Monday, June 18, 2007

Das Lied der Deutschen





I've decided that I need to learn German.

Yeah, I probably should have made this choice two years ago, but I am determined to learn at least one other language besides English. And what better time to try. To my credit, I did take German classes last year. But when I stopped working, i felt bad about spending "family" money on it, so I stopped. Well, that and the whole Taz barking situation ....

Anyway, a situation that occurred today, really prompted me to get going on this. There's a lady from my church - Sabine - who only speaks German. Her and I talk ALL the time. Seriously. I dont ever speak German and she never speaks English, ans still for the most part I understand. Today, she said something I was unsure about. A friend of mine who speaks fluent German happened to be walking by and I asked him to interpret. Sabine and the guy talked for about 20 minutes. AND I UNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING THEY SAID! She asked him about the difference between WC and bathroom )seriously, this chick asked me about that last week. What is her obsession with the toilet?) She said her English was bad and he told her it was easy to learn. She told him his English was good and he said he was American ( I thought that part was HILARIOUS!) and on and on and on.

But I couldn't respond to any of it in German. And that's a shame.

So, I resolve to learn more German. I can say a little bit, but not much. And most of it is stuff you'd never say in everyday conversation. "What nationality are you?" and weirdly, I know the words for twins, future and past, but I can't ask how to get to H&M. I'm not saying I'll be fluent when I leave, but I intend to continue in the States by taking a college course.

I might not be able to talk to the 80-year-old German woman who lives down the block, but at least I'll be able to say things to Woodstock that no one else understands. And that, I can live with.

Friday, June 01, 2007

Pinball Wizard

As you may or may not know, I've been kind of down these last few days dealing with this car stuff. I've calling various people in the states for around 6-7 hours today, with no sign of progress. Even the hardest of chicks start to stress after a while. This is something I've used today to kind of make me feel a little better. While sitting in the bank, practically sweating, this song kept going through my head. Maybe it will be a positive force in your life as it has been in mine. Peace.