Since it has been a good couple of months or so since I last did an entry, anticipate this post to be rather lengthy. Please stick with me and read it all! I apologize for the lack of updates. I don't really have an excuse, I just never got around to it.
But anyway, classes have been in session for quite some time now. In fact our Christmas break begins in two weeks. It's going to be weird to not be finished with a semester, but still getting about two or three weeks off from classes. In fact, one of my classes (my German politics course) is basically done in a couple of weeks, and only meets one more time after Christmas.
When I think about this semester in terms of stress levels compared to the stress I usually feel back home at IU, I can't really even call this stress. I mean, I don't want to say I don't have work to do for my classes, however I have such a large amount of free time that I don't ever have the stress of getting it all done. (With the exception of now until next Wednesday. I had some problems getting a book from Amazon to deliver, so now that it FINALLY arrived, I have 5 days to read a 230 page book in German.) But really, as long as I do my readings and show up to class, I really don't have much other work to do. I mean, I have the occasional presentation to do or an occasional midterm, but they're so spread out and I have so much time to prepare, that I don't ever really feel stressed. It actually feels foreign to have so much free time, that in order to help fill up the time, I've been doing a bit of independent reading. I just finished reading the first Harry Potter book in German! Now, this really wasn't much of a feat, seeing as Harry Potter is a children's book, therefore uses rather very simple language. But still, it was a fun read and I'm about to start the second one.
Since the last post, I've gotten to do something rather cool, that I didn't anticipate to do before I arrived here. For my politics class, we ended up going to Strassburg in France, to visit the European Parliament. I don't have a huge interest in any form of politics, but it was still a great experience, witnessing the European Union's Parliament in action. One thing that I found fascinating was how they've handled the various language usages. Their policy is everyone should be able to communicate in their native tongue, therefore they have people constantly translating and you can listen to whichever language wish through a set of headphones. In order to be employed at the parliament, you must be fluent in a minimum of FOUR languages. I find it troublesome enough to learn one foreign language, let alone more. I guess I'll never work for the European Parliament. One aspect of this excursion that tripped me, was which language I should have used when I ordered a coffee. As in, I don't speak any French, and I hate assuming they can understand German or English. Luckily my one year of French in high school allowed me to assemble "coffee with milk, please" in French (shout out to my high school French teacher, Mr. Rottet!). However, any following questions I was unable to answer, so I just nodded and handed them my money.
I want to take a minute to discuss my progress in the language. I have to reflect sometimes back on what I've done to improve my language skills. Grammar-wise, I definitely understand nearly all concepts on paper, and when I think before I say something, I can effectively utilize them, however, if I am just freely speaking as I can, I am aware of the numerous mistakes I'm making. But awareness is definitely a step of progress. My reading comprehension is also definitely improving. I would say nearly every aspect of language learning has, with the exception of my vocabulary. I am exposed on a daily basis to numerous amounts of unfamiliar words. You would think that just by being here I would naturally pick up a huge amount of vocabulary, but that simply hasn't been the case with me. Yes, I've picked up a few words here and there, but not as much as I had hoped I would by now. About a week ago I've decided to find a new method to learning vocabulary. I've bought a small notebook that has a line down the center. I write new words on one side, the English translation on the other. Then in my spare moments (sitting on the bus, etc) I quiz myself. I've only just begun this basic method, but I think it'll be helpful. It definitely can't hurt. In conclusion, I've gotten much more comfortable using what I already know (sometimes in rather creative ways), but I haven't learned much new stuff that I can continue to grow with.
I know I have so much more to share, but I couldn't think of more at the moment. I'll try and think of them and post another entry in the next couple of days, hopefully this weekend.
Feel free to leave a comment requesting a particular topic, event, or my thoughts on any aspect of studying abroad! I'll be happy to share them!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
