We had a nice reception after class today. I'll see some of my classmates at the exam over the next couple of days, but it was good to have some last words with others and exchange emails. Of course every class has some sour spots and some tension, everyone seemed to be pretty happy. It was, for the most part, a great class. It was very diverse with lots of different opinions and world views, and that made class a lot more interesting.
As far as my German, I can honestly say that it is so much better. I can function quite comfortably in Germany with the language that I have. Some things pass me by, but for the most part, I can understand and function. I feel like I've accomplished something that I can use in the future. I definitely have developed my German to pave the way for other opportunities that come my way. Certainly, German will be helpful for my research that I will engage in the future. I believe that now no sentence is untranslatable for me. Before, I would come across sentences, have absolutely no idea what it said and further, no idea how to go about translating it. I thought I knew what to do, how the sentence was structured, etc., but when the translation came out, the sentence was meaningless. Now, I do not believe that that will happen. I built upon my skills that I learned in college, fine tuned them, and added to them. I'm really satisfied with the progress I made.
The big question that faces me now is how I can keep up the progress that I made. How can I keep building on what I've done and not lose the progress that I've made? Thanks to my mother, I am a fan of "The Biggest Loser," and for the contestants, it is always just as important to lose weight and maintain their lifestyle after the television show. Well, I'm now in the same boat. How do I keep that up? The biggest issue will be with speaking. Here, I speak German every day. I have to. I have to to talk with classmates, I have to to order food, I have to to function. Naturally in America, I don't have to do that. I could waltz down to Edelweiss German bakery in Tuscaloosa and try my hand at German there, but I could just as easily order pretzel rolls in English.
For reading and hearing, the internet is a valuable tool. I can access German newspapers, keep tabs on German Harry Potter, and work on my own research. That not only keeps my grammar sharp but simultaneously expands my vocabulary (it took me a while to think of that word in English). I can also find German videos easily on the internet. Many times, German news websites have videos, and there are countless other resources that I can use. I'm really looking forward to taking advantage of these things and keeping up with my German.
I think this a good challenge for me. Looking for new ways to use my German and finding ways to work it in and keep it sharp will be a good challenge. It would be a shame to lose the progress that I have made here, because it is considerable. I'm pretty proud of what I've done, and I won't let it go to waste.
Deutsches Wort des Tages:
das Ende -- end
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