It has been a year!
Update!! Tis’ the time to rise my blog from it’s winter hibernation :P. It’s been a year since I move to Germany, I’m trying to recap all the things I’ve learned so far, also basically trying to write my state of being hahha.
Language
Between speaking english, learning Deutsch, speaking Indonesian (either with Makassar or Jakartan dialect), and sometimes some Chinese, my brain is exploding. I couldn’t help but feel that sometimes when speaking English my tongue felt weird (especially when tired), and therefore resulting in me speaking in weird accent.
Status of my language:
(based on what people say to me + personal analysis)
English:
Speaking: Apparently I had little german accent, American (some said southern accent, some said Californian accent), Asian (don’t know what, but some had said Singaporean, definitely no Indonesian accent), + some words I’d like to pronounce in I don’t know what accent.
Writing: academic writing skill: increasing I’d say? :s definitely can finish 80% of my essay in a day. Hahha
Reading: Am definitely getting good at this, I read like drinking water. :P
Indonesian:
Makassar Accent: when speaking to my family, I can no longer speak with this dialect in a heavy expert native anymore… I will somehow mix it with Jakartan accent or some english word.
Jakartan Accent: Spoke it with my friends in Jakarta or any Indonesian I met abroad. I need to try hard to not use any english word, therefore I won’t sound too “bule”. *sigh*
Formal Indonesian: God help me…. I need to actually think really hard and even then only resulted in speaking really slow and almost weird. -__-'
German:
I’d say my progress in learning German is a bit slow considering it’s been a year. I guess it’s because I didn’t really force myself to speak too much. However, I think listening wise, I can definitely catch all the words (not necessarily have to understand it though) with the exception of when the person is speaking superrrr fast or in weird accent -> then i’m lost.
Reading german is getting easier definitely, as for writing….. *sheepish smile*
Chinese:
No comment… Hahha.. more vocabulary, but perhaps only 0.01% improved.
***Learned a little bit of French, including some curse word***
Traveling
I have visited 8 countries!!!!! Well, 10 if you count passing by. :P, I’m listing all the country & cities that I had visited.
- Germany: (Duh!) Berlin, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Moers, Kamp-Lintfort (and all the tiny town nearby), Kleve, Aachen, Wesel, Koblenz (passing by), Münster, Krefeld, Bonn, Königswinter, Monschau, and Stuttgart.
- France: Paris (twice! :P), Toulouse, Tarbes, and Lourdes.
- Netherland: Amsterdam (dunno how many times), Rotterdam, Nijmegen, Wageningen, Harlem, Zaanse Schans, Zaandam, Arnheim, Utrecht (only the train station), and Lisse.
- Spain: Barcelona
- Italy: Bergamo & Venice
- Denmark: Copenhagen
- Portugal: Porto
- United Kingdom: London, Oxford.
Passing by: Belgium and Turkey (transit only)
Culture
What I learned:
- There is no better culture i.e. one culture is not better than another. Each has its own uniqueness.
- That eastern Europe are pretty much a little bit more like Asian compared to western Europe. Texting with someone from Russia is definitely different from texting with a German. (Although depend on the person anyway)
- Each person is unique, you just need to get to know them. So, don’t judge too quick!
- Emphatyyyyyyy….
- Telling people how you are, rather than wait for being asked. -> really am trying to get use to this.
- In terms of talking about getting beaten up as a child, African will definitely relate to you and so does eastern europeans. So, sticks, belt, broom, are pretty familiar towards our childhood. However, using ginger for naughty children is a new thing that I just know, and wouldn’t dare to do hahha. (Thanks to my African friend for this interesting trivia :P)
- Drinking: Still allergic, however I can drink 2 bottles of Radler beer before start to feel something. Cider: 0.3 L only (same with any other beer). Cocktail -> anything less than 5% of alcohol and only half a glass. Wine: (really littlee) + need to eat while drinking.
Misc
I’ve experienced all seasons, and including surviving winter! Having spent 3.5 hours in the forest with -2 degree Celsius, i’ve understood when you can’t feel your feet anymore. Surprisingly temperature 11-15 degree Celsius is by far my fav! :P Me no likey hot summer in Germany.. T___T
