When I first came to Berlin I couldn’t make up my mind about buying the so called BahnCard 50. That is, you get a 50% discount on all of the tickets you buy to ride Deutschebahn.  It’s a great deal, if you are a regular traveler. Train tickets can be really expensive, especially ICE (fast trains).  I thought it would be unfair to live in Berlin for a year and not try to visit other places in Germany. Buying a BahnCard 50 was definitely a good decision and it proved to be totally worth it.

It’s very easy to apply for it. You can order it on line by going to www.bahn.de or you can visit the train station for example in Zoologisher Garten and purchase it there. They take your photo right there and after you pay they’ll give you a temporary card (and also some bonus 20 euro discount card) and then they will send your card to your address.

I highly recommend it to those who travel a lot. It really makes the prices of the tickets reasonable.

My recent addiction was „Lost“, the TV show that has captured the uninterrupted attention of millions of people. Was it interesting? I would say a little strange but I finished watching it. Would I watch it again? Probably not.

With this said, my all times favorite will remain „Friends“. I’ve watched it billion times but I still can’t get enough of it. It really cheers me up especially when I am having a bad day. Last night I laughed so hard that tears came down my eyes. Those who don’t find it funny, we probably couldn’t be a good match! Anyways, now my new thing is to watch it in German. I already know what the plot is so it’s easy to understand. But it’s an excellent way of testing how much of it I understand.  I’ve heard people say that listening to radio is good for improving comprehension but it gets too boring for me especially when the news comes on. But with „Friends“ I obviously never get tired. You might want to try with your favorite movie or TV show!

I am thinking of taking a few private classes in Deutsch Akademie. I find it helpful to have a few hours of one-on-one classes. It provides a good opportunity to have all the attention to yourself. This doesn’t mean that I don’t like my group classes. In fact, I think they provide excellent interaction with other students and helps you learn more on others‘ mistakes.

I would appreciate if some of you could give me feedbacks. Perhaps you’ve had private classes before, particularly at Deutsch Akademie, and I would be thankful if you could share some of your experiences with me.  It’s not a secret that private classes cost a lot of money, so I would like to hold off till I get some recommendations or encouragement from you.

My previous visits to Ausländerbehörde in Berlin, the so called Immigration office, have always been with a German speaker. I was always afraid that I won’t be able to explain what I need. One would think that most of the employees at an immigration office would speak English since they are dealing with foreigners and English seems to be the most common language, but they don’t, or they hesitate to speak. They also tend to get angry when you „waste their time“ with your slow and incorrect German. Well, what to do? It’s not like I can drag my neighbor or a German friend with me every time I need to get something done…

Today, for the first time, I tried to go there by myself and explain my complicated situation and get the required document. I have to say, that if it hadn’t been for my wonderful German teacher from Deutsche Akademie I probably would still be in ausländerbehörde or I wouldn’t have the document I needed. My teacher not only helped me with all the immigration (visa, temporary residency, etc) vocabulary but she also roll-played it with me. She pretended to be the angry immigration officer and I was the poor foreigner who stumbled when speaking German.

Luckily, my trip to ausländerbehörde was successful. I explained what I needed and got what I needed. Just a little patience always gets me through!

I must admit that one of the most enjoyable things I’ve done during my stay in Berlin is taking dance classes. It’s usually not hard to find studios offering dance courses, in fact, there are so many that you can’t chose from. However, this one place I found on the Internet I decided to go and check out.  „Placement“ profesioneller Raum fur Tanz-Theater-Kunst und Korperarbeit International was the placed I quickly fell in love with and knew it was right for me. They offer different levels of moder jazz classes which includes choreography, stretching from head to toe, cardio and most importantly beatiful dance moves. The instructors are professional dancers. Most of them speak English, some don’t. But, hey, it’s a great way of practicing German! Carmen Schall, the director of the studio, is one of the most pleasant people to talk to if you’d like to be enrolled. She is full of life and has time for everyone.

Classes are offered at different times of the day: morning, midday, evening. They also have ballet classes for kids. At the end of the class I feel so content and relaxed. Dancing is such a great way of working out without getting tired. I highly recommend the place to anyone who’s interested in dancing and having fun.

www.placement-berlin.de

info@placement-berlin.de

Uhlandstrasse 85, 1 Etage

I’ve lived in the U.S. long enough to adjust to the conversion of units of measurments. But I still get annoyed occasionally. It takes only a few months of being away and I need to make readjustments. Life in Germany just seems easy on everyday basis. Going to supermarket means picking out groceries I want to buy. In the U.S. it also means doing calculations in my head to figure out pounds vs. kilogram, ounce vs. grams, oz. vs. ml, etc. Then, another set of calculations trying to follow a recipe to make something by using a measuring cup. The same applies to checking the weather, Farenheit vs. Celcius. It’s easier to count when it’s above zero (I mean 32 degrees) but it gets really complicated when it’s below zero. Then I decide to use a sports watch to measure the distance of my run or use the treadmill in the gym. Oh man! I need to not only figure out miles vs. km, but also how many minutes per mile to set the treadmill for. And finally the pain of finding the right converter and adaptors to be able to use a hair-dryer or other electornic devices. Sometimes I just don’t understand why everything needs to be so different…

Super Bowl Sunday is a religion in the US, or at least my husband tells me so. Super Bowl Sunday is when the American Football championship takes place. They crown the winner “World Champion”. I find this ironic as they only play football (American-style) in the US. However, as my husband is a fan I make an effort to get excited each year while watching the game.

While American Football has not quite caught on in Germany it is worth checking out at least one game a year. And if you are going to watch one game make it the Super Bowl (Feb 6th at 24:00). There are a few bars in Berlin that show American Football. My husband likes Belushi’s, near the U-Bahn Rosa Luxenbourg (per my last post you should definitely read a little about her struggle and untimely murder). While you may not get to practice your German you will definitely have a cultural experience.

This year the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing the Green Bay Packers. They are two of the oldest teams in the league. While the atmosphere will not be like Olympic Park during the Deutschland-England acht-final…it should still be fun.

Sundays in Berlin are so quiet, it’s sometimes freaky. I go outside and there’s hardly anyone walking or driving. It sometimes seems to me that people forget to go outside on this day or there’s a curfew.  Shops and supermarkets are closed, trains are coming every 10 minutes, nobody is waiting at the red light on the opposite side of the street. Life just feels really slow and quiet.  The benefit is that it’s nice to go for a run on the main street sidewalks. I normally run in the parks or down the canal but on Sundays sidewalks are empty and I am not getting on anyone’s way. I’ve also noticed that they cleaned the sand that they put on the snow. So it’s nice and clean.

Sunday is not my favorite day of the week. I always feel tired and sleepy especially when the sun is not out. Today was one of those days. Hope to see some sun next weekend.

Two more days and I am finished with one more level at Deutsch Akademie.  It seems to me that B1 level is the transitioning one between beginner to higher intermediate. B1/1-B1/2 is also challenging because there are more expectations from you as a student to speak during the class. At this point you already know a vast number of words and grammar to be able to express thoughts and ideas somewhat clearly.

Participation is essential especially if class time is the only time you can practice speaking German. There are always students who are more active, sometimes even overbearing, and they intimidate you because they can speak more fluently. But it only takes little courage to „throw yourself into the conversation“ and begin talking. Personally, that’s what I do.

I am excited to start B2 and I look forward to learning more and showing better participation. I might even start blogging in German! (and I would expect supportive comments and less judgment:)

One of my favorite ways of spending Saturday afternoons is going to the Farmers‘ Market, just off of Nollendorf Platz. Be it cold or hot, farmers are there with fresh fruits and vegetables right from their gardens. But I don’t go there to buy those, I go to have lunch. There are a number of stands which offer great variety of food such as grilled fish, or ‚Shashlik‘ (BBQ), Russian pelmeni, Swiss raclette, etc. Usually there is a long line of people waiting to have lunch so it’s better to go a little early or after the busy lunch hour.

The last few times I went, the Russian guy who makes pork BBQ on skewers wasn’t there. It was disappointing but instead I had delicious fresh grilled fish with a glass of wine. The atmosphere is nice. It’s also a goof ‚people watching‘ place. Oh yes, and I always buy a loaf of Turkish bread to take with me home.