The Awful German Language

"Also!" If I had not shown that the German is a difficult language, I have at least intended to do so. I have heard of an American student who was asked how he was getting along with his German, and who answered promptly: "I am not getting along at all. I have worked at it hard for three level months, and all I have got to show for it is one solitary German phrase -- `Zwei Glas'" (two glasses of beer). He paused for a moment, reflectively; then added with feeling: "But I've got that solid!"

And if I have not also shown that German is a harassing and infuriating study, my execution has been at fault, and not my intent. I heard lately of a worn and sorely tried American student who used to fly to a certain German word for relief when he could bear up under his aggravations no longer -- the only word whose sound was sweet and precious to his ear and healing to his lacerated spirit. This was the word Damit. It was only the sound that helped him, not the meaning; and so, at last, when he learned that the emphasis was not on the first syllable, his only stay and support was gone, and he faded away and died.

3. It merely means, in its general sense, "herewith."


- From Mark Twain's The Awful German Language
The Awful German Language

The Germans are entirely aware of this fine piece of writing by Twain and I've seen quotes of his used in advertising here. Over dinner last night, a friend and I bemoaned our poor German skills, despite having spent 1/3 of our young lives trying to learn it. There are dogs here that understand more German than I do. The Germans don't mess around with their dogs - those are some well-trained animals! In fact, at the restaurant we were at, there was one sitting at the dinner table in its own chair. I'm sure it probably has better table manners than I do, too.

Schwarzwald

Freiburg is surrounded by the Schwarzwald. Today Beki, Alex, and I decided to go for a hike up to some of the wind turbines in the Schwarzwald hills/mountains. We left a student dorm area around 3:00PM and were hiking by about 3:30PM.

The hike was punctuated by an unknown wild animal that ran across the path, which only I saw. It was medium sized and though we realized we had scared it away, it had also scared us. We continued up the path anyhow. After about an hour and a half or so we reached the top of the Rosskopf and climbed up the Friedrichsturm ( Friedrich's Tower ). Probably not more than 200ft away were several wind turbines. We stood right underneath them. Quite humbling.

We soon turned around, as the sun was quickly setting. They call it The Black Forest for a reason. Not long after sun set it was getting hard to see the signs and our map, but our fear of wild boars propelled us quickly through the woods and caused us to sing "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" very loudly in hope of scaring any wildlife away.

Our first sign of civilization was a hotel. We hiked back into town, took the Strassenbahn into the Altstadt ( Old City ) and had dinner.

I walked the rest of the way back home. Several miles of uphill, downhill, and city walking. I'm tired. No pictures at the moment. I still haven't told you about Italy, Pisa, and Assisi, have I? Or my classes and sport club. I'm a bit behind, but it's been a few busy weeks. Til later.

Italy

The city of Florence


Standing on the steps of the Palazzo Vecchio, which hosted the Medici family


Bascilica of St. Francis of Assisi


View of mountain where the bascilica and castle ruins are



More wordy things to come later.

Requiem

Mary, Sarah S., Beki, and I went to the Muenster this evening to attend the performance of Mozart's Reqiuem by the Freiburger Domsingknabe ( boys' choir ), Philharmonisches Orchester der Stadt Freiburg ( Philharmonic Orchestra of the City of Freiburg ), led by Domkapellmeister Boris Boehmann.

We bought our student-discount tickets, wandered about a bit, and then went to find our seats. Sarah and I ended up standing because there simply wasn't enough room in the pews. And even though I remembered to take off my hat while entering the Muenster, I absent-mindedly put it back on, which got me a "Muetze ab!" or "Take your cap off!" from an older man.

The concert started and within 30 seconds I was covered in goosebumps. I spent a few minutes earlier this weekend thinking about music, in general. Most people would say that the type of music they listen to is all about expressing themselves. For me, it's more about the impression that music makes on me. Listening to music can be a passive or active experience and since I quit Music Theory in 2003, it's since then been mostly a passive experience, though occasionally it comes back to haunt me.

Anyhow, it was just stunning. The performance was a bit short of an hour, but I wish it could have lasted longer. It was all a mix of the tremendous age of the Muenster, the ability of the choirs, the acoustics, and the weight of the text.

The money from the concert goes toward renovating the Muenster tower. Check out www.wir-bauen-mit.de ( We're building together! ) for more about it.

And if you've never heard Mozart's Requiem, then please do a search for it at archive.org . You can't listen to the whole thing, but it's enough.

Victory

I have won the Battle.

I can now rest in the Great Hall of Fallen Warriors.

I have at long last obtained laundry coins.

Ferien

My classes at the International House are over. I had my final exams on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday there was a meeting with the AYF co-ordinators about signing up for classes.

Whereas in the USA, there are:

Lectures ( where students are expected to ask questions, but not discuss the topic thoroughly )
Recitations ( where students discuss topics from the lecture with an assistant teacher )
Labs ( practice of theories/methods for science courses )

for undergraduates, there are:

Vorlesung ( large lecture with "distinguished senior professors" who read from an essay or book. Open to the public. Students must make arrangements to receive a grade from the professor, usually earned by writing a paper )

Einfuehrung or Grundkurs ( intro course in which a department acquaints students with the methods, topics, and history of its discipline )

Uebung ( sometimes offered alongside a Vorlesung, focuses on the formal aspects of studying a field )

Proseminar ( comparable to an advanced undergraduate course in the US )

to chose from. Most of the classes I'm looking at are Proseminare. I have a schedule written out with first-choices, but still need to come up with Plan Bs and Plane Cs.

This Week's Clash of the Cultures

Americans are loud, obnoxious, and unruly. So the stereotype goes. I always thought of myself as being on the quieter side of things. I might wear tennis shoes everyday and eat a large dinner, but at least I was quiet.

Well, I thought wrong!

When I go to the library to study in the US, usually with friends, we always try to find a group-study room, so we don't have to deal with cell phones ringing, noisy fans walking through on game days, people talking. The library is a quiet place, but it's not a graveyard.

Well, on a tour through the University of Freiburg's library with our professor, we were kindly asked by a woman at the front desk to leave the floor we were on. Apparently, 12 people walking through the library is way too loud. We all sorta laughed it off. Einerseits, it's nice to know that the library is a place for studying and the sanctity of its silence is not to be compromised. Andererseits ... 12 pairs of feet walking through the library is nothing that can really be helped.

In a week I leave for Florence, Italy, and then I'm off to Paris, France.

Welcome to Germany

...where you can't do your laundry, because there aren't enough Waschmarken ( coins used to operate the washing machines ). Such is the situation in UZH today. I have a feeling someone's stockpiled them, but I have no proof. My Plan B for acquiring Waschmarken has failed. Laundry will have to wait until Thursday.

Well, I realize it's been well over a week since I've last updated. Let me give you the run down of things :

- September the 23rd I went with several friends to Colmar, France. Historical significance? Birthplace of the sculptor who created the Statue of Liberty and home to the Gruenewald Altar. We spent a good portion of the day at the Musee d'Unterlinden to see the Gruenewald Altar. I didn't realize the scale of it until we saw it. It's an absolutely amazing work of art, not only in its scale, but it's quality. We also went to the, for lack of a French equivalent, Muenster in Colmar. Lovely. Whereas the Muenster in Freiburg is made of red/pink stone, the one in Colmar is made of yellow stone.



-September the 24th we went with most of the AYFers to Basel, Switzerland. Close enough to the border that the Swiss accent was only a bit sing-songy. It was a Sunday, so all but the museums and restaurants were closed. Some of us went to the Historical Museum of Basel and poked around there for several hours. My favorite part about the museums in Europe? You're free to take your camera in, as long as you don't use the flash. Granted, it's been a while since I've been in an American museum with a camera, but anyhow.






Other than those two trips, I've been hanging around Freiburg. This week is my last week of classes at the International House of Pancakes. I've got two cummulative tests; one on Wednesday and the other on Thursday. Sure, it's only three weeks of material, but these are classes I have everyday ( as opposed to once or twice a week ), so there is a bit of material. A theme for everyday. Hundreds of vocab words and structures. It's all very nitty-gritty stuff that will make my German flow more easily.

It's really come in handy. I visited the Jos Fritz Cafe a few days ago, picked up a few newspapers, and every article I read had a word that I knew thanks to the International House. Things are a lot easier to retain when you find that you actually need to know them!

In the coming weeks I'll be off to Florence, Italy, and then to Paris, France. I've also got to sign up for classes, sign up for sports ( aikido ), and find some time to breathe.

Tomorrow is Tag der Deutschen Einheit, or the Day of German Unity, which means that everything will be closed and I won't have classes.

Thursday I'll be celebrating the end of classes by going to the Isle of Innisfree, a nifty Irish bar in town, and partaking in some Scottish dancing!