week number 3

hi again! Sorry it has taken me so long to write anything up here again.... I can't get the pictures to work on this website, so i am tinkering w/making a webpage, and have spent most of my time working on that instead of writing up here!

well, last week's "only speak german in the daytime hours" idea, failed... and so, we are trying again this week... though it is not going so well either. It is difficult for me to speak in only German, since I can't always understand what someone else is saying and i can't always say what it is I want to say or need to say in German. due to this difficulty, my boyfriend and I keep reverting to english, since it is easier and what we are used to. Also, it seems that I "clam up" when it comes to german. When I am thinking in my head,when i am alone, about how to say something in german, it goes well.... however, when someone actually starts talking to me in german, all my knowledge of german goes out the window and i am left w/hardly any knowledge of the language to make a simple sentence out of.... so... while my listening comprehension is getting better... my speaking is making little progress, which is really no one's fault but my own. alas - life is a work in progress though, and i am definitely a work in progress... so, i'll continue to work on it!!! After all, that is why I am here.

Well, not much else has happened.... the weekdays are spent just hanging around the apartment relaxing (watching movies, playing Age of Empires 2 on my computer, surfing the internet, attempting to read a book in german), and the weekends are spent doing whatever. Last weekend we went to a barbecue for my boyfriend's old class, who completed their Abitur (the highest high school diploma you can get in germany). that was interesting. I only talked to one person, a guy named Lukas, who talked to me in german, and I actually talked back! until i didn't understand what he was saying anyways... but it was a little. I spent the evening listening to everyone talk, which was good for my listening comprehension skills...every little bit helps...

i had started reading Der Herr der Ringe (Lord of the Rings) in german.. however I decided to wait and read it at a later time, when i can enjoy it more and concentrate on all those words I don't know right now a little less. Instead, today, I started something a lot easier - Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Since it is a book meant for children, and since my german skills are at the level of a child at the moment, it suits me well, and I can read it without having to look up everyother word.

other than the things I've been doing, everything is going well here. I'm still extremely happy i'm here, and am enjoying my time. i do have to keep reminding myself though, that i'm actually in Germany and I'm not leaving - as it still seems like it isn't really real. Sometime today a man (or woman) is coming to fix the dishwasher, so that should be interesting... we'll see how my german goes... :) also, later, a friend is coming over to watch movies, so that should be fun too. I keep hoping that the dishwasher person won't come until after my friend comes, so if i can't get my point across to the person, she can help me. but anyways, i'm going to say goodbye for now, and when i get someplace to post my pictures up on, I will put a link on this website!!!