German Culture: Learning the language

Since day one, I have been determined to learn the German language. Have I succeeded? In my eyes, yes. When I arrived in Germany 3 months ago (wow) I was overwhelmed. I remember how excited I was to head to Germany and while I was certainly nervous, it wasn’t until I arrived that it hit me. I was in a foreign country and didn’t speak the language. I had assumed I could get by with my English but in reality, it was not as easy as I initially thought. The signs were in German and surprise, the people in the airport spoke mostly German. But the killing blow was transit. Getting from Frankfurt to Mosbach. In truth, had I not had the help of my fellow students, I most likely would’ve found a nice quiet corner to curl up in and simply starve. But now I can say “ich habe Hunger und ich möchte wasser, bitte”. Which means, “I am hungry and I would like water, please”. So now it is nearly impossible for me to die in Germany. Finding a German girlfriend? Much harder. But in that case, I can always say “zu dir oder zu mir”. I’m not going to explain what that means and to my German friends, yes, I know a lot more than you think. Anyways… So on that day I had a choice, I could either give into my fears or I could face them. So instead of being helpless, I helped myself. I said, “I will understand German”. And I did, as simple as that. Duolingo, memrise, and rosetta stone. But you know what the best teacher was? Making German friends. I would like to personally thank my buddy Tim, who invited me to the underground German poker ring, where the Germans said the table language was English but ended up speaking German anyways. So what did I do? Did I say “Englisch, Bitte”? Nein. I listened. And slowly but surely what was once noise started to become words and words became very broken sentences. And now I am proud to say that can almost speak as well as a German toddler. So here’s my guide for learning German when (not if) you go overseas.

Duolingo

If you have not taken a German course before, duolingo is your best friend. It’s free and it will give you the vocab you need to succeed. Beforehand, I recommend learning the German alphabet via youtube, find what works for you. In addition, memrise should be used as a supplement to your daily duolingo training. If you have rosetta stone great, but I haven’t found it necessary to learning the language. Once you start using these basic tools, you’re ready to move on to…

Make German Friends

To be clear, this is not a guide on how to make friends, but if you’re struggling on that subject, read Making Friends (shameless plug). Any-who, this is pretty self-explanatory. You have class, sit next to the Germans. Say, “Hallo, ich heiβe          und ich möchte sprechen Deutsch mit dir”. If they give you a confused look, that means I’m still learning and I just made you look like an idiot. But the idea is, make sure the Germans know you want to speak and learn German, otherwise they’ll simply assume you want to speak English. Then, once you have friends…

Listen!!!

German, for lack of a better word, is a very strong language. If Germans scare you, I can understand completely. When I first arrived, it sounded like Germans were hissing at me. But overtime, I’ve gotten used to the language and I can now say that Germans aren’t angry, they’re just different. We have two ears and one mouth, and I think a lot of people would be done a lot of good if they used their ears more and their mouth less. Listening helps you pick up on the little nuances of the language and will help you pronounce the words better, so it’s very important!

So that’s it! As a bonus, you can listen to German bands (with lyrics) and watch German TV (with subtitles), while not necessary, it definitely will help (and it’s fun). So the moral of this story? Learn the language! I highly recommend doing it before you head over (unlike me, whoops). It’ll make for a more meaningful experience, trust me! So get excited and make sure you go study abroad, it’ll be the best experience of your life. Any questions? Feel free to comment.

 

 

Stories Abroad: A weekend in Austria

It’s been a crazy past few weeks. All I can say is that I’m glad I’m in Germany while my country is plunged into chaos (or whatever you want to call Donald Trump). Of course, I won’t kill the mood and start talking politics, but it is certainly heartbreaking and embarrassing. And hey, who knows, maybe I’ll end up staying in Germany, drinking beer and eating brezel to my hearts content. Regardless, you’re here for tales of adventure and excitement, so here we go, fasten your seat-belts and get ready for the ride of your life, as I tell you the tale of that one time I was in Austria…

Salzburg

Are you surprised it’s not Vienna? Well, I’m not. Why? Travel. If you’ve been following my blog, you may assume I magically appear in all these lovely countries and have nonstop, action-packed adventures. What I don’t tell you is how long it takes to travel. I spent two days in Austria and it took 12 hours by train to get there. But oh boy, once I got there…

The Salt Mines

I was put to work in the salt mines… All jokes aside, I did go tour a salt mine and it was absolutely amazing. Tourist trap or not, I thought it was worth every penny. We arrived in Salzburg around noon and at 2 we hopped in a van where we spent 4 hours driving through the mountains. What made this drive so special? We had Walter, our tour guide and driver. He told us the history of the area and in no time at all, we were there.

20161119_145556
Getting ready for work…

That’s what I wore, pretty sexy if you ask me (ladies, did you know I’m single?). Once inside, we took a train through the old tunnels. And then we slide down a few wooden slides that were once used to transport salt (not sure if that’s true but regardless, they make better slides). And then… we hit the mirror lake…

20161119_153544
The water reflecting the salt off the ceiling

And we took a raft across… It was extremely cool, but as I’ve said before, pictures don’t do it justice. Then after we got out of the mines… We had an hour to tour a city near the Hallein salt mines (wish I could remember the name).20161119_161134

Is my life a fairytale right now? Yes, yes it is. I honestly could stay in Europe forever. But wait, there’s more! This was day one, now onto day two.

The Sound of Music

Full disclosure, I went with two lovely ladies this weekend and was simply happy going with the flow. As such, I found myself at the site where they filmed the Sound of Music. It’s been a while since I’ve watched the movie, but…

20161120_124721
The Pavilion

Not the same spot as it was in the movie, but still the same Pavilion. And then…

20161120_130757
The house and a Christmas market, what more could I ask for?

And of course, here are some photos of the city.

The City

20161120_150748
Postcard, anyone?
20161120_094659
I wouldn’t mind living here

20161120_132320

20161120_105419

20161120_110141

So there you have it, that’s my trip. I also got to visit Mozart’s childhood home, which I have to say, was pretty cool. Until next time!

Germany: Around the world in 90 days

“Do the things you fear most and the death of fear is certain” – Mark Twain



The Road less Traveled

So it’s been a little over 2 months since I first arrived in Germany. A lot of my posts these past few months have been concerning travel. I’ve been to Paris, Strasbourg, Amsterdam, Bavaria, Mannheim, Frankfurt, etc. I’ve been traveling most weekends and haven’t really had time to reflect on the experience as a whole.

Before this experience, I had rarely traveled outside of Oregon. And in fact, I had barely spent time exploring my home city of Portland. I lived in a very tiny bubble. I remember the spark that planted the seed of adventure, the desire to see the world. By chance, I got a letter in the mail from an organization called “People to People” to be a student ambassador for non other than bowling (fun fact: I was in a bowling league for 10 years and president of my high school bowling club). Had I gone, I would’ve traveled to the Netherlands and competed with kids from all over the globe, but alas, it was not meant to be. Yet since that moment, I have waited for the day when the planets aligned and I could finally travel. That day never came, so I said “you know what, [insert expletive here] it, I’m going anyway”. Originally the idea was to travel to South America, as I was taking Spanish at the time and wanted to improve my Spanish while immersing myself in the culture. Yet I kept pushing the trip aside until, surprise, I was a Freshman in college. Then life happened, I grew up, started focusing on my career, and became highly involved around campus. Then I had a choice.

I could focus my energy on graduation, to have a diploma in my hand and a real sense of security, or I could push graduation back a few terms and go abroad. Not an easy decision. But as fate would have it, I decided to take summer classes a year ago. And during that time, there was an info session. And I remembered. 8 years ago, the excitement I felt when I was asked to travel to the Netherlands, the disappointment when I found out I couldn’t go. The years of Spanish, the desire to immerse myself in another culture. So I finally decided I would say yes. No matter what, I would go abroad. And here I am. Is it everything I dreamed it would be? It is. It is the single best decision I’ve made in my entire life. I’m not going to lie and say it was smooth sailing from that point out. In fact, it was anything but. As confident as I sound now, I had a lot of anxiety and reservation even after I made the commitment to myself. There were many times when I was ready to drop the program, when I wanted to say I had too much on my plate and I simply couldn’t afford to take a term abroad. But I asked myself, “When all is said and done, do I want to live a life of regrets”? To always wonder what would’ve been had I gone abroad. And that’s all I needed. A reminder that this was the next step in my journey. That, wherever life takes me, let it be forward. So why Germany?


Germany

Maybe it was all the history channel I watched as a kid, the pure fascination with the world and the association of Europe with cultural heritage. Perhaps it was the fabled rumors of delicious beer, beer that far surpasses any beer in America. Or it might of been the allure of magical castles or simply the idea itself (to experience something new). Yet if I’m to be honest, there were a few main reasons I chose Germany.

It’s centrally located

Want to spend a weekend in Paris? No problem. A weekend in Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy? Absolutely no problem. In fact, London and Ireland are a short flight away as well. If you’re looking for easy travel, look no further than Germany.

It’s got history

Mosbach, while small, is the perfect embodiment when you think of a German town. Each building… Well… Just take a look for yourself. This is Mosbach and I’m actually living here! No joke, it’s pretty much straight out of a fairy tale. Oktoberfest is pretty cool as well, and Lederhosen are very stylish. Of course there’s more history than that, tis’ but a snippet.

20160920_102516

Following my roots

In the 8th grade, I had the privilege of being in Australia for my cousin’s wedding. While there, I hunted down my great great great grandfathers grave. It was fun and made me realize the importance of heritage. I take great pride in where I come and while I’m still trying to piece together the family tree, I can say I have a lot of German in me. In fact, on the name sheet for my classes, my nationality says German; was it a mistake or something more? I can’t really say. I’ve also learned ein bisschen Deutsch, so… Anyways, it’s a lot of fun if you have heritage from the country you’re going to! It’s something to consider, but not necessary to have a great time.

The U.S. 2016 presidential election

I picked the right time to go abroad. Will The U.S. collapse or prosper? Who knows, I’m in Germany. If I want to, I can simply come back here and live a peaceful existence, regardless of what the election outcome is.


Closing Thoughts

Am I a different person? Yes. Life is about taking risk. If we don’t takes risks, we don’t grow. And when we’re not growing, we’re stagnant or worse, stumbling backwards. I never want to wake up one morning and realize that I’m exactly the same as I was yesterday. The thought absolutely terrifies me. I want each day of my life to be an adventure and the best way to do so is to constantly set new goals. So my message is go out, be bold, and don’t waste your time worrying. If you’re on the fence about going abroad, don’t be. You don’t want to be the student that regrets not taking the opportunity while you had it. In fact, I honestly can’t imagine what my college experience would be like without this opportunity.

 

 

Germany Week ???: New Hair, New Mike (new hair not represented in photo)

So, you might be asking yourself, “gosh, is Mike alright? He hasn’t been blogging for the past 3 weeks and I really miss his beautifully crafted penmanship “. The short answer is, yes, I’m doing fine. The long answer is, I am doing absolutely [insert word of your choosing] amazing. So where do I even begin? Let’s start with The McFlurry.

The McFlurry

So this weekend I was in Amsterdam doing Amsterdam things. Then I got a McFlurry but it was no ordinary McFlurry. Before I get ahead of myself, let’s take a few steps back. Amsterdam is known for it’s snack food. Why, I can’t really say, but that’s besides the point. What’s important is that there exists what is called a Stroopwaffle. It’s a thin wafer, waffle hybrid sandwich with honey in the middle. Delicious on it’s own. Now imagine a McFlurry. Now imagine a Stroopwaffle McFlurry. That is what I had. I’m not going to try to put the experience into words, but just know I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my entire life than when I was eating mein Stroopwaffle McFlurry.

So what else did I do in Amsterdam? Well, I went to the Heineken brewery and sampled some beer (4 glasses to be precise). Then the next day, I went to an ice bar, which was literally super cool! So yup, that’s Amsterdam for ya’, so let’s move on to Paris.

Paris

So the City of Love. Of course you may be asking, did I find love? The answer is yes (and ein bisschen no). It was a very romantic weekend where I got to reconnect with my inner self and really just treat myself. So what did I do? The day started with walking and ended with walking. There was a lot of walking. But… along the way there was…

20161022_113516
Arc de Triomphe

You can go inside and go to the top and see all of Paris. I did and it was absolutely gorgeous! After that, we…

20161022_163743
Notre Dame Round 2

Went to Notre Dame. The first time I saw Notre Dame was in Strasbourg and it was amazing. The one in Paris did not disappoint either. And of course…

20161022_110903
The Eiffel Tower!

You see so many pictures and pictures really don’t do it justice. Actually seeing it in person… [insert inspirational, life changing experience] It was larger than life. “Wait Mike, you said you went to Paris. Did you try Escargot (emphasis on the t)?” Yes, yes I did have snail. And you know what? It was absolutely amazing. I kid you not, it tasted so good. “wow, that’s really cool, I wish I was as bold and adventurous as you are. So did you meet any lovers”? No, but I’m sure if I had more time in Paris… So I suppose I’ll have to wait till my visit! There’s a rumor going around that I ran away from 3 girls in front of the Eiffel Tower, but I don’t comment on rumors or speculation.

That’s a wrap! Thanks for reading and stay classy friends! Also quick PSA if you’re from the US. Don’t forget to vote! That’s it [insert political commentary here].

%d bloggers like this: