Another day in Germany, another permission to acquire.

Word of the week: Fahrerlaubnis

Get ready because you’re about to enter another one of my adventures with German bureaucracy! I’ve at last reached the final stages of getting my German driver’s license, which necessitated a trip to my favorite place, the Bürgeramt (I don’t know, city hall?). In my two plus years in Germany I’ve become quite familiar with the stifling bureaucracy that permeates almost every aspect of life as a foreigner. In the beginning, there was the ongoing battle for my Aufenthaltserlaubnis (permission to reside), then the continuing struggle for Arbeitserlaubnis (permission to work), today I discovered the need for another type of permission (erlaubnis), namely that to drive a car.

I’ve talked about the steps to get a license, but I’ll give a quick and dirty run down of the circumstances and what hoops I had to jump through. As a foreigner with a driver’s license, I can have my California license transcribed (umschreiben lassen). Since there is no reciprocity for a Californian license in Germany, probably all of Europe-although I think I read somewhere that it would translate in Belgium…anyway, since that license isn’t accepted, I am obliged to take the theoretical exam and the practical (behind-the-wheel) exam. If I do this before three years after my entry to the country, then I don’t have to go through the whole program of driving school and required behind-the-wheel lessons, which saves time, money and above all stress. Fortunately, the theoretical exam is offered in English, so I found a website (http://www.my-fuehrerschein.de) with sample tests that I found really helpful in preparing. I’ve been pretty diligent over the last several months and decided I’ve reached a point where I am ready to get the ball rolling.

So, first document to get squared away was a vision test. Went to my local optician and took care of that, €7 and a few minutes later I am cleared to drive (with glasses). Next was a certification of first aid training, which was also relatively painless. It cost €50 and was over in one Saturday. I actually found it quite useful and think it’s good that everyone is required to go through that, it was only basic stuff (recovery position, CPR, bandaging a wound, making an emergency call)-on the sign-up sheet I was last and saw the birth dates of some of the other participants a couple of whom were born in 1995, I felt a bit old. Next step was to have my Californian license translated. To do this I had to go to ADAC, for the American readers, it’s like the AAA of Germany, an automotive club. That took two weeks and cost €38. Next I had to get a Meldebestätigung (basically a formal registration where my adress in Germany is)-actually I already did that way back when I first arrived, but just for that extra bit of fun, when you want to apply for Fahrerlaubnis the Meldebestätigung can’t be more than three months old. So that was taken care of in about 5 minutes and €6. So, now I’ve got all my documents together, I’m chomping at the bit to just get through this circus of paperwork and drive a freakin car already, but not quite yet. 

The next step was to find a Fahrschule (driving school). After a little research from my German I found one that has trainers who speak English, which means I can take behind the wheel lessons in English-which is comforting. My German is manageable, but I would prefer to go through all that stuff in English. So, went to the driving school to register with them. This cost €60, but then I got the final piece to the puzzle of transcribing a foreign license- the Antrag auf Fahrerlaubnis (application for permission to drive). This is when I discovered I’d need yet another step before taking the tests. The woman at the driving school told me to submit all my documents, plus this application, along with a biometric passport photo to the Strassenverkehrsamt (DMV). I went there today and had a bit of a wait before I got to the window to hand over my Unterlagen (paperwork) to the Beamter (clerk). After carefully checking everything, stamping my application with several stamps, signing and dating it, she then collected €42 from me and told me I’d receive Post (mail) in 4 weeks, presumably after another Beamter has read signed and stamped the very same application, at which point I can take this letter to my driving school and make an appointment to take the theoretical exam. 

So this Fahrerlaubnis is not a driver’s license-it basically allows me to drive on public streets once I pass the 30 question theoretical exam (€40). After I pass that, then I can take a few behind the wheel lessons (€30 per lesson) before the practical test (€90+€120 fee for TÜV, don’t even get me started on that). I figured it would be useful to get a feel for the road and have the instructor run through what kinds of things I should do in the actual exam. 

So now all I can do is sit and wait to get the letter and continue studying. I am cautiously optimistic about the exams. All in all, I’d say the process will take another couple months until I am licensed (assuming I pass both tests on the first go)-at which point I will have to surrender my California license, which I am sad about. In theory a German license is valid in the states, but I can imagine a situation where a Cailfornian cop would pull me over, take a look at my German license and ask, “What’s this?”

Life as a foreigner in Germany is filled with experiences like this. Lots of collecting documents, certifying documents, then submitting the documents to be further verified by someone else. This costs time and money, but it’s just how the system operates here. But eventually I’ll be on the road, until then I’ll keep reviewing!

The slew of documents I had to submit

 Always a bit of a wait at the Bürgeramt

First aid dummy I learned CPR on. 

 

To close, some questions from the theoretical exam.

Word of the week: sau

The linguist inside me is a bit perturbed by the classification of this topic as a word when technically it’s an expressive intensifier, which functions similarly to an adjective but to emphasize speaker emotion. But whatever, just something I’ve noticed in my ongoing education in the German language…and by education I don’t mean reading grammar books, I mean based on what I take in from radio, television and other native speakers.

 

I’ve mentioned before some of the linguistic tells of my Californian roots, for example, frequent use of the word, “totally.” This is also an expressive intensifier. Let me give you some examples, it’s very multi-functional.

Yesterday you missed a totally cool party.
In this case the speaker is emotional about how cool the party was.

Yesterday you totally missed a cool party.
In this case the speaker is emotional about the person having missed the party.

Other examples in English include: terribly, really, extremely…the list goes on. But now I want to introduce you to totally’s German equivalent: sau

In addition to the more standard version of this intensifier sehr ‘very,’ sau- is more informal, which is to say, perhaps something you'd use with somene auf Du. The actual meaning of sau is sow, a female pig. Its function is similar to the English equivalent.

Gestern hast du eine sau coole Party verpasst.
Here the speaker is emphasizing how cool the party was.

If you wish to express emotion that the person missed this cool party, as in the second example with totally, one might make use of another intensifier voll ‘completely’

Gestern hast du voll die coole Party verpasst.

Sau can even be added to adjectives to emphasize speaker emotion about the degree of something. For example, if you go outside and see the temperature is -10º C, you might say it is “saukalt.” ‘very cold.’  When adding all the costs of getting a driver’s license, including all the theoretical lessons and behind the wheel training, one might describe it as “sauteuer.” ‘very expensive.’ You can even use sau to represent an individual, for example, to show sympathy with a touch of sarcasm, Du arme Sau 'You poor thing.' Or in some cases a lack thereof: Da interessiert sich keine Sau für ‘Not a single person is interested in that.’

I’m still learning the ins and outs of the German language, it’s sauschwer ‘really hard.’

Word of the week: Schöne Feiertage und einen guten Rutsch!

Schöne Feiertage/Frohes Fest/Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch! : Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas and a happy new year!


Last night was kind of the main event here. On Heiligabend (Christmas Eve) we traded gifts (Bescherung) and had a lovely meal. In fact here, the 25th and 26th are both part of the Christmas holidays. I've had students and colleagues explain it to me as somewhat necessary as people usually have to visit more than one set of family members and therefore it's easier when there are two holidays for that. This year Christmas happens to fall on a Sunday, which is kind of unfortunate for some who cannot take the week following the holiday off. However, as a teacher I tend to get breaks when students get breaks, so that's kind of nice.

The last few weeks have been relatively busy for me. I am teaching a couple classes at a university. The semester ends in February and I have to prepare the final exams and I've been pretty occupied with that, in addition to other lessons. But as of Friday I submitted everything and now reserve the right to chill for a week until after the new year! At the end of each lesson I had (the last lesson before the break I mean), most would use this expression, "Schöne Feiertage und einen guten Rutsch!" or at least ask me what the equivalent is in English.

If you were to translate literally, guten Rutsch is like have a nice slip, from the verb rutschen (slip, skid). The intended meaning of the expression is that when someone wishes you einen guten Rutsch, they hope that you come safely and happily into the new year. Some claim the word choice of this common holiday expression has to do with the weather, given that in this time of year it can be very cold and icy, hence an increased potential for slipping. So in this case you wish someone a nice slip, one that brings them well into the new year. Others claim the etymology lie in the wishes of the Jewish New Year Rosch ha-Schana (Hebrew: Head of year) by Yiddish-speaking Jews as "Gut Rosch," which over time was borrowed into German.


In any case, it's a way of wishing a happy new year, which I do to you! Below are just a few pictures from the last week. Enjoy your holiday!

Last day of the Christmas market

Word of the week: Nikolaustag

I’m back! It was certainly quite a week for me. There was little pause between the end of my vacation and resuming my workweek, after leaving on Monday night in California and arriving in Germany on Tuesday night, I then worked Wednesday-Friday. Don't feel too bad, I had an awesome vacation and I planned it this way. I must admit my sleep schedule is still a tad off. And just as I predicted, I went from summer dresses and sandals to tights, jeans, long sleeves, sweater, scarf, jacket, hat and gloves, it’s cold here! There’s not a temperature on the week’s forecast above 10°C. But actually, I kind of don’t mind. Autumn was so beautiful and mild and virtually rain-free that it seems about time there be some seasonal weather. Also, given that it is, “the season,” as I predicted upon my return to Germany Christmas is in full swing. Actually it had already begun to swing the weekend we left in late November when the Christmas market opened. Which brings me to today’s word

Der Nikolaustag: St. Nicholas Day

Yes, it’s a holiday here in Germany! I must admit I’ve had to do a bit of sleuthing to figure out exactly what the deal is and found a lot of explanation from another German expatriate blog. By the way, if I misstate any information I welcome enlightenment. I'm still figuring these customs out and in my process hope not to be another case of internet inaccuracy. So (as I understand) the day celebrates Sankt Nikolaus (St. Nicholas), the patron saint of children, sailors, students, teachers and merchants. 

Since his feast day is on the 6^th of December it’s no surprise he’s come to have a connection with Christmas. A quick and dirty lowdown, Nikolaus was born in a wealthy city in what is now Turkey some time in the 4th century. Both his parents died when he was young and Nikolaus inherited a lot of riches and animals. Yet he couldn’t seem to be happy without his family. After continuing to grieve day and night he read a scroll that told of the sad life of the poor and seemingly enchanted but somehow empty life of the rich and made the decision to share his wealth with others. So he walked through the town giving his chains and jewels, nuts, fruit even his clothes to others. Eventually he got a donkey sidekick that he’d load up each year on his birthday in his Sunday best and pass out sweets to children.

Germany is almost evenly divided between Catholics and Protestants (along with other religions). When Martin Luther, the great Protestant Reformer came along, he wanted to get rid of the Catholic elements of Christmas. In an effort to diminish the emphasis on Sankt Nikolaus' association with the holiday, Luther introduced der Heilige Christ (later called das Christkindl), an angel-like Christ Child, to bring Christmas gifts. Later this Christkindl figure would be replaced by der Weihnachtsmann (Father Christmas) in Protestant regions and even cross the Atlantic, where Christkindl mutated into the English term “Kris Kringle.” What does Nikolaus do exactly? Well, according to the legend, on the eve of December 5^th he goes from house to house bringing small treats and gifts to children. In some places, children leave their shoes by the window or door for Nikolaus, I’ve read that some children even leave wish lists for Sankt Nikolaus to pass on to the Weihnachtsmann for Christmas.

If there’s one thing Germans know how to do it’s Christmas. There are more holiday traditions to discover, I’ll keep you posted. Until then, I’ll just be waiting for the first snow to fall.

Word of the week: Zahnarzt

Zahnarzt: dentist

The past week has been busy. I’m about to take a little vacation and that has left less time to sit and ponder or think of new topics. One item that has been on my to-do list for some time has been a visit to the dentist. Growing up I always went to the same dentist, and on breaks from college I always tried to make time for a check up and cleaning. But sadly once I graduated and was no longer covered by my parents’ insurance or university provided health care I became one of many uninsured Americans and let my regular appointment schedule lapse.

When I first received permission to stay in the country, part of the process entailed proving that I had health insurance. After finding a provider that was acceptable to the German immigration offices I pretty much called it a day. I’m one of those people who fortunately don’t get sick too often. The occasional cold or sore throat may come my way, but for a while I haven’t really needed to go to the doctor. So I pay my quarterly premium but have yet to really utilize it. But then it recently occurred to me that it had been a while since my last dentist visit, and I recalled seeing something in the paperwork about dental coverage, so I decided to make an appointment.

Since it has admittedly been a while since my teeth were checked, I was a bit nervous about the state of affairs in there. I learned another word today, “der Zahnstein,” (tartar). I found that word in English to also be a bit unsavory just because of the connotation. If you translate the word into English (as non-native speakers such as myself tend to do), it is “Tooth rock,” which paints even more vividly unsettling images. But after a quick set of X rays, auf Deutsch, “die Röntgenaufnahme,” (fun fact: it’s named after the German inventor Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen) and a quick polishing I was told that everything is in order. Glad to hear that my cavity-free record is still intact! 

If you haven’t lately perhaps it’s about time for your check-up! Have a nice week!

Word of the week : Brückentag

Brückentag: long weekend

Happy Halloween to you! Here we're fresh off the time change, which marks the beginning of the "dunkle Jahreszeit," or dark season. Sunday you woke up at your usual time only to find that it's actually an hour earlier than usual. After winding your clocks and watches back, you notice it will start to get dark rather early, as it will be until next year when we change back (or rather, forward).


Regarding last week’s word (Ferien) I mentioned the holidays observed here in (*parts of) Germany and tomorrow is one of them, Allerheiligen or All Saints. Besides a holiday there’s one other thing most people enjoy, a long weekend. There are a couple holidays here in Germany that fall either on a Thursday or Tuesday and a lot of people (myself included) request the work day (Monday or Friday) between a holiday and a weekend day off to form a sort of bridge, if you will (fun fact: Brücke means bridge). Today the streets are a bit more crowded and shops are a bit more full as those who would normally be in the office or on the go have a free weekday to cruise around and enjoy a leisurely stroll through the town. Since tomorrow is an actual holiday (*in NRW) you can bet that most shops will be closed (in fact some of the smaller ones are even closed today), so there’s a bit more action than there usually is on a Monday afternoon.


It happens to also be my personal favorite time of year here in Germany, where all the leaves are beginning to fall. I find the last week of October and beginning of November to be the epitome of Autumn. It’s the golden time, usually lasting three or so weeks, where the weather is crisp, not cold, the hillsides are colorful, not baron, and you actually feel the seasons changing. In a few weeks all the trees will be bare and it will just be that pre-winter period where it gradually gets colder and you’re just kind of waiting for the first snow to fall. But right now is a beautiful time, and I bet some American readers might feel a slight tinge of jealousy knowing that tonight in Germany (well, in most German states anyway), those who do wish to celebrate Halloween will not have to worry about getting up early for work tomorrow.

To close, some pictures of the trees here, because I'm from southern California and palm trees don't change colors so actual Autumn weather, to me, is a beautiful thing.

Have to try the ropes course next time around.

Word of the week: Ferien

Ferien: Holidays

Who doesn’t love a holiday? One thing to get used to in a new country is a new set of holidays. Where once I celebrated Labor Day in September, I now observe Tag der Arbeit in May. Back in my school days I looked forward to Spring Break as the bridge between Spring and Summer, now I enjoy the two weeks of Osterferien in April. Thanksgiving, Presidents’ Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Independence Day are now just observed in my mind. But therefore I now have such gems as Tag der Deutsche Einheit, which was last month, and Rosenmontag during Karneval in March, which is the Monday before Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent). This holiday isn’t observed in all German states as Karneval isn’t celebrated as much as it is here in the West.


There are also more church holidays here than I was used to in the states. June is a month sprinkled with them. Take for example Himmelfahrt (the Ascension of Jesus), marking Jesus being taken to heaven in his resurrected body. There’s also Pfingstenmontag (Pentecost) commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the resurrection of Jesus. Even though it’s on a Sunday, the Monday after is considered a holiday. There is also Fronleichnam (Corpus Christi) in late Jun, which does not commemorate a particular event in Jesus' life but celebrates the body of Christ, consecrated in the mass. It is held on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. Coming up is Allerheiligen (All Saints Day) in honor of all the saints. Also here Christmas is a two day holiday including the 25^th and 26^th.

As if the numerous church-related holidays weren’t enough, Germany also has designated Ferienzeiten (holiday periods) throughout the year. If you’re a student (or teacher), then during these times you probably won’t have instruction. If you’re not a student then it’s a period where you can go on holiday. The first time I faced the consequences of Ferienzeiten was when I first moved to Germany last year. I had a temporary permission to reside issued in June valid until September, at which point I had to apply for my residence permit. As I was scrambling to find health insurance, get a letter from the chamber of commerce and somehow manifest enough free-lance contracts to meet the minimum standard of living (without a residence permit [who wants to offer a job to someone with just a temporary visa?], which is actually difficult), it was smack in the middle of Sommerferien, the Summer holidays, which go from the beginning of July and run through August, and sometimes even into September. Good luck trying to get in contact with someone during this period because you’ll likely get an auto email response informing you that they’re on holiday for another three weeks. At the moment there is the Herbstferien (Autumn holidays), which go from the end of October and last until the end of the first week in November. Of course there is also the Weihnachtsferien (Christmas holidays), which go from a few days before Christmas until after the new year.

One thing I do appreciate about holidays in Germany is how it is observed by most work places. On a holiday here the only places that are open are restaurants and cafes-forget trying to buy something in a shop or go grocery shopping, most bakeries and pharmacies are closed and most people have the day off work. I must say at this time of year I’m used to being overrun with Halloween, but here it’s more of a party theme than a holiday (not that it’s a holiday in the states, but it’s certainly celebrated by many).

Since I’ll be taking a little vacation next month (outside of any designated holiday time), I had to rearrange the schedule for one of my classes. We were supposed to have the next two weeks off, but the participants agreed to meet this week so I could have my holiday next month :-)

Word of the week: am sitzen

am sitzen: as in, Ich bin am sitzen (I am sitting).

It’s no coincidence that sometimes my posts coincide with some of that week’s lesson plans. My most recent post was partially in response to a television program combined with personal experience and reflection on what I was teaching that week. I recently had to explain the difference between the present simple and present continuous.

On Monday the topic once again raised its head and as I was explaining the difference between an action that’s in progress and one that’s finished I used the adverb “gerade” with a German sentence in comparison to an English present continuous sentence to show something that is happening.

I made the comment that it seems to me there is no real equivalent in German to convey something like “I am sitting in a chair,” as in German you would just use the present tense. But then one of the participants told me that in this region (Aachen and close by I guess?), some people would say “am sitzen” to convey an action in progress, as in, “Ich bin am sitzen.”

So apparently the form is the preposition, “am,” meaning, “at,” and the unconjugated form of the verb that describes the action you’re doing at the moment. Ich bin am Kaffee trinken, und wünsche Dir einen schönen Tag noch!

Word of the week: Falsche Freunde

Falsche Freunde: Bezeichnet man ein Paar aus einem fremdsprachigen Wort und einem Wort der Muttersprache, das sich in Schrift oder Aussprache ähnelt, jedoch in der Bedeutung deutlich unterscheidet (False Cognates-a pair of: a foreign word and a word of the speaker’s native language that is similar in pronunciation or writing, but differs in meaning)

So by now I’ve talked about how not only using an incorrect article for a noun, but also the pronunciation of that word can also change the meaning. I’ve also talked about English words that have been incorporated into the German language (loan words). I’ve also mentioned briefly that there are even some words that are the same in German and English (Wahre Freunde [Real Cognates]), just with different pronunciation such as: bus, instrument, material, fit, dessert, cousin, radio, ring, zebra, pilot, experiment, blind, arm, finger, person, talent, warm, hunger…the list goes on.

This week I’m going to talk about false cognates, something that occurs in learning any language. Cognates are words with common origins. Take for example the word "night," in English, in Spanish it's "noche," in Italian it's "notte," in German it's, "nacht." In these cases (as a native speaker of English), the words are all at least partially recognizable, based on knowledge of the word in my native tongue, either through spelling or sound, therefore learning (and remembering) the word in the new language isn't entirely difficult. I can't go into the historical linguistic aspect of language change too deeply as I am not informed enough to sufficiently explain how those languages are related and why these spelling changes happen; but a very crude description of cognates is that languages have evolved (and continue to evolve) over time. Think of each family of languages (In the example I gave the family is Indo-European) as a tree, and think of each individual language (English, Spanish, Italian and German) as branches on that tree. All the branches (dialects=twigs on branches?) are clearly distinct entities and yet somehow they are also connected to a common root (language). Fun fact: the word, "cognate," derives from the Latin word for, "relative." That's essentially what cognates are, vestiges that have stood the test of time (linguistic appendices?). 

The problem is, cognates do not always share meaning. As we've seen there are real cognates and false cognates, namely, words that do have the same meaning in both languages and words that don't. There are cases where you think a word in the L2 (whatever foreign language you're learning) may somehow be related to a word in your L1 (native language), but in fact it isn't. This is a false friend, when you mistake a word in the L2, for a word that either sounds the same or is written similarly to a word in your L1, but it has a different meaning than the word in your native language. The first time I remember coming across this concept was when I was learning Spanish back in high school. My teacher told a story of someone who wanted to express how embarrassed they were and used the word “embarazado,” which obviously looks and sounds like the word they were searching for, however this word happens to mean “pregnant,” in Spanish. Other Spanish false friends include “assistir,” which looks like assist, but actually means, “to attend.” Or “recordar,” which means, “to remember,” not record.

Italian is also replete with false friends for native English speakers. Take for example “annoiato,” which means, "bored," not annoyed. Another Italian word for, "bored," is “noioso,” which isn’t noisy, although I suppose some things that are annoying could be noisy. There’s also “educato,” which means “polite,” not educated and “romanzo,” which means “novel,” not romance.  A palazza is just a building, not a palace and a preservativo is a condom, not a preservative [but on balance, I suppose the former does include a measurable amount of preservation].

German has got plenty of false friends for native English speakers like myself. Consider the German word “billion,” which means “trillion,” not billion. And when a German person talks about their “Chef,” they are referring to their boss, not the person who cooks food. You may recall my mentioning the Aachener Dom, which is the Aachen Cathedral, not the Aachen dome (“Kuppel”). “Fotograf,” in German refers to the person who takes the picture, not the picture itself, and to describe someone as “sensibel,” is to call them sensitive, not sensible. “Winken,” means, “wave,” not wink. Don’t mistake the German word “gift,” as something you can give someone on their birthday, as it is actually poison, not a present. When talking to a dermatologist, remember a “Pickel,” is a pimple, not a pickle and while we're on culinary false cognates, when ordering pizza keep in mind that in German “Pepperoni” means hot chilis, not “Salami.” A “Fraction,” in Germany is the English “faction,” not a partial number, and if someone asks you in German for “Rat,” they want advice, not a rodent. There is also the German word “Smoking,” which refers to a tuxedo, not the toxic vice (brings new meaning to those “No Smoking” signs you see, right?). And when in the kitchen if you want to sample what a German person is cooking, remember that “tasten,” means “touch,” not taste.

There are plenty of false cognates to be aware of. I come across more and more Falsche Freunde and Wahre Freunde (band, hotel, stress, partner, etc.) as I continue to fumble my way through this language. But it is an interesting thought that somehow you can trace the lineage of a language just like you can a person back through time.

Word of the week: Brügge

Brügge: Die Hauptstadt und mit etwa 117.000 Einwohnern die größte Stadt der Provinz Westflandern in Belgien (Bruges-The capital and  with 117,000 residents the largest city in the province of West Flanders in the northwestern Flemish region of Belgium).
 

This week’s word was brought to you by the number 25, the temperature in degrees Celsius yesterday. 25, a perfect summer’s day in October!

As if warm weather weren’t enough cause to celebrate, today is also a bank holiday in Germany! Tag Der Deutsche Einheit (The Day of German Unity), which celebrates…well, the unity of Germany! Anyway, with such wonderful weather I thought a little day trip was in order. Sometimes referred to as “the Venice of the North,” Bruges has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000 and is known for its medieval architecture, canals and churches (in addition to Belgium’s better known exports: chocolate, fries and waffles). 

The Church of Our Lady

 Quai of the Rosary

Market Square

 Market square and the Belfry

Bonne Chiere Mill 

The Groenerei Canal

Something here doesn't fit

College on Katelijnestraat

City Hall

St. Salvator’s Cathedral

Koningin Astrid Park

I hope you've enjoyed my first gratuitous picture post!