A German Christmas

The beginning German classes went out to lunch - to a German restaurant, of course. We were required to speak German as much as possible. The wait staff were all very patient with us.

We had been practicing food and restaurant oriented language for a week and were ready to try it out. We were also hungry for German food after talking about it.

Above is Doug's selection of classic sauerbraten.  I made sauerbraten in the seventh or eighth grade as a home ec. project. I remember my mom saying something like, "What's sauerbraten? Why sauerbraten?  Why not spagetti?" I saw it in a magazine or newspaper and was drawn to it. Come to think of it, I guess it was destiny.

The restaurant, Old Europe, was in Georgetown. It was a beautiful day for a field trip. I felt like I was in elementary school again. I even wore a skirt instead of my usual jeans. ("You'll behave as you are dressed." I hear my teacher admonishing us. "So dress nicely.") We parked a few blocks away and walked. The waitstaff were all dressed in dirndls - traditional German wear for women. They were adorable. Old Europe was decorated for Christmas which set a nice mood.

 There was a round of ordering drinks - glüwein, beer and Spezi (pronounced 'shpaytsee') which is a popular soft drink in Germany. It's rather like a mixture of Coke and orange juice. It's light, sweet and refreshing and, maybe best of all, doesn't taste too bad after the ice melts in it.

I have off all the days between Christmas and New Year's Day. Poor Douglas has to go into the Institute for independent study. I'll still be studying; I've even set goals for myself.

As with all Christmases, I'm trying to write the next great Christmas story. This year I'm working on one about the legend that says on Christmas Eve, at midnight, the animals have the gift of speech. Does anyone out there know any good stories about that legend?

I'm also looking forward to the New Year and considering resolutions. I don't always keep my resolutions, but they usually make an impact in my life. To quote Bill Murray from "What About Bob", "Baby steps, baby steps." I think this year's resolution will have to do with keeping up my writing while I'm studying German. Studying German was a convenient excuse to not post every week or two, but I think I can handle doing two things in my life at one time for crying out loud. You, dear readers, will be the first to know if I succeed.

Here's a picture of our little "Who Tree". What's a Who Tree, you ask? Well, you know the story of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas don't you? Remember all the wacky decorations the Who's in Whoville had? That's our tree.

Merry Christmas from me.

"Prost" from Douglas! 

Languages

I've been studying German for just over five weeks now. My classes take place at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia. The classes are small - average of four students per instructor. I'm enjoying learning German and did very well on my first progress test. It has been a bit frustrating, though.

My teacher has been out sick for two weeks. All the teachers are very good, patient and caring, but I want my teacher back. On her first sick day out, I was placed with my husband in the advanced-beginner class. All the students in his class already speak some German. Not very well and certainly not anywhre near fluently, but they speak German already. The teacher uses very little English in the class. I was lost. The second day my teacher was out sick, I was put in the beginner-beginner class. Whew! Good class. Lots of drills using the vocabulary we had been assigned. Day three of my teacher's illness I was put back into the advanced-beginners class and there I have stayed.

Why didn't I request to be in the real beginners class, you may ask? Because I didn't think our teacher would be out for two weeks. Neither did she.

Being in my husband's class has been good for me in a way. Listening to all the German spoken has helped my ear tune to the sound of the language. It has forced my ear to pick out words even if all I get out of a sentence is mit (with) and und (and). It took me a lot longer than two weeks to begin picking out words in Russian when I was studying it.

I've had to muzzle my attitude. I prepared a script for myself for an auction all the classes gathered for on Wednesday. The teacher changed some of my words and added a few new ones. I don't see the sense of cramming in several new words an hour or so before a presentation - words that are not even on the vocabulary list in the book. I did poorly in the auction because I was stumbling around trying to read the revised script.

Monday I will be back with my class and my teacher, safe in my level.

One thing that intimidates some people in learning German is the long words. The Germans love compound words - compound to the extreme. It's not uncommon to see four or five words linked to form one word with a defnition that combines the definitions of each individual word. My favorite German word so far is Flugzeugverkehrsknotenpunkt. Flugzeug  means "airplane". Verkehr means "traffic". (The 's' is simply a connecting letter.) Knot means "knot". (Sometimes German is easy.) Punkt means point. Here's the riddle for you: What does Flugzeugverkehrsknotenpunkt mean? Think a minute before you read on for the answer. Flugzeugverkehrsknotenpunkt means "airline hub".

It's very common for writers and speakers of German to invent compound words when they see an opportunity or need one.

Here's one more riddle for you. What does the German word Schauspieler mean? Here are your two hints: Schau means "show"; spieler means "player". Okay, this one's a little easier, Schauspieler means actor.

Here are a couple of interesting things about German. Nouns are always capitalized. The word for "I" is not. However, the formal word for "you" is always capitalized.

It's fun listening to the experiences of different people learning various languages and the things they notice while doing so. A sign frequently seen here in the United States is "Lingerie Sale". In French "sale" apparently translates as "dirty"! Lingerie sale takes on a whole new meaning. I remember hearing a story from long ago about what a difficult time Chevrolet had in marketing the Nova in Mexico. It turns out that no va means "no go"! I asked one of Doug's former classmates if they (the Foreign Service) was going to give him language training before sending him to Australia. He laughed and said, "No, but they ought to."

(My next post will come sooner than this one did and it will have pictures so be on the look out.)

As I Rise

   Me in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

I chose this title for my new blog because it is part of a line of a prayer I daily say. I hope the word 'prayer' doesn't turn anyone away from reading this blog. Yes, I pray. I don't preach at people. Anymore. I used to. I've learned better. I just share what's going on in this amazing life of mine (married to a Foreign Service Officer, traveling the world) - what works, what doesn't work. That's it. The prayer is a little sing-songy as it's based on the popular "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer. Bear with the Hallmarkness of it and read:

          As I rise to face this day, I pray my heart to know the way.
          I pray my thoughts be strong and still that I may live, love, learn and do Thy will.

It's simple, but strong when you consider what it takes to face some days. It's important how difficult it can be for us to move confidently through life. It's practical as we face so many distractions throughout our days. And all encompassing wrapped up with the imperative to live, love and learn. When I wrote my first blog, "If I Can . . ." it was to challenge others to better themselves. (If I can, anyone can.) Now I extend the challenge.

As I rise, I face life back in the D.C. area studying German full time. As a spouse, I could have signed up for the easier Fast Course in German, but in remembering all I gaied in studying Russian, I decided to take the full course again. It was daunting because I fairly well knew what I was getting myself into work wise, but I also remembered the benefits of my Russian studies (better overall memory, for example).

I remember almost constantly working when I studied Russian. So far, German does not feel that demanding, though we have had a slow start due to the hurricane and my teacher being out sick for three days in a row only two days into class. I remember feeling overwhelmed that I would never learn all I needed to know. I am keeping another part of my prayer that falls under the "live, love, learn" line. I pray that I will push myself into uncomfortable situations that will only serve to better me. And there lies my challenge. Let's push ourselves this year. Let's see what we're made of.

Sometimes discomfort is a red flag. We need our wisdom to know when to step away from that sort of discomfort. Sometimes discomfort is our contented self squirming at the prospect of change, of challenge or of plain old fashioned work. I remember when I broke my finger and finally got the splint of and began rehabilitation. My finger would not bend. I went into the Physical Therapist's office and the first thing she did was hold my hand and force bend my finger. I gasped and cried.  She held it there for a few minutes while she talked to me. "It will hurt, but your finger will remember how to bend and work. You must do this twice a day for 10 minutes." Now I had to go home and make myself do this. I remember walking round the house with my finger held in that bent position by a thick rubberband. It hurt so much I was nauseous. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I remember thinking that I had never known such pain. Then I imagined what therapy was like for people who had broken their back, for instance and I felt like such a wimp crying over my finger. But pain was pain and if I hadn't pushed myself I may have never been able to play and teach piano again. I made it through the discomfort and was rewarded.


It's been fun being back in Falls Church, Virginia. We are staying at the same Oakwood Apartment complex we stayed at over two years ago. On the first couple of days, we ran into a few people we knew. Staying here are some of our best friends from Tashkent as well as some of our best friends from our last stay at Oakwood. It's, in part, like coming home and part reunion.

We had our first Area Studies lecture last Thursday. A young woman who grew up in East Germany spoke about her life there. She told us that she was rather outspoken at an early age and got into trouble. Her mother, who was Second Mayor of the town where she grew up, received many phone calls regarding her behavior. The walls surrounding East Germany, the students were told, were put up to protect them. "Then why are they (the concertina wire) faced this way?" She asked. When she finally decided to leave, she first married her best friend in order to move out and live away from her mother. She did not want to cause problems for her. She and her husband applied for visas and, upon receiving them, left that evening. They flew to Budapest and walked to Austria to ensure their escape. She didn't tell her mother and didn't call her for some time.

On a lighter note, she told us that it was unusual for teens to get driver's licenses. Most people got them well into thir 20's. Those who wanted them were required to learn to drive a tank first!

We learn all sorts of things in Area Studies.

 

Me in the mountains of Uzbekistan about an hour and a half outside Tashkent.

 

 

I want to post weekly, but I won't promise that. First of all, I don't know how intense German studies will get. Secondly, I don't want to just post any old bunk. When I write to you, I want to have something to say.