Last Saturday I played tourist in Frankfurt. Here is a link to the photos I took while I was there.
Interestingly, I was often asked for directions. I'm sure it didn't take them long to figure out I wasn't from the area once I opened my mouth and displayed my poor German and American accent. Often they spoke so quickly I wasn't even sure what they were asking anyway. Also, someone wanted help with the DB ticket machines, and I can only do the basic functions, anyway. I suppose its good that I can be mistaken for a native from afar.
Frankfurt seemed like a fun place, and I hope to go back and explore more things, like some of the museums and the Opera.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
First Day in Heidelberg
This is from my first day in Heidelberg, at my German language course, on Monday August 2nd:
I woke up at 5, had breakfast and made a packed lunch, and got on the train at 6:40. My train got into the Heidelberg Main Train Station late, so I missed my tram to the Bismarkplatz (where my language academy is). I got on the wrong replacement tram (right line, but wrong direction), but thankfully it didn't take me too long to realize the error. The morning class is more of a grammar and vocabulary course with a textbook while my afternoon class is a conversation based class. I learned well today and this should be a good experience, though the train fares are going to add up. I did buy a discount card today (BahnCard 50), but it only takes €2 off each trip. And the card cost €180, but hopefully it will pay off as the year goes by. I think longer trips yield larger discounts.
The school was really difficult to find this morning. I saw some other lost looking people and they had information packets for our school and they couldn't find it either. We walked around for a very long time, but finally found it after asking for directions from a local. I was with two Czechs and a Spaniard, and I had the best German in the group, so I had to ask directions and translate into English for the Spaniard. The whole school is very international. My classmates were from all over Europe and some even from other continents like the Chinese student who sat next to me this morning. I'm one of very few native English speakers, though the Polish woman who sat next to me would only speak to me in English because she knew it better than German. For most people in that class, they've already learned English as a foreign language before German, so we could probably converse easier in English than German despite the diversity of the class. Our teacher insists on German only (rightfully so), but my classmates keep slipping in English. Many students have English-German dictionaries rather than ones of their native language. Perhaps its easier because English is so closely related to German.
Large German cities like Heidelberg and Frankfurt seem to have English everywhere: in the advertisements, on top of skyscrapers, on the radio (music from America), and in the directions in the train stations. In these cities you could do very well with only English (as a tourist); not so in the smaller towns like Rimbach. But English has infused into the German language to a far greater extent than I had realized. English vocabulary is all over. And everyone in my class except the student from China had been to a McDonald's or Burger King (they're all over the big cities). Our textbook mentioned Ketchup, so I got to explain (because I'm American) what Ketchup is (though I think everyone knows what it is).
This afternoon I waited in a very long line at the Heidelberg Main Train Station (Hauptbahnhof) to get my BahnCard 50. It took forever. Through this and other places I've realized how much good customer service is emphasized in America.
When I left my apartment, I saw no need for an umbrella, but by the time I got to Weinheim I sure did. It rained for much of the rest of the day; oops. It seems that it rains almost everyday in Rimbach because its in a valley.
I woke up at 5, had breakfast and made a packed lunch, and got on the train at 6:40. My train got into the Heidelberg Main Train Station late, so I missed my tram to the Bismarkplatz (where my language academy is). I got on the wrong replacement tram (right line, but wrong direction), but thankfully it didn't take me too long to realize the error. The morning class is more of a grammar and vocabulary course with a textbook while my afternoon class is a conversation based class. I learned well today and this should be a good experience, though the train fares are going to add up. I did buy a discount card today (BahnCard 50), but it only takes €2 off each trip. And the card cost €180, but hopefully it will pay off as the year goes by. I think longer trips yield larger discounts.
The school was really difficult to find this morning. I saw some other lost looking people and they had information packets for our school and they couldn't find it either. We walked around for a very long time, but finally found it after asking for directions from a local. I was with two Czechs and a Spaniard, and I had the best German in the group, so I had to ask directions and translate into English for the Spaniard. The whole school is very international. My classmates were from all over Europe and some even from other continents like the Chinese student who sat next to me this morning. I'm one of very few native English speakers, though the Polish woman who sat next to me would only speak to me in English because she knew it better than German. For most people in that class, they've already learned English as a foreign language before German, so we could probably converse easier in English than German despite the diversity of the class. Our teacher insists on German only (rightfully so), but my classmates keep slipping in English. Many students have English-German dictionaries rather than ones of their native language. Perhaps its easier because English is so closely related to German.
Large German cities like Heidelberg and Frankfurt seem to have English everywhere: in the advertisements, on top of skyscrapers, on the radio (music from America), and in the directions in the train stations. In these cities you could do very well with only English (as a tourist); not so in the smaller towns like Rimbach. But English has infused into the German language to a far greater extent than I had realized. English vocabulary is all over. And everyone in my class except the student from China had been to a McDonald's or Burger King (they're all over the big cities). Our textbook mentioned Ketchup, so I got to explain (because I'm American) what Ketchup is (though I think everyone knows what it is).
This afternoon I waited in a very long line at the Heidelberg Main Train Station (Hauptbahnhof) to get my BahnCard 50. It took forever. Through this and other places I've realized how much good customer service is emphasized in America.
When I left my apartment, I saw no need for an umbrella, but by the time I got to Weinheim I sure did. It rained for much of the rest of the day; oops. It seems that it rains almost everyday in Rimbach because its in a valley.
New Blog!
Hey everyone,
Here's a spot where I'll be sharing interesting stories and photos. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.
I'll also be linking to each post I place on the official MLS Guest Teacher blog.
Here's a spot where I'll be sharing interesting stories and photos. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.
I'll also be linking to each post I place on the official MLS Guest Teacher blog.
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