The sub-title for Day Six is a pun paying homage to Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies, but if you are a fan then I know that you already got it...
School was so much better today. My (new) class has only one other student who speaks Chinese, Japanese, English and French so there is more time for explanation. More importantly, I am able to feel like 'a big fish in a small pond'. This gives me added confidence to speak out loud by knowing there is a good chance I will give the correct answer.
I still don't have an official reason for WHY I want to learn German, but I know I get inspiration from people who have made the effort to become multi-multi-lingual. My great-aunt Anne (who lived most of her life as a nun so I guess she had a lot of free time?) was fluent in six or seven languages. Even though I only met her once or twice over ten years ago, my fascination with her achievement never faded.
After lunch I returned to the advanced class and returned to picking up approximately 25% of the dialogue. However, with some one-on-one direction from the teacher, I was able to do the in-class assignments with respectable success.
After classes, I went home to make lunch and to study. The man of the house arrived soon after, and he invited me to the garden to share tea and to share the last two pieces of Sunday's cheesecake. It's conversations like these that will really help my comprehension of German (and his of English), and it is also why it is better for one to immerse in a country over four thousand miles away.
After a few hours, I panicked as I asked Gerald what time it was (which directly translates to "How late is it?"). I realised I had only four mintes to get to my (new) evening class. I ran inside to collect my books only to see a note I had written myself revealing that I actually had another half hour. Relieved, I returned to the garden to explain the mix-up and to finish our conversation. I was going to keep my second new challenge for 2009 of being on time for school after all. My original 2009 challenge was to cut out the sarcasm but we all knew that was destined to fail. (I claim to have lasted a month but have yet to meet even one person who agrees.)
The teacher of the evening class was new to the school so everyone in the room (seven people) did a meet and greet. This was a great chance for me to review the basic questions I learned in the first class (what is your name/where do you live/where do you come from/what is your job/etc.). Then we were asked to turn to page 51 of the textbook. I realised that the class had been in session for many weeks already and I would once again be lost.
To shorten a long/boring story. The class ended early. The teacher was told that our class began at 6:00 but the students were told 6:30. The class was reviewing Modalverben so this early dismissal saved me a lot of humming and hawing. I will know theModalverbs for the next class.
I was advised to try Al Capone for dinner - one of Dresden's many Italian restaurants. I hesitated to eat there because the place was empty but since my hosts recommended it (and I was starving) I entered anyway. I was asked if I wanted to eat inside or outside and it was then that I realised the place was buzzing - just not inside. I replied 'outside' and was told I had to wait for a table for one. The head waiter mustered something to the bartender and all of a sudden I found a (free) glass of champagne in front of me for being so patient to wait for a table.
At that moment I remembered the German word for dry, which I had been struggling to recall during my afternoon chat. It is "trocken". Seeing the champagne made me think of "Henkell-Trocken" which is a fairly common sparkling white wine IMO. It is funny how the brain works sometimes...
School was so much better today. My (new) class has only one other student who speaks Chinese, Japanese, English and French so there is more time for explanation. More importantly, I am able to feel like 'a big fish in a small pond'. This gives me added confidence to speak out loud by knowing there is a good chance I will give the correct answer.
I still don't have an official reason for WHY I want to learn German, but I know I get inspiration from people who have made the effort to become multi-multi-lingual. My great-aunt Anne (who lived most of her life as a nun so I guess she had a lot of free time?) was fluent in six or seven languages. Even though I only met her once or twice over ten years ago, my fascination with her achievement never faded.
After lunch I returned to the advanced class and returned to picking up approximately 25% of the dialogue. However, with some one-on-one direction from the teacher, I was able to do the in-class assignments with respectable success.
After classes, I went home to make lunch and to study. The man of the house arrived soon after, and he invited me to the garden to share tea and to share the last two pieces of Sunday's cheesecake. It's conversations like these that will really help my comprehension of German (and his of English), and it is also why it is better for one to immerse in a country over four thousand miles away.
After a few hours, I panicked as I asked Gerald what time it was (which directly translates to "How late is it?"). I realised I had only four mintes to get to my (new) evening class. I ran inside to collect my books only to see a note I had written myself revealing that I actually had another half hour. Relieved, I returned to the garden to explain the mix-up and to finish our conversation. I was going to keep my second new challenge for 2009 of being on time for school after all. My original 2009 challenge was to cut out the sarcasm but we all knew that was destined to fail. (I claim to have lasted a month but have yet to meet even one person who agrees.)
The teacher of the evening class was new to the school so everyone in the room (seven people) did a meet and greet. This was a great chance for me to review the basic questions I learned in the first class (what is your name/where do you live/where do you come from/what is your job/etc.). Then we were asked to turn to page 51 of the textbook. I realised that the class had been in session for many weeks already and I would once again be lost.
To shorten a long/boring story. The class ended early. The teacher was told that our class began at 6:00 but the students were told 6:30. The class was reviewing Modalverben so this early dismissal saved me a lot of humming and hawing. I will know theModalverbs for the next class.
I was advised to try Al Capone for dinner - one of Dresden's many Italian restaurants. I hesitated to eat there because the place was empty but since my hosts recommended it (and I was starving) I entered anyway. I was asked if I wanted to eat inside or outside and it was then that I realised the place was buzzing - just not inside. I replied 'outside' and was told I had to wait for a table for one. The head waiter mustered something to the bartender and all of a sudden I found a (free) glass of champagne in front of me for being so patient to wait for a table.
At that moment I remembered the German word for dry, which I had been struggling to recall during my afternoon chat. It is "trocken". Seeing the champagne made me think of "Henkell-Trocken" which is a fairly common sparkling white wine IMO. It is funny how the brain works sometimes...
