying.
Me - "Ichhhhhhhh morchta."Him - "No. Make your O more of an ew sound."Me - "Ich mewta."Him - "No. More of the sound ewr make together. Think ew-rah. Ew-rah. But say them fast. Ewrah."Me - "Okay. Ewrah. Ich mewrahta."Him - "Still no."Me - "Ah... forget this crap."
I went back to my stickers. I can say das Badezimmer (the bathroom) perfectly. How you like me now?
I also worked on weather. Maybe someday I will be able to make small talk with some random German person. And what do you chat about in small talk? The weather, of course. Right now all I've got is if a German just happened to walk up to me and ask "Wie es das wetter heute?" or "How is the weather today?" I would be able to give a one word answer. Sonnig oder windig oder kalt. The possibilities for small talk are endless! (Insert sarcasm.)
All kidding aside, I really am studying. I try to go into stores and shops and speak only German. I call Matt up right before I go in and rehearse my pronunciation. I've even taken notes and kept them in my wallet for quick reference if I panic. I do pretty good 50% of the time. What about that other 50%? That other 50% is where I have done so good on my pronunciation that the person I am speaking with thinks I can fluently speak German (I can't) and starts rattling things off left and right. This leaves me with three scenarios I usually follow.
Scenario nummer eins - The German person says or asks me something and I get scared to death because I have no freaking idea what they just said so I stand there, eyes wide and round, mouth slightly opening and closing. I stand there for longer than would be considered a comfortable silence until they figure out I have no idea what I'm doing and they switch into English. I leave the store thinking that I will never speak German again. Or at least until tomorrow.
Scenario nummer zwei - The German person says or asks me something and to save us both the uncomfortable silence described above, I just answer "Ich spreche kein Deutsch," or, "I don't speak any German," right after I spoke German to them. Much easier.
Scenario nummer drei - The German person says or asks me something that I don't understand so I just answer "Ja." No matter what it is. They could be asking me would I like them to shave my head and dress me in a clown suit and I would answer "Ja." Thinking 'Hey, that sounds great!'
So that's my curse. The curse of knowing SOME German. My life was actually easier when I knew NO German. Knowing only SOME German made me feel more capable than knowing NO German, but it has actually made things more difficult. So either I need to go all the way with this German thing, or forget the whole stinkin' mess.
Here is a quick example. I ventured to a craft store to buy glue sticks for my kids. Found the ones I wanted and went to the cashier. Vaguely understood the total she gave me (checked the screen just in case) and paid her. Then she asked me in German if I had a bag. Germany is one of those places where most people bring their own shopping bags. I thought she asked me if I wanted a bag so I answered "Ja." And I just stood there, waiting for her to hand me a bag. She thought I told her I had one so she stood there waiting for me to give her one to place my glue sticks in. This happened three more times before I almost started crying and saying, "I don't know what you're saying. I just want my glue sticks. Please..." Sometimes I just save myself all the drama and when I go somewhere instead of the German "Hallo," that you greet people with, I say "He-e-ello." Emphasis on that soft e. I raise my English speaking flag right from the beginning.Tschüss,
Kelly
Have you learned a foreign language? What helped you? What tricks and tips do you have? Do you have a funny story to share? Let me know!
I recently read a funny article about How to be a German in 20 easy steps, and I laughed... and I laughed some more. Read part 2 and part 3 for even more laughs. There are actually 25 steps now and they say there are more coming. The author of the blog, one hipster named Adam Fletcher, asks if there is anything he has forgotten. Having spent the last 10 months in Germany I have picked up a few things that aren't on the list that I think you need to do, or be, or complete to fully immerse yourself in Germanyness (yes, Germanyness is a real word). In no order of importance here is my list-
1. Wear a scarf. Every day. Everywhere. When we got to Germany I realized that I was not alone in my love of the scarf. Women wore them around their necks, around their pony-tails, around their waists. And stop right now if you think the scarf is reserved for merely neck warming and cold weather. The scarf is seen adorning the necks of women even in 90F°/32C° weather. It would seem German women have shy collarbones because you never, ever see them. And wait! It gets better. The scarf crosses gender boundaries! Back in the States, male scarf wearing was confined to heavy-wool-coat ensembles and they were always dark in color and lacking fringe. Not here. German men let their freak flag fly with scarves draped around their necks. My favorite "German outfit" which can be seen on the 18-25 year old male German is cut-off shorts, tank top, and then a very "fringey" scarf loosely draped around those sacred collar bones which must be hidden from view.
2. Have a garden. Germans love their flowers. Flower and bush nurseries dot the outskirts of villages. Hours and hours are spent obtaining a perfection that seems to border on obsessive compulsive. Ask an American who has lived in Germany if they have ever seen a German sweep their dirt in their yard. Not sweep the dirt from the yard, but actually sweep the dirt so it gets all nice and smooth and even. And just because you live in an apartment is no reason why you can't do your part to beautify Germany. In these same village outskirts you will see parcels of land with little shacks on them and beautifully maintained gardens. At first I thought they were the shanty towns of Germany. No, these are the city dweller weekend gardens where they escape to have the opportunity to plunge trowel into German soil.
3. Love dogs. Their owners on the other hand? Not so much. Germany has to be one of the most dog friendly cultures I have ever lived in. Your dog can join you in the mall. There is nothing like shopping at Karstadt and have the woof of a Labrador Retriever echo out in the stores. You can take your little doggy with you into restaurants too. If you have a cute and good dog, most Germans will approach your dog and rub their head and lavish praise upon the dog. I will never forget when I had two German repairmen in my apartment who were looking at me with thinly veiled contempt. My dog Minkie bounded into the room and started licking their hands (traitor dog). They changed in an instant into happy and friendly people. "Du bist ein gut Hund!" Or you are a good dog. They scratched her, loved her, let her lick their faces, and practically rolled around on the floor with her for about five minutes before I had to break it up. As soon as Minkie left, thinly veiled contempt was back.
4. Don't care about other peoples problems. Many a time I have heard the wail of people here, American and German alike, about the lack of customer service. I am not saying that Germans don't care about people, like if you were on fire they would probably put you out. But let us say something broke and you are trying to return it to the store, or a shop is closing right as you need to run in just to grab some milk and could they please just let you in for just a second. Good luck.
5. Go out to eat and stay the whole night. To go out to a popular restaurant in Germany you are probably going to need your table to be reserviert, or reserved. There really is no need to put a time down because the table is basically yours the whole night. Want to eat at 9:00 at night? No problem because your table is reserviert and you can show up whenever you want. Or do you want to go early, and then never leave? You can do that too. In fact, that is mostly what we see. Matt and I went out to dinner at a cute little restaurant in the next town over. After eating and enjoying our drinks we looked at all the other patrons. Just as we were getting ready to leave, they were ordering after dinner drinks and talking and laughing and looking like they were just settling in after being there for almost three hours. Going out to dinner isn't something you fit in between weekend activities here. It is the weekend activity.
6. Never wash your car on Sunday. But somehow, always have a clean car. There is a law in Germany that makes Sunday car washing illegal. And through word of mouth I have heard that if you decide to bend the rules (break the law actually) and try to wash your car, the public shame is right up there with crossing the street on a red or dissing sauerkraut. You just don't do it. About 95% of Germany drives a black or dark grey Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, or Mercedes. And they always look clean. As in right off the show room floor clean. How do they do it? You know what my German/American husband would say? Something about the superiority of German engineering, even their dirt and how they have designed it not to stick to cars. Where can I get some of this non-sticking dirt because my car is always filthy.
7. Complain about the graffiti. But claim that it was all done by immigrants.
8. Go to the grocery store every day. And then the bakery. And then produce stand. And then the butcher. A typical German kitchen and refrigerator are quite small by American standards so there is no "stocking up" on items. You buy what you need for that day, maybe a little for the next and then that's it. And you go back tomorrow.
9. Claim to speak only a little English. And then proceed to speak in better English than the native English speaker who asked you. Germany has high rates of people who fluently speak English as a second language. And they speak it well. I have met some Germans who I have known spoke pretty good English in the past, yet they refuse to speak to me because they might be a little rusty. I told them that I could guarantee them that their English was gazillion times better than my German, so come on! Let that English fly! One girl claimed that she never really learned and then in a heated discussion she piped in and I pointed at her, "Ah-ha! You do speak English!"
10. Celebrate every holiday by not going to work. And then also celebrate the day after too. And maybe even the day before. We are wrapping up the spring holidays in Germany right now that center around Christ. Easter, Ascension, Pentecost. And also May Day (German Labor Day), Muttertag, and Vatertag (German Mother's Day and Father's Day). It seems these people hardly work. Germany is a place of industry and I know things get done around here. But with the number of days people get off, it amazes me. And they don't take one day, they take like three. And everything shuts down. I guess they really are the model for efficiency with the amount of things they get done in the amount of time they work. The holidays make for nice driving though. The streets are empty.
12. Wear only black. And for just a little variety dark blue jeans, grey, and brown. And for when you are feeling a little crazy... wait for it... Tan! Build your very limited but very expensive wardrobe around these colors and you will blend right into the German population. And to look even more German, have a slightly annoyed look on your face. Unless you are sitting all night at your favorite restaurant or petting a dog.
There is my list of How To Be A German. And in only 12 steps! Have I forgotten anything?
Tchüß,
Kelly*
*Is secretly really pleased when mistaken for a real German and not the poser impostor she feels like most of the time.
I moved to Germany knowing how to say exactly three things in German.
1. Auf Wiedersehen!2. Dankeschön.3. Straße
Basically I could say Good Bye, Thank You, and the all important word for Street.
You may find yourself asking "Kelly, how could you move to a foreign country and not know how to speak to the language?"
Because I thrive on difficult and embarrassing situations apparently.
Believe it or not, this is a point of slight contention within my home. You see, my husband can speak German and according to him German is, and I quote, "The easiest of all languages to learn." His parents grew up here in Germany so he heard German through his whole childhood and then he also lived here for two years in his early 20's. I don't know, but maybe he thinks it's so easy because he IS German? I think English is super easy to speak, but who am I to say. Just some Ugly American. When we first got married, I had all these grandiose plans to learn German and then we would both speak it to our kids and then they would be bi-lingual and also preserve my husband's German heritage in the process.
I enrolled in German 101 in college. My husband was over the moon. And then I dropped out two weeks later.
I do have a valid excuse though. I got a nasty case of bronchitis. Well, it's valid to me.
Fast forward 17 years and I still don't know German. When we found out that we were going to move here, my husband's vision of us being a bi-lingual family reappeared. Dreams of me and our children conversing easily in his second tongue filled his head. Then we got here and he realized that it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. That just the mere fact of living here wasn't going to make the language take root in our brains and help us form complete sentences in German. We would have to work on it.
How has my husband helped us learn German? He taught our children to say "Du bist ein Frosch."
You are a frog.
Great. Big help there.
Don't get me wrong. If I ask a question about pronunciation or something he is more than willing to help. And our oldest, Alexander, is enrolled in German in high school and he gets the top grades in the class because Matt tutors him. When I ask Matt why he hasn't taught us German though, he says it's because he doesn't really know where to start. It also could be the fact that he works about 60 hours a week. His suggestion was that I just go out in town and try to converse with people.
Um... what? You mean go out in town and try to talk to people in a language that I don't know in hopes that I will learn it? No thanks. Matt thought I was being lazy. And I don't need you telling me that I am either. The biggest problem with going out into town is that so many people here speak English. In fact, Matt will speak perfect German to someone, for example - servers at restaurants, clerks at stores, and so on, and when they hear his American accent they immediately speak English to him. Even if he continues to speak German to them. I have witnessed several conversations where the German is speaking English to Matt and Matt the American speaks German to them.
After becoming part of the ex-patriot American community here, Matt realized how few of them knew fluent German. Or any German. He started to let me off the hook a little bit.
But then he spoke with his mom and she informed him of a British family that had just moved in down the street from her that lived in Germany and they were fluent after living here for six months.
Fabulous. Now I just look lazy and dumb. We have lived here seven months and I can barely get by at the gas station with my German. Why? (Insert whiny voice here) "Because German is harrrrrd." I took one year of French and four years of Spanish in school. German pronunciation goes against everything I have ever learned. Umlaut? What is that?
I have now realized that it is time to get to work. I went to the American book store and this is what I found.
Yes. All the "Learn German" books are listed as Fantasy/Science Fiction as in, "you are living in a fantasy world if you think you can learn this language".I picked one.
That's my kind of German lesson. Get in, get out. Ten minutes and you're done.I brought it home and opened it and realized that it seemed geared toward a more juvenile learner.
What to do, what to do.
I went back and picked up my second book.
Do I really need to build a "rich German" vocabulary? How to order food, clothing sizes, and how to get places seems to be the extent of the German I need.
Matt keeps telling me he doesn't know why I am so troubled by this German thing. "Just do it," he says. Listen up pal. Even the book tells me it's full of angst.
Just so you know, angst is a German word too. See? I'm learning already.
