Yes. I've got a billion of them. And it's really annoying that I can't magically get them all answered at once. But there's nothing I can do about it other than have patience...
The start of real classes has me feeling like I am just starting over with trying to learn German. Now I don't have an awesome language school teacher trying to guide me to understanding the language. Now the professors are assuming I know every word in the dictionary, when in fact my vocabulary is (size-wise) comparable to that of a 4 year old. That doesn't help when we're going over things like business growth, model progression, integrated design, and especially systems engineering. Woah.
Honestly, I feel like I've already expressed this enough. But it just keeps coming back and I CAN'T WAIT to actually go more than 3 minutes without being completely lost in a conversation. Scheiße... Slowly I feel like I'm understanding more and more of what is being said. The operative word being slowly.
Another thing that is really frustrating is one very common thing in the German language. Reallyfreakinglongwordsthatcanbemadefromanything. Literally, I think you can combine any number of words in the German language and it would still be grammatically correct. This becomes a huge problem when those words are not found in the dictionary, and when those such words appear nearly every word, that becomes a problem. It pretty much becomes a problem of knowing the root words, and go back two paragraphs and you can see why I have such a problem with it.
I'm also being reminded of the fact that my memory is terrible. I can see one word two or three times in a span of an hour, then two hours later I'll have no idea what it means. This is so frustrating because that will even happen to me in the span of the same lecture. I feel like 10 second Tom from 50 First Dates. Even an ounce of long term memory would be greatly appreciated.
Another thing, lately I've been feeling really self conscious about my German speaking and I don't know why. The first week or so I was all sorts of nervous to say anything, but since then I've been fine, up until now. I'm not sure what made a change in me or is causing myself so much doubt, but I think a little patience, humour, and open-mindedness will do me some good here.
In May I did it. I completed my University education at The Ohio State University, resulting in a Masters and Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering. But wait, there's more!!!
Ok, not quite. Thankfully, I don't really have to take any of the classes for credit, so I'm just auditing lectures. This isn't too bad because it gives me a chance to learn a bunch of new words, work on my hearing training, and I've met a couple cool people already. So if nothing else, this can't really be compared to my time at OSU.
Right now I'm taking Entrepreneurship (auf Deutsch), Produktdesign und Entwurf (Product Design, auf Deutsch), Energieffiziente Logistik (Energy Efficient Logistics, auf Deutsch), Energieeffiziente Fertigungseinrechtungen (Energy Efficient Manufacturing Process, auf Deutsch) and then a German B2 language class, grammar and basis (natürlich, auf Deutsch). Overall, they've all been pretty interesting. They all have a pretty similar feel to the classes I took at OSU, so that is pretty interesting to see. And, just like in the states, grad students are pretty terrible at lecturing.
Back to the whole OSU thing, I really haven't really realized until now, and it keeps showing itself more and more, how hard I worked during my time there and how much I had going on. A full time class load, usually maxed out on credits, plus Frisbee, plus work, plus all my extra curricular organizations, every time I think about it I get really proud of myself. I worked my ass off for 5 years and it paid off. That's something I can and will always be proud of. Go me.
So I'm still struggling with trying to adjust to my living situation. It get's on my nerves quite a bit. And I'm not really sure what to do about it.
DISCLAIMER: if you don't want to hear more complaining or want to get to something more positive, skip to the next section.
To start, I live so far away from everything, pretty much on the exact outer border of what could be considered Magdeburg. Start with a 10 minute walk to the bahn stop, 20 minutes on the first bahn, wait 5 minutes for my transfer, a 5 minute ride to the outside of campus, then walk to where I need to go. That's about 45 minutes one way. And if I need to go home before something at night, that's about 3 hours of time just getting to and from where I need to be. Pretty frustrating when you're trying to get involved and adjusted to a new city.
Next, I don't think I could ever again live with someone who smokes. Walking into a wall of smoke when you get back to the place supposed to be considered 'home' is not something I find in any remote way comforting. I've actually been having some throat problems because of it over the last couple weeks.
Lastly, it's kinda depressing and sad. He's old, not in bad shape but not in good shape, every other minute I hear him hacking up a lung, and it feels like every week or so someone he knew really well has passed away. How do you react to that? That's a lot of sadness, and it can get to you after a while.
I've been debating talking to my program to see if I could change my living situation. From what I remember, it's pretty frowned upon and it'd be one helluva long shot. I've still gotta think about it a little more.
No, it's not always bad. Just like my old frisbee coach Paul G. said, "it's all about ebbs and flows."
EDIT: to clarify, I'm living with a 70 year old guy in his home. That's why I'm not sure how to approach things. He's being gracious enough (and getting paid) to have me in his own home. So it's a matter of finding a balance between respecting his wishes and habits in his own home and trying to find a comfortable living environment for myself.
This past weekend, I went to a little frisbee tournament near Potsdam with the new team I'm playing with here in Magdeburg, Schleudertrauma (aka whiplash). It was a ton of fun playing with these guys and getting to know them a little better. I introduced them to the drinking game 'ride the boat'. Let's just say it was a good time.
I've been thinking, and regardless of where I play, I don't think I'll be able to match the memories and 4 years of play with BBC and Leadbelly at OSU. Those were some amazing times. But, what I have found out, is that regardless of where I go, frisbee people are some of the best, most genuine people you can meet. A huge shoutout to Frühsport, Schleudertrauma, and all the other people I've met at tournaments and such this far!
I think my beard has developed it's own persona. It's slowly becoming more and more apart of me (literally it's all apart of me, so I'm meaning figuratively here...). It's coming up on nine months old, and damn does it look good.
Granted, sometimes it gets annoying when I eat and I'm getting more and more worried after every time I eat that I've got crumbs just hanging there. But despite the little frustrations, I'm digging it.
Rita Groh is still, 23 years running, the greatest Mother in the world!!! Not that that was ever in doubt.
Last night I got my first international care package and OH BABY was it awesome. The highlight: a bottle of Sriracha. Hot damn I'm pumped to finally have some!!!
Well, this being the second week of classes, I can kinda see a consistent schedule coming up for my weeks. Monday through Wednesday, class from either 11:00-17:00 or 9:00-15:00. After and during that time I work on my German homework or try to translate the lectures that I sat through and missed about 75% of what happened. Then later on I head off to frisbee or go home and veg out. Slowly finding a routine has been a nice little relief, knowing what's coming up next and then being able to flow through the activities.
Well, today, there is a Firmenkontaktmesse, aka Career Fair, and one company that would be great for me to get an internship with is going to be there. Wouldn't you know it, the first really important career fair with me is in another language? My luck, huh? I'm hoping that, with a little patience and a good attitude, I'll be able to get something good out of it. The only thing I'm really worried about is I have NO idea how to explain my grad research Auf Deutsch. That could be a problem. Wish me luck!!!
I'm contemplating going to Prague this weekend for a little getaway. Still up in the air right now. I'd love to take my bike down and be able to explore on two wheels, but well see if that's able to fit into the plan. The weather is supposed to be good though, so we'll see how this plays out.
Next weekend I'm going on a little Roadtrip, Part II, through Poland with Zack, Dawn, and Katherine! I'm really excited to see them all again. It'll be a fun trip and I'm excited to see what all takes place.
Then the weekend after that, I'm headed to Amsterdam with Colin, Scott, Thad, Mike, and Charlie. A little weekend of fun and debauchery. I'm pretty pumped for this too.
Hopefully everyone back home, here in Deutschland, and everywhere across the world is doing well, enjoying the new opportunities that show up, or finding new delight in the same old same old. I'm out for now.
Original Publish Date: OCTOBER 23rd, 2013