ProTip: Everyone in Germany speaks English. The only people I needed to speak to in German when I was there was one particularly stubborn train official and one waitress who I think was also in a bad mood.
But don't listen to Luke and Shadoworc01! Use this as an excuse to learn and practice a second language a little bit.
Yo, I didn't like that. I wanted to improve my German, but every time I tried to speak it they took pity on me and spoke English instead. Stupid Germans, being hospitable.
Just saying, Luke has lived there for years and he still refuses to learn the language. I don't know why I find this so frustrating, but I do. I know that Germans often have excellent English, but I feel when a foreigner lives in a place and only speaks their mother tongue, they get cut off from a part of the culture, and they can't read novels and see movies with no subtitles. I am like "Learn all the languages!" At the same time, it is best to use whatever language is most comfortable for the conversation taking place.
Also, I get mad at lazy gaijin. When I see the American talking in English at someone who doesn't understand and it is making life hard for everyone, I get really annoyed and I don't know why. Maybe because I put in a lot of effort so I was not that person.
Yeah, well Luke can go fuck himself. I took an intro to Finnish course. Finnish is a language that is related to Hungarian and nothing else. I knew this going in. I too am like "Learn all the languages!"
Yeah, well Luke can go fuck himself. I took an intro to Finnish course. Finnish is a language that is related to Hungarian and nothing else. I knew this going in. I too am like "Learn all the languages!"
>Studied Finnish >Proud of difficulty >Hasn't studied Basque
>2012 >Ez duzu hau egiteko espero dut.
Language isolates are where it's at, brother. Better yet, language isolates that validate the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, such as the language of the Piraha natives of the Amazonian rainforest. Their language has no words for numbers, mathematical operations, or the formation of groups any more specific than "a few," or, "a group." It is impossible to teach these people mathematics if Piraha was their first language.
I wasn't trying to be a language hipster, I was defending my cred as being pro-language learning. But now that you tell me this, where do I sign up for that?
I think like ten non-tribesmen on earth know Piraha; no idea where you can learn it. Probably at a school with a really good neurolinguistics program (MIT?). Lots of schools have Basque courses now, though. It's an utterly fascinating language.
Yeah, well Luke can go fuck himself. I took an intro to Finnish course. Finnish is a language that is related to Hungarian and nothing else. I knew this going in. I too am like "Learn all the languages!"
That's not true! What about Estonian and some of the other Baltic language dialects? Finnish totally has other relatives.
My German skills aren't that bad at all, in many ways, except my confidence at speaking. I don't refuse to learn it. I've lived in Berlin for years, and the German I know is plenty for me to get by. I'd love to learn more, and try all the time. The thing is that it's the most difficult and stressful thing I've ever tried.
I understand most of most conversations between friends of mine, when they are speaking German. It's just that when I join in, I use English, and then we all switch back to German again. It's way less stressful for everyone that way. I don't have to feel like an idiot with my terrible German speaking, and my friends don't have to work to understand my terrible German.
My German skills aren't that bad at all, in many ways, except my confidence at speaking. I don't refuse to learn it. I've lived in Berlin for years, and the German I know is plenty for me to get by. I'd love to learn more, and try all the time. The thing is that it's the most difficult and stressful thing I've ever tried.
I understand most of most conversations between friends of mine, when they are speaking German. It's just that when I join in, I use English, and then we all switch back to German again. It's way less stressful for everyone that way. I don't have to feel like an idiot with my terrible German speaking, and my friends don't have to work to understand my terrible German.
Okay. When you came out, and I asked you if you were fluent since you have lived there for years, you made it sound like "Why would I learn German when I can get by with English?" I said, "You should totally learn German!" And that's why I though that.
Also, I think it is precisely because it is the hardest thing I have ever done that I want to see other people force themselves and fail and feel like an idiot until they succeed and are understood. I had no choice but to do so, and in the end it felt like I had climbed a mountain to look out on the vista below.
There is a huge difference between knowing a language and being fluent in it. I've got to the point where, to avoid massive amounts of stress in the future, I'm going to admit to myself that I'm never going to be fluent in German. I expect I'll get better over the years, but fluent will have to come through time and osmosis, not by continual studying in a non-optimal environment.
But in juggling, don't you drop your clubs all the time trying for the harder and harder tricks? Is that stressful? Pushing yourself in a sport or an art is similar to pushing yourself in language learning. There are the missteps and failures, but it is the inevitable successes that make it all worth it. edit: I mean, I suppose the important thing is that you and others around you can communicate well. I'm a little crazy when it comes to Japanese, having already passed the point where I can make myself understood, I keep shooting for higher and higher goals. It is a lot like art. There will always be a higher level to strive for.
It does. I was saying something other than what you thought I was saying.
Ah, okay, sorry about that. I only have a slight understanding of German and thought you accidentally mispelled since I had seen abrufen before. After looking online a bit I now know what it meant.
I'm thinking my approach will be on a case-by-case basis. If it's something with my class or host family, I'll be going for either 100% German or a combination of German and charades, because there are concrete consequences for speaking English in those situations (i.e.: if you're caught speaking English a certain number of times, you're not allowed to go on the next excursion). For just friendly conversations and most other social interactions, I'm still going to try for German most of the time, but won't kill myself if I slip into English accidentally or I have a lazy day. And if there's a situation where I need to be sure of what I'm saying/hearing, like I need to get directions or I'm majorly lost or something, English might be the priority unless the other person doesn't speak it.
In juggling, many people work on a trick, over and over, until they get it once. They will drop a hundred times, and not drop once. Then they are happy, and move on. This is cool, as only one person is effected by the dropping.
As a performing juggler, I practice my juggling so when I'm on stage, I drop very rarely. Last year it worked out to about one drop every ten minutes on stage.
But for all the practice, you get declining returns in regards to less mistakes. To get a trick right one time out of ten doesn't take much work. To get it five out of ten takes two or three times as much work. To get it seven or eight times out of ten takes twice as much work again. Nine times out of ten, twice as much work again. Ten times out of ten takes about ten times as much work as nine times out of ten. Juggling is just that hard to get consistent!
In my life, with my brain, and my experience, I don't think the analogy of learning a language and learning to juggle holds up. But if you want to compare the two, my German speaking skills are at the five out of ten level. I can make myself understood, with mistakes most of the time, if needed. The work needed to become fluent (nine out of ten) is way beyond me at the moment. To become a naturalized speaker is probably out of my reach forever.
I'm thinking my approach will be on a case-by-case basis. If it's something with my class or host family, I'll be going for either 100% German or a combination of German and charades, because there are concrete consequences for speaking English in those situations (i.e.: if you're caught speaking English a certain number of times, you're not allowed to go on the next excursion). For just friendly conversations and most other social interactions, I'm still going to try for German most of the time, but won't kill myself if I slip into English accidentally or I have a lazy day. And if there's a situation where I need to be sure of what I'm saying/hearing, like I need to get directions or I'm majorly lost or something, English might be the priority unless the other person doesn't speak it.
Good Approach, I'd wager! I hope you have an excellent time!
I'm maybe 8/10? I'll give myself fluent status only when I pass the Level 1, the National Japanese Exam. I'm going for it, so we'll see how that goes at the end of the year! Native Speaker, though, would probably mean living in Japan for over a decade and speaking mostly Japanese every day.
Suffice it to say that despite the eclectic nature of my listening habits and the wide range of bands I'm relatively well-versed in, my knowledge of music as a whole pales in comparison to many, many of my more learned friends.
I'm currently in Arusha, Tanzania. Juliane and I just went on a three day safari around the Serengeti and Gnorognoro Crater. It was fucking awesome. We drove through the middle of the Great Migration, with millions of wildebeest for as far as the eye can see. And so many other species of animals it kinda blew my mind.
Next stop: Dar es Salaam. Then across to Zanzibar for five days.
There were several model years, IIRC, where the specs of the Mustang were definitely not up to the usual snuff (this knowledge comes from my grandfather being a huge Ford fanatic and owning a Cobra; it may be flawed). Also, he may need a rebuild, a trans overhaul, or something similar. Every Ford I've driven and every Ford I know the owner of tends to behave quite nicely when everything is in order but go to absolute shit when something is a tiny bit out of whack. Hence, "Fix Or Repair Daily."
(Sorry for the late reply. I forgot I even wrote that. o_O) I have an '04 base model that can barely do what a base model does today. I've allegedly 197 HP, but the current has around 300 HP. It's also got an automatic transmission. Hence, the "Mustang-that-isn't."
EDIT: I better go into more detail. It's a good car, just not what one would expect from a Mustang. It isn't spectacularly fast, or exotic. Granted, I paid about $6,000 for it. To be honest, I wasn't seeking out a Mustang, I was actually looking for a used sedan. I was kind of pushed into getting it by my dad for some strange reason, he refused to give me time to think about it.
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At the same time, it is best to use whatever language is most comfortable for the conversation taking place.
Also, I get mad at lazy gaijin. When I see the American talking in English at someone who doesn't understand and it is making life hard for everyone, I get really annoyed and I don't know why. Maybe because I put in a lot of effort so I was not that person.
>Proud of difficulty
>Hasn't studied Basque
>2012
>Ez duzu hau egiteko espero dut.
Language isolates are where it's at, brother. Better yet, language isolates that validate the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, such as the language of the Piraha natives of the Amazonian rainforest. Their language has no words for numbers, mathematical operations, or the formation of groups any more specific than "a few," or, "a group." It is impossible to teach these people mathematics if Piraha was their first language.
I understand most of most conversations between friends of mine, when they are speaking German. It's just that when I join in, I use English, and then we all switch back to German again. It's way less stressful for everyone that way. I don't have to feel like an idiot with my terrible German speaking, and my friends don't have to work to understand my terrible German.
I said, "You should totally learn German!"
And that's why I though that.
Also, I think it is precisely because it is the hardest thing I have ever done that I want to see other people force themselves and fail and feel like an idiot until they succeed and are understood. I had no choice but to do so, and in the end it felt like I had climbed a mountain to look out on the vista below.
edit: I mean, I suppose the important thing is that you and others around you can communicate well. I'm a little crazy when it comes to Japanese, having already passed the point where I can make myself understood, I keep shooting for higher and higher goals. It is a lot like art. There will always be a higher level to strive for.
/pretentious asshole.
As a performing juggler, I practice my juggling so when I'm on stage, I drop very rarely. Last year it worked out to about one drop every ten minutes on stage.
But for all the practice, you get declining returns in regards to less mistakes. To get a trick right one time out of ten doesn't take much work. To get it five out of ten takes two or three times as much work. To get it seven or eight times out of ten takes twice as much work again. Nine times out of ten, twice as much work again. Ten times out of ten takes about ten times as much work as nine times out of ten. Juggling is just that hard to get consistent!
In my life, with my brain, and my experience, I don't think the analogy of learning a language and learning to juggle holds up. But if you want to compare the two, my German speaking skills are at the five out of ten level. I can make myself understood, with mistakes most of the time, if needed. The work needed to become fluent (nine out of ten) is way beyond me at the moment. To become a naturalized speaker is probably out of my reach forever.
I'm maybe 8/10? I'll give myself fluent status only when I pass the Level 1, the National Japanese Exam. I'm going for it, so we'll see how that goes at the end of the year! Native Speaker, though, would probably mean living in Japan for over a decade and speaking mostly Japanese every day.
Next stop: Dar es Salaam. Then across to Zanzibar for five days.
Photos: later.
EDIT: I better go into more detail. It's a good car, just not what one would expect from a Mustang. It isn't spectacularly fast, or exotic. Granted, I paid about $6,000 for it. To be honest, I wasn't seeking out a Mustang, I was actually looking for a used sedan. I was kind of pushed into getting it by my dad for some strange reason, he refused to give me time to think about it.