My Life Lesson

I have thoroughly enjoyed the past two semesters I spent taking elementary German courses. Before coming to college, I had never taken any language other than Spanish. However, the summer after my senior year in high school, my family went overseas to celebrate my cousin Karl’s wedding. Karl grew up in the United States, but he studied chemistry in Germany for years and then started working at a company there. During his time in Germany, he met a local girl, fell in love, and got married. Well, when I went to Germany to be present at their wedding, I fell in love too. I adored Germany- the way it looked, the difference in the air, the food- I even embraced the slight discomfort I felt being in a new place. The only feeling I remember disliking was feeling hatred and rudeness from locals who were not part of our party. I tried so hard to pick up the language, and by the end of trip, I was ordering food and drinks for my whole family. I decided that I wanted to study German in college.

At first, elementary German was intimidating because there was hardly any English spoken at all. I remember thinking, “How can I learn this language if I never hear the translations?” But after just a couple of days, I realized I was picking up the language better by being submersed in it. I learned basic communication skills and certain stereotypes. But the most important thing I gained from German 101 was learning that Germans weren’t being mean or rude to me. The lack of an ever-present smile and “Hallo” from strangers is simply part of the German culture. I learned that they probably thought I was scheming to get something out of them when I flashed my big smile. How embarrassing!

Though I learned a lot from German 101, I learned the most important lesson of all, a life lesson in addition to a cultural lesson, in German 102. I learned how superficial Americans are when we say “How are you?” We often say it in passing, as a social nicety, and rarely leave time for a true response. In addition, our responses are often dishonest, always responding “I’m doing well, thank you,” no matter what our life circumstances are.

I have learned so very much from these past German classes and I want to keep taking German if I can. I definitely want to go back to Germany soon. Perhaps I will study abroad there. It will be nice also when my sister (who studies German in high school) and I can have secret conversations in German!