Germany, Germans, German

This post is just a lot of thoughts I have about the country, the people, and the language. This post goes from one subject to the next without necessarily connecting to each other, it's a bit abrupt.

I'm going to go with the assumption that anyone who has read at least a couple blog posts of mine knows that I find the German people simply fantastic. I find that they aren't as materialistic or consumeristic as Americans. They also don't care about how other people think about them as much Americans pay attention to outward appearences. But I also wish Germans smiled more often. It's not that they aren't friendly, I just prefer that when I walk down the street in a city, people look a little livelier. I mean, you live in a great country, that's got to be one reason to smile ...And not that this a competition, but that is a point for you, America. You're cool, too.

When I visited Berlin for a few days in June 2013 after I had successfully mastered Spanish, I couldn't help but laugh (from helplessness) when I walked around and I had no idea what anyone was saying around me and what different signs said. I was just happy I knew English. I can imagine myself thinking that this language was ridiculous and it definitely wasn't on my list to learn nor did I even think I was capable of learning it. And now when I hear German, I cannot help but say to myself, "Dude, how did I even learn German. I don't even understand how this happened to me." It's a cool and accomplished feeling.

I have read lots of articles on language learning and languages in general, and one reoccurring theme I read about language learning is that the moment you think a language is too hard, it will actually be hard to learn. Laughable, I thought. However, these past few months, I have been trying that method out. For example, reading and writing are challenging because the way the language is written I find is more complicated to understand than how it is spoken (I'm not talking about texting with my friends). Now I'm trying to take this positive mentality and adopt concrete methods of learning to read and write better. So, I've been reading newspapers and magazines more often. I still read slowly, but I know I will see improvement over time. The thing with writing German, for example on schoolwork, is that I feel like I have to write everything without grammatical errors or else I won't be understood, which is absolutely absurd. So I'm also working on not being a perfectionist in this aspect until the time is ready to apply that pressure. It is a bit of a downer, though, when you feel like your writing capabilities are those of a small child.

My last thought on this whole "tell yourself it is easy" attitude is that sometimes I just tell myself that there are way harder languages to learn, so I should get over it.  

On a semi-similar note, sometimes I feel like I haven't learned enough in the last five months, and the way I am combating this negativity is by reminding myself that I arrived without speaking a word of German and examine the sheer amount that I have learned in five months and that that amount has at least the potential to be doubled. I then say to myself "Hey, maybe you're not doing so badly after all"

I'll be honest here, I did not need to put this much effort into learning Spanish, at all. To be even more honeset, I did not struggle and I thought it was easy. As pathetic, but smart, as this is, my method for learning a solid amount of vocubulary words was to ~Spanish-ize~ the word and go from there. It actually worked a more than you might think. The truth is, it doesn't really work in German and there aren't as many cognates as one might think. When I look up a word from English to German, it is more of a shock when it is similar to English. Here is another point I have thought a lot about. During language camp, my teacher told us that she doesn't think there is such a thing as a "language gift or ability" (I'll add the fact she speaks German, English, and French and has studied Latin). I think this is absolutely false because that's the same thing as saying that some people can't be naturally good at math. I am pretty certain people would disagree with that. I think the important thing to understand with this idea is that while some people might be good at catching onto word families and recognizing patterns within a language doesn't mean that not everyone has the potential to learn it. I wish more people in the US didn't mentally give up on their language classes after the first year and actually give up the class after two years of learning it. It's not like you're allowed to give up math after two years just because you don't think you're good at it. 

One thing that I have found interesting with Germans and their language is that they'll be speaking German (obviously) and then randomly incorporate an English word into their speech. It's not that they are official words the language has adopted, they are simply words that I assume they couldn't find a good German word for. Of course, it's depends on the context of the conversation, but even in settings that I wouldn't expect it--for example our substitute math teacher saying a problem was "tricky"--it still happens. Sometimes they'll say the word and then give a description of what exactly they mean in German. Main culprits? Words like random, awkward, and mainstream. On the other hand, there are a couple French words that German has officially adopted so it wouldn't be pretentious at all to use them. It is pretty silly to hear, though, mixed in with German because the words still sound French.

Here is another quick fun fact about the language. Numbers 21-99 are read right to left. For example, English speakers would say thirty seven and Germans would say sevenandthirty (it is written all as one word). 

The people of this country also care a lot about the environment. For example, they separate their garbage into four groups: compost, paper, plastic, and actual trash. This is not only in homes, but there are also similar options in public, like the train station. However, instead of a compost bin they have one for glass. Despite all this, it is common practice to buy bottled water because some people drink carbonated water and people don't drink out of facets. I can understand if someone doesn't want to drink out a facet because it's not pure enough water, but I mean isn't that what Brita water filters are for? It has to be better than buying thousands of plastics water bottles. I have yet to understand this and it seems counter-productive to me. It's not like I come from the most environmentally friendly country, though, so who am I to judge? 

Let's end this with something in which I'm grateful hasn't really happened to me. Apparently there is a stereotype against Germans that they make it hard for others to learn the language. I know right, why would they do that?  I guess it is said that they'll speak English to English speakers regardless if they're trying to learn German because it's easier for both parties. Germans know English pretty well, and I don't think that surprises anyone. I assume they are tying to be nice and helpful. Not once (since I've learned German) have I had to say "Hey, could we speak German?" I also did not even know this was a stereotype until I heard other people saying how it is sometimes a problem for them. So I guess thank you to everyone I've ever talk to here for making me learn and practice my German.

Shannon