Hello!

This Monday I was unable to go to Deutsch Akademie as I was feeling unwell – each time I feel unwell these days I worry about schwine grippe! Fortunately it wasn’t schwine grippe at all, I was fine after a day taking it easy :) I also spent most of the day studying my German so as not to get behind.

I think what I like best about my German classes in Berlin at the Deutsch Akademie is that the classes are small and the teachers are very attentive. I have a lot of difficulty learning languages and I also feel shy about speaking in front of a group. Under these circumstances, it is really helpful to be in a small group – its much less intimidating! Its also helpful to have an attentive teacher. I imagine in larger classes you wouldn’t get as much individual help. The current teacher I have has been my favourite so far. She is very good at explaining things and you don’t feel stupid if you need to have the same thing explained more than once!

What motivates me to learn German on a daily basis is the desire to understand what people are talking about! There are also a lot of things that would be easier if I knew German…like dealing with problems for instance! When my heating wasn’t working in my apartment I found it hard to get it fixed, and the reason I still do not have my own internet connection despite living in my apartment for 5 months is because I havent figured out the necerssary German! So this is something I hope to do soon.

As I wasnt at Deutsch Akademie today I have taken a picture of my coffee break at home!

Hi again!

So its the end of the first week of lessons. I was very happy to find that today was one of the first days in a while where there was no rain! The weather this week has been particularly inhospitable, we even had the first snow! Though it didnt settle, it just turned to mush instead. I’m told that it is early for the first snow, that it usually begins to come toward the end of November. So soon its going to get very cold! I bought a new pair of boots today to keep my feet warm :) I know from having visited Berlin in the winter that it gets incredibly cold.

One of the things I like about Berlin in the winter is that when you are order take out food, they often offer you free tea as well! Its also a chance for conversation as well. I’m glad that I am at least at the stage where I can explain basic things about myself. My favourite take out food in Berlin are the famous Falafels (I also like the halloumi version) and Gozlems, which are less well known and are essentially a crepe filled with cheese/spinach/potato or meat. I’m a vegetarian and my favourite is the spinach. I live in Schonleinstraße which is a Turkish area, which means I have easy access to the lovely Turkish food and also the excellent Turkish market every Tuesday and Friday! I’m planning on going tomorrow, I hope its not raining!

Here is Lucas in the park – no rain as you can see!

Today is the 3rd day of the course. The day started off with rain, which then turned to sleet, hail, snow and then back to rain again! I was tempted to just stay indoors where it was warm and dry, but I managed to get to class. There seemed to be a lot of complicated grammar today with long names…I wonder if I’ll ever remember it all, but then I seem to manage the exercises. I notice that, after being in Berlin for a while, there are some things that I recognise from hearing people around me speak. I really need to practise speaking myself more.

I came to Berlin because I wanted a change from life in the UK and I wanted to try living in another culture. I’m not sure how long I will stay, but at the moment its indefinite. So I’m expecting that it will be for a few years at least! So learning the language is a necessity really. Already doing basic things like trying to get an internet connection in my apartment, and trying to buy second hand washing machine, and getting the heating in my apartment fixed has been so much  more complicated without speaking German. Its frustrating to struggle so much to get basic things done. So this is my motivation for learning German :)

I chose Deutsch Akademie initially as it offered good value for money. After I had taken my first two classes, I was also impressed with the quality of the teaching. It helps a lot that the classes are small, it makes learning a lot easier and the teacher has plenty of time to explain things to you, over and over if necerssary! In larger classes I can imagine that its easy to get lost if you dont understand something, and harder to get help when you need it.

I wish it wasnt so far away from where I lived, but as yet that is the only down side!

Here is a picture of my dog studying his German grammar ;)

Tuesday!

I am feeling more confident on the second day, on the first I was feeling bewildered that I’d forgotten so much of the vocabulary in the month I had back in the UK. But today things were coming back to me more, and things were starting to feel familar. Somehow it is always a surprise to me when I actually understand something. For my first 2 months of study I hardly ever knew what was going on. But since then I’ve invested in some grammar books and they’ve really helped. I still find grammar hard, but I’m able to make more sense of it than I used to.

Our group is made up of 9 people, including me. I’m the only English person – actually, in the 3 months I’ve been at Deutsch Akademie, I’ve never met another English person! One from Wales, but that is different of course. In my present group there are 2 Greek guys, one Canadian girl, 2 Spanish people, a guy and a girl, and 3 Polish girls. I’m one of the oldest, being 29. Though I think one of the Polish women is in her early 30’s. The teacher is very nice. Actually all the teachers I have had at Deutsch Akademie have been nice!

I’ve been encouraged to practise speaking German more….I hope my German friends are feeling patient!

Hello,

My name is Emma and today I began my new course, level 2B at the Deutsch Akademie in Berlin. I have been in Berlin for six months and so far I love the city! I live with my dog Lukas in a one room apartment in Kreuzberg. I am originally from the UK, I was born in London and lived there until I was 19 when I left London for university. For the past 10 years (I am 29 now!) I have mostly lived in the North of England. The last city I lived in was Leeds, I was there for 3 years and I still think of it as my home.

I decided to move to Berlin as I wanted a change, having lived all my life in the UK! Also I enjoy the energy and culture of the city. My problem is that I don’t yet know the language, which is why I am learning with Deutsch Akademie! I studied the 2A course in September…unfortunately I seem to have forgotten a lot in the one month break! But hopefully it will start to come back to me! :)