Lunch

Someone told a pretty good story today at lunch:

There was this fellow from Chile, who studied in Germany. His name war Hernandez, but everyone called him Herr Nandez.... Mr. Nandez. Maybe you had to be there, but we all cracked up.

Die Kanutour

I forgot to mention previously that I went on a canoe trip last Saturday on the Weser River. It was...interesting. 26 of us went, if I remember it correctly. One thing that is kind of cool about Germany is that most German villages are pretty old, and therefore the largest building in the area is the church. It was really cool to recognize that we would soon be passing a village, because you could see a church-tower in the distance. It was quite lovely

Now for the interesting part: I was in a boat with 3 Saudis. One knew English and German, another German, and the third, a father of one of the students, knew only Arabic. I was supposed to be steering. It was rather difficult docking when the father was just jollily rowing along as he pleased. It was still a good time.

ein Monat

Yup. One month left.

Class is still interesting, although I still feel like I've been far too lazy in the last few weeks. I think it's because I had to think about rooming and classes for next year, which resulted in my brain jumping ahead and thinking about things like how cool my classes will be, that I'm excited for my apartment, I need to find some good recipes, maybe we can do some more community cooking so that I don't have to eat the same dinner all week, I really want to pick up my Greek and Latin again, how will I juggle all three languages this summer and while at school, it would be cool to learn Old English, what should I really do when I graduate, I need to find a summer job, how should I decorate my floor next year...

Needless to say, I got a bit distracted. I think I'm finally getting back on track.

This week we've been talking about a favorite topic of mine. Yup, gender roles. Actually the theme somehow revolves around Men and Women, but in the end it all ties into gender roles. It certainly makes for an interesting conversation when you have a German teacher and students from the Middle East, Africa, Central America, and Southeast Asia (and East Asia? I don't think that China really counts as SE Asia, since it borders Siberia, but perhaps there is a cultural/sphere of influence tie. Wikipedia tells me that...it depends on who you talk to).

I learned something rather exciting today: Pocket change makes for a cool percussion instrument when you play uke.

Armut bedeutet für mich, dass...

Higher-level intermediate language classes are when things really get interesting, especially at the Goethe Institute. This is because we are comfortable enough in the language to have genuinely interesting discussions and we have students from all over the world. Today we looked into the issue of poverty. We actually didn't get to discuss a great deal, but there were a few interesting things said that got me to thinking.

First, we read a short article on poverty among children in Germany, and one young woman, who hails from the DDR, couldn't comprehend that there was poverty in Germany. Another classmate, from Ecuador, argued that it was really based upon a difference in definition; poverty in the Western World is far different than other areas. This is true, a homeless man in New York City probably has more material wealth than entire African villages, but one also has to remember that it basic needs will cost more in the developed world. As our teacher reminded us, it's complicated.

There are also different kinds of poverty. It seems that although the West has vast material wealth, we suffer from poverty of a different kind; I'll call it relational poverty. It seems that all the social revolutions of the last century have left our society with a huge void. Our familial structure has gone out the window, to the detriment of our children. Although my generation has so many opportunities for communication, studies have shown that we are more lonely than ever. This shouldn't come as a surprise; we have relational ADD, jumping from person to person, without building any real relational roots. We text or IM multiple people at the same time, without really focusing on any of them, it's no wonder that so many feel that no one really cares about them. Children now learn this from childhood, as they spend more time in front of the television, with its constant change, than they do with the consistent care of a real person. I find it slightly ironic when I overhear Westerners talk about the developing world just needs to change this or that mindset, when we are probably more screwed up.

The Myth of German Punctuality

Ok, maybe it isn't a myth. I just seem to have bad luck with trains. More than 50% of the time I've used the Deutsche Bahn, my train has been late. Today was pretty ridiculous. I still had a few days left on my "German Rail Pass" that I bought to travel around over my break, so I decided to go to Hamburg. My train was delayed by more than an hour...both ways. On the bright side, my main goal was to get some reading done, and that was a success. I really enjoy public transportation, because it gives you time. You can read, or journal, or just think. It's wonderful. I've also found that I can often concentrate better on a train than elsewhere. It could get interesting if I ever have to write a doctoral thesis...

Hamburg was pleasant. There is apparently a really big cathedral there. I didn't find it. Frankly, I didn't feel like figuring out where it was after my extended train ride. Instead I found the Elbe River and meandered along its banks. Multicolored sailboats danced about in the light breeze. It was gorgeous. I wish I hadn't forgotten my camera.

Lesson learned for today: Reading a second language for several consecutive hours gives one a nasty headache.

Schönes Wochenende

Well, I've finished my first legit German book. I've discovered one has to make a tough choice when they come across a new word. I could look it up, write it down, put it in my flaschcard program, learn it to death, and run the risk of getting bogged down as I try to read, or I can just, guess what it means and keep going. I've been leaning more toward the latter approach. It makes reading much more fun, and apparently I will learn it after I've come across the word a few times. I know that this method works, I probably learned more than half of my English vocabulary through my reading, but there does seem to be a difference between learning new words when you know >95% of the words and when you know only 75-85% of them.

Oh well, I'll just look up words that I know I've come across before, and still don't know

I feel like I should begin a list of side-effects of studying German, so let's do it:

-The Desire to capitalize every Noun.
-Unconsciously adopting German spellings for words that are similar in Englisch.
-Adding a lisp-like effect to all words that begin with sp, st, etc

Shönes Wochenende!

Reading and Roaming

It seems that I never really did finish that last post. A few weeks have now past. I took my exam, and it went well. I also had to say goodbye to a few friends. That was a bummer. Then we had a week of break. I traveled down to Heidelberg to visit a few friends from Gordon. It was fun, and refreshing. We hiked up a mountain in the area, upon which a medieval monastery and Nazi amphitheater sat (now that was a strange sentence).

It was a rather odd experience. The monastery was, of course, interesting, but it is difficult to know what to make of the amphitheater. it was impressive, but also rather eerie: it was there that thousands of students were indoctrinated by the Nazi regime. Even Hitler spoke there. It's truly frightening. He promised these students a better Germany, relief from economic depression, jobs, a better life. Sound familiar? The Nazis created euphemisms for everything and created a pretty public image. And they were supported by the Church, Of course, there were those like Bohnhoeffer, who resisted from the beginning, but how many of us would have thought that he was some crazy radical? It is scary, and makes me distrust all political and religious organizations. It's all about power and fear.

Yes, these are the joyous thoughts that I have while on vacation. After Heidelberg, I met up with another Gordon friend, and we traveled to Aachen and Wittenberg. Charlemagne's Cathedral at Aachen was the most beautiful church I have ever seen. Externally, it wasn't particularly interesting, but inside, oh inside, the walls were covered with mosaics that glimmered in the low lighting. Since we arrived rather early, my friend and I were the only ones there for some of the time. It was just gorgeous and awe inspiring.

There was also a small room, with a sign that explained that it was for silent reflection and prayer. As my friend and I began to enter, a gentleman, who I suppose I will have to call a curator of sorts, hissed at us and pointed to the sign, indicating that we shouldn't enter. However, when I told him that we wanted to pray ("Wir möchten beten."), his countenance changed completely. He jollily invited us to go and pray. It's a shame that he felt that he had to distrust us as tourists.

Wittenberg was also nice, but left us feeling rather unfulfilled. The history was great, but for some reason it wasn't entirely satisfying. Aachen was great. We thought, Charlemagne built this Cathedral; this is awesome. Wittenberg for some reason didn't have the same effect. Maybe it felt too touristy. I don't know.

Now I've begun my second eight week course here. I'm excited. I was also lent a copy of "Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen", the first in the series. I'm almost finished with it. I once felt that I only wanted to read "real German literature". I think that this has been my problem since coming to college, and the reason I had dry spell of reading. You need to have some fun when reading. Harry Potter is fun, and easy to read. I'll read a few fun books first, then maybe go for some serious literature later.

Wie geht's, geht's

I should be studying for my exam tomorrow, but I'm tired of studying. I was talking about it with a Swiss friend of mine over lunch and he told me that there is an Italian phrase for that. I forget the Itallian, but roughly translated, it meant: How it goes, it goes. Whatever happens, happens. I have a feeling most cultures have such a phrase. I think that's been my strategy for standardized tests, and most other tests, for a long time; why change now?

I am always faced with a dilemma here: there seem to be an almost infinite number of things to write about from the last few weeks. It is also ever more and more difficult to write a post. It is not for lack of time. My English feels forced. I am beginning to feel unable to fully and precisely express myself in English (in fact I just realized that I forgot to type a few words there and had to fix it), and certainly am nowhere near that point in German.

Clear expression is something of great import to me. That is perhaps the most frustrating part, for me, of learning a new language. A friend here says, "Du denkst zu viel." Perhaps it is true, I may think too much. I always seek a certain shade of meaning which leads me attempt the creation of sentences which go beyond the current scope of my German abilities (case in point, although that wasn't even necessary). For example, in one situation (the details of which I can't recollect) I attempted to say something along the lines of "I hope that my words did not cause you to be insulted/unhappy." Someone said that I could have just said "I hope you are happy" but to me, that has a totally different meaning. It doesn't reflect the fact that I didn't want to be the the one who caused any unhappiness.

I am growing frustrated that the nonsentient relative article in English ("which") doesn't have cases like the sentient relative article ("who, whose, whom"). It seems really awkward to me. I'm sure there are also better words than "sentient" and "nonsentient" which can be used to describe them.

Last Tuesday, my class went to Goslar, about an hour train ride away from Göttingen. It was pretty awesome. I was practically drooling over the historical significance of the place, especially the Kaiserpfalz. You see, this was one of the places that the German Holy Roman Emperors, or Kaisers lived. When I say "one", you must understand, the Kaisers had no permanent residence. Instead, they had many palaces through which they rotated. They needed to be all over their realm in order to keep their power.

It was in Goslar that Henry IV received a letter from Gregory VII saying that he had been excommunicated, eventually bringing the Investiture controversy between the Emperor and the Pope to a head at Canossa. I was pretty excited when I found that out.

(Instead of finishing this, I had an enjoyable dinner with a few friends, and it is now time for bed. I will continue this post after my exam tomorrow.)

Cool linguistishe Sache

Yup, Cool linguistic stuff. Since I last posted, a good deal has happened. I've traveled to Dresden (a city rebuilt after being destroyed in WWII), Goslar (home to the Holy Roman Emperors in Germany), and the European Bread Museum. I think I'll need some more time than I have to describe those adventures. So instead, I would like to share some, well, Cool linguistische Sache.

I have recently discovered that "because" is both a conjugation and a preposition. German uses two different words for these:

Weil es regnet, nehme ich einem Resenschirm.
Because it is raining, I need an umbrella.

Wegen des Regens nehme ich einem Regenschirm.
Because of the rain, I need an umbrella.

Notice that the first required a verb (or an implied one), thus a conjunction, while the second requires only a noun (or pronoun) and thus a preposition. Awesome stuff, for me at least. I believe that English does this sort of thing pretty often. "Before" is another example. I admittedly haven't spent much time thinking about other examples.

I apologize if your eyes have glazed over. Perhaps a word study would be more interesting. I study history. German does have a similar word, Historie, but it is, ironically, archaic. Instead, I would say that I study Geschichte. What is interesting is that this word has two meanings: history and story. Thus, supposedly (I have yet to ask), when a German hears Geschichte that could conjure up both meanings simultaneously.

I think that there is great truth in having a single word to describe both history and stories. On the one hand, what is history apart from stories? Nothing. Yes, many people associate history with dates and figures, but those are on the periphery. The heart of history is people and their stories. In fact, that is why we call the everything before the invention of writing prehistory. These people couldn't tell us their own stories, therefore the study is not history. On the other side of the coin, many people often disregard the historical significance of the stories and mythology of past cultures. This is a pretty foolish position to take; although the pure objective historical data (if such a thing really exists) may be convoluted, these tales give insight into what the creators believed and found important. Also, it seems that many of the characters existed and the events really happened, they've simply been sensationalized a tad.

Apparently, the English word history originally has similar qualities (thank you OED) but is now used only to describe "true" incidents while a story can be either true or untrue. This is sad, since, as I've said, we can find a good deal of "truth" in what we often believe to be "untruth".

(Also, I am resisting the urge to describe the cool etymology of history. It includes Greek and Latin, Check out the OED if you're interested).


In further news, yesterday on my way to the supermarket I (figuratively) ran into friends from my class. We spoke for a few minutes, in German and with little difficulty, and then continued on our way. Later, I looked up at a sign an realized that I understood what it said. I started looking at more signs that I had previously ignored, and realized that I understood a majority of them with minimal effort. It was then that I realized that I have, to some extent, internalized German. I can't converse about highly complex topics, and my desire for precision in speech often leaves at a loss, attempting to use constructions more complex than some think is completely necessary, but I can communicate and be understood, oftentimes explaining a missing word with German, and not its English equivalent. And less than halfway through.

A week from today I take the B1 exam. It is through these exams that I will get my credits from Gordon. I need to study. My fear of failing has been diminished after taking a practice test, but I would still like to do well. Then comes one more week of classes and a break. I hope to post about Goetttingen, Dresden, Goslar, the Bread Museum, and the learning method at the Goethe Institut soon.

(edit: story, as you might have guessed is related to history. It is an aphetic form of History, meaning that the first unstressed syllable was dropped. This seems to be a rather common occurrence with words that begin with H. Notice: Latin: Hispania; Spanish: España; English: Spain. Oh man, phonological changes are awesome.)

Je länger ich in Deutschland bin, desto besser verstehe ich die Deutschen.

“Abba Father, let me be, Yours and Yours alone.
May my will for ever be, Evermore Your own.”

The sound of these words, and the accompanying accordion, filled the room in the basement of the Bapisten Kirche in Goettingen. Yes, you read correctly: accordion. It was awesome. This was my first time at the weekly English bible study held here. It was refreshing to fellowship with fellow Christians again.

I’ve been in Germany for two weeks, and much has happened. I believe my mind has finally managed to separate German and English, so English composition is once again possible. I’m living and studying at the Goethe Institute, approximately a ten minute walk away from the center of town. It is housed in a beautiful 19th century villa. Some of the buildings in the town were built prior to the Renaissance. Sure, they’re not Greco-Roman ruins, but still old, awesome, and better preserved.

I am studying German exclusively here. I really enjoy being able to focus on and fully pursue a single subject. My level is B1, roughly equivalent to Ger 201. Classes meet from 8:30-100, with three 20 minute breaks. There are 10 in my class: four from Saudi Arabia, one fellow American, and one each from Brazil, Sweden, Portugal and Japan. I need to catch up with my vocabulary, but thanks to my Latin and Greek background, new grammar is easy to understand.

Thus far I have taken leisurely walks in the snow, helped an elderly German couple get their bags on a train, learned that Germans wait to cross the street until the crossing light is green, even if no cars are coming, taken a historical tour of Goettingen, found a grocery store, bought a dictionary and bible at a bookstore, and of course, gotten lost. I suppose that will have to suffice as an introduction. More should soon follow