Week 6: Fertig.

Ich kann nicht glauben, dass wir schon fertig sind. Diese letzte 6 Wochen sind zu schnell vorbeigegangen; ich fühle, dass ich gerade hier in Deutschland angefangen habe! Stuttgart ist jetzt ziemlich heimisch- ich fühle, dass ich es ziemlich gut kenne, aber jetzt müssen wir verlassen. Schade...

Also, was habe ich hier gemacht? 

Six or so weeks ago I wrote in my first post that I was really hoping to improve the "four aspects" of language: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. I was aiming also to really strengthen/reinforce some of the things we learned last year, learn new things, and then actually implement them in real situations. Overall, I think I can leave the program feeling pretty satisfied that I achieved a lot of the aims that I was hoping to.

We covered a significant amount of material in class: things I knew already (which was really good as a revision tool), as well as things I didn't. By "things" I fundamentally mean grammar or word structures, for example we went over the Past and Present Perfect tenses (which I am already familiar with), but then we covered things like the Passive voice (which I hadn't learned prior to the course). I have also learned so much new vocabulary, and I think that has been one of the best aspects of the program: the fact we were immersed in the language and that we could pick things up so much more naturally (and easily, for that matter). 

I believe my reading, writing, and listening skills have improved by a significant extent. Listening in particular has been both incredibly difficult but rewarding. To simply be forced to listen to the language for most of the time during our stay has been so enriching. At first I found the notion of the teachers only speaking to us in German rather frightening, however I was surprised at how much I was able to understand- even if it was not every single word. I was even more surprised at how natural German became to listen to (and indeed speak) over the 6 weeks. It is now starting to feel less and less like a completely "foreign" or "unknown" language, and that is a great and highly rewarding feeling. 

In my first post I wrote that speaking was my biggest hurdle. I feel I have improved, but I also feel like I am only just starting to really get used to speaking in large sentences. My confidence in speaking German has certainly grown, especially as I have practiced in class, spoken with my host family, and learned new things to actually speak. BUT, it would be soooo nice if I could stay longer, because as I say, I feel I have only just warmed up! I think the "speaking" aspect is also quite hard to judge because there are "good days"- where you feel like you can hold a half-decent conversation with someone, and then there are sometimes those "bad days"- where you doubt your ability and just can't seem to speak the words properly! But overall, I have to say, I feel quite satisfied.


What have I learned that I did not expect to learn? That's not exactly an easy question, as I have learned so much and am not certain whether I was "expecting" to learn what I did learn. I suppose, though, one of the biggest things I learned (which I did not expect to learn) was a bit more about myself; This program has opened me up to so many things, and in the process of all of these experiences and learning all of these new things I have learned a little bit about ME. 


...So, that's it. I wish there would be another post next week, detailing stuff about what we've learned in class or what we've been doing around Stuttgart, however it's time now to head back home and really use everything we've learned whilst we've been over here. It'll be strange walking to class in temperatures above -5 Celsius.... 

Week 5: Soziale Herausforderung in Deutschland.

Zuerst muss ich mich wieder für die Verspätung mit meiner Blog entschuldigen. Tut mir Leid!


Also, es gibt in Deutschland soziale Probleme, die wie die soziale Probleme in Australien sind. Das Hauptherausforderung, das ich bemerkt habe, ist Obdachlosigkeit. Ich habe viele Obdachloser gesehen, besonders bei den Bahnhöfen. 


I suppose homelessness is a factor of any nation, and I feel it is not a chronic problem in Germany, but from what I have seen it does seem to be a somewhat "noticeable" one. There are several homeless people that are always at the Stadtmitte station with their very limited possessions and their cups for passers-by to give some money. One can also often see people along Königstraße with nothing but a cup or a tatted old hat for donations. I am completely unaware of the German welfare system, but I do wonder as to how these people are helped and what options are available for them. 




Ein anderes Problem, das ich sagen möchte, ist die "Rauchenkultur" (nicht ein echtes Wort, ich weiß) in Deutschland. Ich bin der Meinung, dass Rauchen in Deutschland ein ziemlich großes soziales Problem ist. Man kann immer Werbungen für Rauchen sehen, und es gibt sogar Zigarettenautomaten auf den Straßen. 


It is not difficult to find a smoker on the street, and I am surprised at the amount of young people who smoke. I really believe that this is a social problem facing Germany; not just the problem of smoking itself but also the general attitude toward smoking. 


Das nachstehende Bild ist von einer typischen Werbung hier in Deutschland (I apologise that it's on it's side!).

So, das it alles für diese Woche. 

Bis bald!,

Dan. 

Week 4: A simple miscommunication.

Eigentlich ist diese Geschichte vor zwei Wochen passiert, aber Ich denke, dass es interessant ist. 


Also, ich war ziemlich spät aufgewacht. Normalerweise wache ich gegen 7 Uhr auf, aber weil mein Wecker nicht funktioniert hat, bin ich um 7.40 Uhr aufgewacht. Meine Gastmutter hat mir gesagt: "Dan, du wirst spät sein!", und ich habe gesagt "Ja, leider hat mein Wecker nicht funktioniert hat, deswegen habe ich ausgeschlafen". Sie hat auf mich geschaut, hat gelacht, und dann hat sie gesagt: "was bedeutest du?"


I was a little confused when she asked me what I meant. The verb "ausschlafen", according to any dictionary, means "to sleep in", so naturally when I slept in I told my host mum "Yeah, unfortunately my alarm didn't work so I slept in". However, I seemed to have forgotten that German-English words (and vice-versa) don't have parallel meanings. Just because the dictionary tells me that "ausschlafen" means "to sleep in" doesn't necessarily mean that I can use it in the same way I would use the English equivalent. To make things slightly more embarrassing for me, I repeated the same mistake to my teacher, who also laughed and looked at me with a bit of confusion. However, she explained to me where I went wrong. The verb ausschlafen means to "sleep in" in the context of actually planning to wake up late, for example on the weekend: "Am Wochenende habe ich ausgeschlafen". The verb verschlafen is what I was looking for; meaning "to oversleep" (I suppose that is actually the correct term, however I have never said that for this situation). So, my experience with a small miscommunication may be a bit of a stupid story, but I think it highlights (at least a little bit) how common and easy miscommunications can be (it's something that of course can even happen within the same language, but between languages the chances are even higher). Ich möchte die Frage stellen: has anything like this happened to you guys during your stay so far?  


Also, das it alles für jetzt!


Bis bald!  


(P.S. Entschuldigung für meine späte Blog!)  


Dan. 

Week 3: Eine neue Kultur.

Ich bin ziemlich krank, deshalb ist es ein bisschen schwierig für mich, im Moment diese Blog zu schreiben, aber ich werde versuchen! 

As we fast approach the end of our third week here at Stuttgart, I am starting to pick up on some of the cultural aspects of our host nation.

Firstly, I am quite surprised at the level of Americanisation in Germany (though perhaps I shouldn't be). Just like in Australia, a McDonalds or Pizza Hut can always be found nearby, and German television is filled with all the American shows I am familiar with. Therefore, I find that a part of the culture of Germany is somewhat familiar (perhaps, even reminiscent of our own culture back home). 

Second, (something I touched on briefly in my previous post) is the cultural diversity of Stuttgart, and indeed other major cities of Germany, such as Munich. Much like Australia, Germany seems to be a nation comprised of a number of different types of people. This then reflects on the culture of the nation: it is not restricted to one type, but rather there is a "mix". This is something that I also find familiar, because being an Australian I am used to a cultural mix resulting from our diverse range of people.

Something, however, that I have found quite different is the cultural attitude toward smoking. Public places (such as the U and S Bahn stations) are smoke free; however I constantly find that people smoke in these areas anyway. Cigarettes are heavily advertised (is anyone else sick of those "Don't be a Maybe" adds by Marlboro?) and there are even cigarette-pack dispensers in places like supermarkets and restaurants. It is not difficult to find a smoker on the street, and there are a lot of young people who also choose to smoke ("choose" is perhaps the wrong word, given that they are saturated by cigarette advertising). Overall, there seems to be a completely different attitude to smoking than in Australia. Of course, people smoke (I should also say here that I have nothing at all against people who do smoke), however it is largely discouraged by anti-smoking campaigns, and the overwhelming majority of young people are (at least from my view) against it. 

I look forward to observing more of these similarities and differences over the next few weeks. Jetzt, muss ich mich ins Bett legen. 

Bis Bald,

Dan. 

Week 2: Rethinking the German cultural stereotype.

I'll start off by saying that the last week has absolutely flown by. It felt like yesterday that I was writing my first post, but alas that was a whole week ago. I really believe that the next five weeks will go by incredibly quick, so I am trying to savour every moment I have here whilst trying to soak up as much as I possibly can. 

Like most of my classmates, I have begun getting into a routine of waking up, coming home, studying, going out, going to bed etc. I also feel a LOT more confident in using the transportation system (I will also mention that I'm not really looking forward to returning to TransPerth after experiencing DB).

Before I arrived in Germany, I had an image in my head of what kind of place I would be going to- and what kind of people there would be there. After being here for over a week, I realise that the image I had was very different from reality. Primarily, I was not expecting the sheer amount of cultural diversity that exists in the modern-day Germany. My host mother explained to me that in Baden-Württemburg, around 25-30% of the population are of non-German descent- primarily  of Turkish origin. You can walk anywhere in Stuttgart- from Königstraße to the Hauptbahnhof, and see this from the various types of restaurants alone. The famous Turkish Döner Kebap, for instance, is something you can pick up from any one of the numerous Turkish fast-food shops that are all over Stuttgart. To me, the extremely popular Döner represents the real, modern-day Germany: a diverse and multicultural society, not a country of only "European" character. This has been an interesting thing to see and experience, and it reminds me a little of back home and our own wide cultural variety. It has also made me more aware of the falsehoods of cultural stereotypes. 

Bis bald,

Dan.

Week 1: Ein neues Land.

To be honest the feeling of finally being in Germany hasn't really "hit" me yet, but I feel that perhaps that will change very soon. My first few days have been rather mixed- excitement of course at being here, but also a bit of nervousness, apprehension and a bit of missing home (which is normal I suppose). 

Putting into practice what I have learned over last year at Uni has, so far, been rather difficult. It is easy enough to watch a German show or movie and understand some of the dialogue, but being confronted with an "everyday" conversational situation by a "normal" German is hard, and even quite nerving. It's this point that I, like everyone else I'm sure, want to improve. We are here after all to reinforce and strengthen what we have learned so far, to learn new things, and then to implement them in the "real world". My overriding learning expectation for the program is that I will improve all aspects of my German: vocabulary; writing; listening; reading but most of all, speaking. I really believe that speaking (along with listening I suppose) is the hardest thing to do, not physically but rather mentally: you need the confidence (along with the actual knowledge, of course) to be able to speak. This is something I feel a bit down about at the moment, but I'm hoping to change that. Carrying on from this, I hope that the program can give me some confidence to be able to speak and not feel nervous. 

I also hope to gain a fundamental understanding of the German people themselves. I want to get away from the numerous stereotypes that exist and to discover the "real" Germany and the "real" German people. It is something I am already beginning to learn. For example, I was unaware of the ethnic and cultural diversity of Germans. I think the reason for my surprise is that we are fed stereotypes and images of people of other countries, and Germany as a multicultural nation is not, I don't think, a very commonly projected image. 

It will be interesting to see what the rest of this week brings. Ich freue mich darauf. 

Dan.

Einführung

Ich habe gedacht, dass ich den Titel von dem Blog erklären soll, aber ich werde Die Beatles erlauben, es zu tun...