When I first decided to move to Germany, I was excited and a little apprehensive at the same time.
I was excited about living in Europe, novelty and travels but was apprehensive about the weather, culture and missing my homeland.
Almost 10 months down the lane now, I am happy to say that I love being here. The travels that one can make to Austria, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia in general and all over Germany itself in particular!
Munich is just my kind of place. Not too loud and not too subdued. I love the fact that it has a metropolitan culture where I can spot people from many nationalities and being not too noisy at the same time.
I also appreciate the richness the German language has and the arts and culture here – literature, drama, sports, lifestyle etc.
Although I am looking forward to a trip to my homeland in a few months, I am also very excited to get back here again!

Oh, we’ve all been there! Whenever we don’t understand a word from a foreign language, we rub the Aladdin Lamp (not even thrice, just once actually) and we have the answer.

Well, it doesn’t work all the time, though. Some of the true-translation pitfalls I’ve come across: Telling somebody “Es ist halb-neun” when it’s 9:30 AM. It actually means 8:30.

Most common thing though, is when someone asks “How are you?” and you say “Ich bin gut”. You want to say “Es geht mir gut” whereas “Ich bin gut” actually means that you are a good person.

One more embarrassing mistake coming up – you introduce one of your friends (male/female) as “Er/sie ist mein freund/freundin”. It actually means he/she is your boyfriend/girlfriend. To be safe, say “Er/sie ist ein/eine freund/freundin von mir”.

The last might not be a blunder and people might understand what you say but it’s just not right. When you want to say “I came by train”, you should say “Ich bin mit dem Zug gefahren”. True-translation does not work here, sadly.

However, embarrassing yourself once in a while is okay. It is a much surer way to learn, have some laughs and save a great story for later!

Ankitha

Hello all! I have been taking the German course for the past 4 months. Before that, I tried to learn the language by myself at home for close to 2 months in vain.

I think one of the main reasons is that it is extremely hard to maintain the discipline every single day when you’re in it all by yourself. I found myself studying for hours on few days and hardly opening the book on a few days. And I’m pretty sure that that’s one of the worst ways to learn a language. You learn a little everyday and you gradually master it.

Anyway, once I started going to the course, I was doing exactly that. There is also solace in the fact that you’re not learning alone. Better yet, you have companions to make mistakes with and a teacher to correct those mistakes.

There is also the most obvious motivator which works for many things – money. You remind yourself that you got to make it count. The other important motivators being the material, occasional tests, monthly Stammtisch and the daily Hausaufgabe!

Ankitha

I find Munich a great place to live. Well, except for the exorbitant rental prices, of course!

There are a lot of places which are my favorites – some famous and some not so. The best place I prefer to hangout is the Japanischer Garten which is quite close to where I live. Yes, it is not known to a lot of people, but is a little version of the crowded Englischer Garten. It offers restaurants, gardens and flower gardens with a lot fewer people. It is near the ‘Westpark’ U-Bahn stop.

In addition to the above, I also like the Olympia Park which is quite a happening place. It is one of the best places to spend summer evenings just reading a book or going for a jog or even for some nature-therapy! If you are a fan of the Englischer Garten, do check out the place where people do surfing regularly. It is near the ‘Museumplatz’ bus stop and is a fun sight.

Some other things I’d like to do here – spend a rainy day at the Deutsch Museum (the ticket costs just 1 Euro on Sundays), enjoy a sunny day at the Stanberg Lake and just roam the streets of Odeonsplatz where life seems more vibrant than the rest of the city!

Ankitha

Hello there! I started learning German a few months back and I’m in the B1 level now.  Remember my first Stammtisch when we all introduced ourselves and most people said B1/B2 while I was in A1.

They seemed and sounded very confident to me. I found me wondering to myself “Will I be like them when I get to B1/B2 levels?

And guess what, I think I am. When you look at a new skill or project or practically anything in life, it seems as a mountain that cannot be crossed. But we often forget that we don’t have to jump over the mountain to the other side. We just have to put one front before/above the other till the task is done.

So, the takeaway for me is – break anything into little tasks and start achieving it gradually. While in the process, don’t forget the perks which come out of it – In my case, Deutsch films, plays, books, people and places!

And one thing which is a fact is that there is no absoluteness in the case of languages. Even a native speaker of a language learns something new about his/her language suddenly. So, let’s just be better than what we were yesterday is all!

Ankitha

I arrived in Munich in February, this year. I think I came here in the worst time of the year. But I thought, “It can only get better from here!”

I, being from India and from a city where it never snows found the cold fascinating and overwhelming at the same time.

Well, once I got a coat suitable for the weather, I set off to explore my neighborhood (LAIM) dressed as an astronaut. It is such a well-organized and clean city! But, of course, I started to see the true colors of the city once the summer season started to kick in.

Strangely, I waited for sunshine along with all the other Müncheners. I also got a free MVV ticket for a week and the explorer in me was happy to discover all that the city had in store – libraries, gardens, museums, restaurants, and beer-gardens. Clean city, great conveyance and a lot of fun await if you are new here!

Ankitha

Maybe this post should be in German so I make the DeutschAkademie folks even happier! Anyway, I started a couple months ago and finished A1, A2 levels. So, I find myself in a good place to write a testimonial on the academy.

I’ve been taking the Intensive course and I find myself looking forward to the next class everyday at the end of the class. I’m a person who is inherently interested in new experiences – languages, skills etc. Yet, I have taken up courses where I lost interest mid-way earlier in life. With gladness, I can vouch that this experience did not happen with DeutschAkademie.

My teachers have all been good-looking (!) and well-qualified! Jokes apart, they’ve been really focused and patient with the class – which obviously contains pupils with different speeds and capabilities. Though I joined German course out of necessity and treated it as a journey to something earlier; I have been enjoying this journey. Surely, it has given me a lot of joy, self-confidence and hope! Prost!

Ankitha

I’m pretty sure there have been hundreds of blogs and articles on this world-famous festival! However, it has been an important item on my checklist when I decided to move to Munich.

I was kind-of waiting for October when I researched a little and found out it starts in September itself! Bavarians seem to have taken the saying ‘make hay while the sun shines’ quite seriously. Let me explain – When it started, this festival happened on the wedding of King Ludwig and Queen Therese in October. However, owing to the good weather and warm evenings in September, it starts in September itself. So, now you know!

Anyway, is there a better time to enjoy beer wearing colorful dirndls and lederhosen? Is there a better place than Munich – organized and upbeat city to have this festival? Are there any other people better than Bavarians to enjoy it with?

Happy to be here! Ein mass, bitte!!

Ankitha

I have read somewhere that a language is more than a language – it’s a window to a culture and a door to the evolution of a country. You realize this especially when you start to learn a language way later in your life. The languages you learn from birth may not always throw surprises at you. But learning a completely new language drowns you in revelations every once in a while.

One of the examples is words like – ‘frühstuck’, ‘Mittwoch’ and ‘sehenswürdigkeiten’. The ‘Aha’ moment comes when you realize they are not complex words but a collection of simple words – ‘ first piece’, ‘mid-week’ and ‘see-worthy-sights’ respectively.

I have also discovered that the German language has one more unique feature. Coining or having words for complex feelings that almost all humans feel. Words like ‘sonder’ and ‘fernweh’ which take paragraphs to convey in other languages. This, I feel, is quite a revelation because a common word between two people establishes a connection through empathy.

I still am in the process of knowing the language and can’t wait to have many more such revelations.

Wait, is there a word for this feeling?!

Ankitha