Although ive been doing my Doulingo as frequently as I can, I fear the most challenging part of this trip will be communicating with the locals. I love to always chat it up with the locals wherever I go as their lives are always so starkly different that what life is like in America and I think its so cool to listen to all of their stories and life experiences. I’m hopping my German is enough to get by to understand a good bit of what they are saying but some of these compound words are just too long like you can’t tell me Nahrungsmittelunvertraglichkeit is a real word they use lol.
Thankfully this isn’t my first rodeo here, it’ll be my third extended trip to Germany! Most of the culture Im familiar with and I have a fair bit of experience on how they might view me as but for the most part German’s (especially in cologne) are superrrr friendly and the only perception they might have about me is that I might be a Turkish immigrant or something along those lines. Im not to bothered by these questions as most of the time they as out of genuine curiosity but its always funny to hear what they have to say. Something that they might surprise them is that I actually have German lineage within my family as my great-grandfather’s dad was originally from Germany! My big plan is to move to Germany in the future and I hope that through this program and other opportunities during my time in Bonn, I can make the definitive decision of weather or not I want to move to Germany forever!
As the trip gets closer and closer, Im super hyped to be able to study there and I have some nerves over what the course material will look like and I hope to do well in the class but its nothing that I would put out of the ordinary. The class seems very straight forward and I hope to learn more about how differing regions and cultures practice medicine and how it shapes their modern treatments and practices. Approaches for medicinal remedies vary drastically around the world and Im very curious to see what it’s like out in Bonn but all in all I’m looking forward to a great time out there!
Hallo, Nikash! It's cool to hear your perspective, I feel like I'm coming from the opposite side of things! This will be my first time in Germany and my first time travelling internationally period. I feel like you'll be an asset to the group since you're already familiar with the area while some of us are a blank canvas. Glad to hear that you love Germany so much that you're considering moving there. Hopefully I'll like it just as much. Safe travels!
ReplyDeleteHello! I love traveling as well, but I haven't had the extended trip experiences before, so I am very excited to have this opportunity. It's awesome that you love Germany so much and want to move there someday, I'm sure that's great incentive for Duolingo. I have a 90-day streak now but I am nowhere near confident for even basic conversation let alone those compound words, so you're ahead of me! See you in Germany!
ReplyDeleteHey Nikash, I'm glad we have you coming on this trip with us! Your experience abroad and especially in Germany will be invaluable as we all try to figure this out together. The concerns about German proficiency are real. Even after weeks of rosetta stone, I still feel like I have an elementary understanding, but hopefully locals will have grace for us. I feel like the class as well as the immersion we will face with our families will allow us to pick it up faster than we think.
ReplyDeleteYour view of this trip probably differs from most others. From what I've been reading, most of us are excited to maybe see Germany for the first time or gain some more perspective, but your subliminal goal of moving their permanently one day sets you apart. I think this is AWESOME! Knowing that their are so many people from different backgrounds, with varying levels of European experience, and even with different goals for this trip will allow us all to be enriched by each others perspectives and comments.
I hope we'll be able to travel together some on the weekends and become friends! Excited to meet up in Germany!