I have been taking classes from Abitha at Sprachpunkt for 3 weeks now. I am enjoying this school and highly recommend it. It is affordable and has small class sizes. I’m super glad that I decided to practice German using Duolingo (as an app on my iphone) before coming to Berlin. We jumped into it so quickly!!

We meet 4 days per week and for 3 hours per day. I didn’t realize how difficult it was going to be to learn German! My classmates are from: Ireland, Italy, Bulgaria, the UK, and Turkey. We are patient and supportive of one another! I have been feeling discouraged, but I am plugging away at it and I am feeling better about the journey at the moment!

As I sit in class, and as I’m out in the city doing my best to communicate with people, I keep thinking of a scene from The Matrix, and wishing that I could just insert the German language into my brain and speak fluently! Bah! I am going to keep working at this. I have 5 weeks of class left. Let’s see what I can learn!

 

I have found Berlin to be such a friendly city. I met this sweet woman, named Aileen, while waiting to enter a Salsa Class at Soda Club. She was sitting alone at a table and I asked if I could sit at the table. We quickly got to chatting and I told her that I was learning German. After about 5 minutes we had already exchanged information and agreed to set up a “tandem”. We have met a couple of times…she speaks English and I speak German. We speak slowly, are patient with each other, and correct grammar and pronunciation. It is perfect!

In this photo, we met at one of Aileen’s favourite coffee shops. The barista (who took this photo, is from Portland, OR and I wouldn’t have guessed it because she now has an Australian accent!) said that she couldn’t believe that I have only been in Berlin for a month. She said that my German was so good. This made me feel better about where I am in the learning process!!

 

Meetup.com is a great way to find things to in your own city or when you are travelling. I found this wonderful Yoga teacher, Julia, who teaches “Practice German With Yoga”. What an amazing idea! I have been to 2 of her evening classes so far. She has such a calm voice and calm energy and it’s a perfect way to learn. I am recognizing more and more words, as I listen to music, take classes in German, and read signs on long walks in the city.