Germans like beer. Germans like to speak German. I do like to drink beer (I am still learning to appreciate it fully) and I have no freaking idea what everyone is saying. (p.s. the Z and Y are switched on computers here and it is a real pain in the ass.)
I am very happy that my friend here speaks good english, but sometimes he gets sick of speaking in a foreign tongue (rightly so) so I just sit there quietly grinning as he has conversations that sound like “blooben gleeben showstuh foop.” It was really strange watching Austin Powers 3 dubbed in German last night while everyone around me spoke words I didn’t know.
In other news, I have seen things such as the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, along with some other famous things. We headed over to Potsdam yesterday to visit San Soucci, a really big palace, and a bunch of other mansions. It was very very beautiful! (pictures will come when i figure out how to get them on this darn PC.)
So finally, we are now in Guben where I met Dirk’s family. They don’t speak English, so everything I said went through translation by Dirk and his older sister who was there for the day. I found that video and photo’s do a lot better at communicating that words do.
Tomorrow I will make chocolate chip cookies (I brought the ingredients from America) and try to rent a German movie with English subtitles…All in all, everyone is very friendly and welcoming. Hoever, I am surprised that most people don’t really seem to care that I am from America. I thought that I would get the same reaction from people here that I give to foreigners in my friends houses. (lots of questions and try to speak their language) but I guess Americans are not that foreign of a thing here, they listen to our music, watch our movies, and have their own formed opinions of us. Either way, I did get a kick out of Dirk’s 7 year old brother and 10 year old sister looking at me and laughing as though I was some sort of animal in the zoo.
We will be in Guben one more night and then off to Marburg to meet with some of Dirk’s friends. I am having a very good time and slowly getting used to not understanding what anyone is saying. (my first German phrase that I learned was “I do not speak German, Sorry.”
Lesson to learn from this experience thus far: Learn some of the language before you go to a foreign country!
Great to read your text post, Josh. lol…it is okay not to acquire a taste for beer!
Hey Josh great post.
I LOVED Germany when I was there, I wish I was there now!
I can relate to being in a place and not knowing the language. I always try to brush up a little on the native language before I go somewhere, but that’s not always an option.
Anyway, glad you’re having a good time, and I’m looking forward to hearing more news of your trip!
- Dave
http://www.davidmeade.com
Just wade in and have fun. Don’t worrry about the language thing. People always like it if you know a few phrases but it’s not necessary.
John Irving, the novelist (he of “The Cider House Rules,” etc.), said that going to a foreign place was necessary to become a writer. You have to be in a place where the common is unusual (eating french fries with mayonnaise, getting sugar in those cool tubey packets) so that you really pay attention to the world in all it’s detail.
Or something like that! lol
Vloggers in Seattle turned me on to your site. Very cool. Have fun (and do enjoy the beer)!
It’s great to get to know what an american thinks about Germany and what he (not) likes. Keep on with this! You can also visit me in Lower-Saxony (Niedersachsen).
I hope you enjoy the trip.
Well I guess you learned the hard way that Foreigners are really not all that foreign in Europe
Enjoy the beer!
Tomorrow I will make chocolate chip cookies (I brought the ingredients from America)
Ha ha ha ha… someone told me that Americans do that — bring their ingredients from home — so that was really funny to read.