So, I had this bad toothache...

Right before I left to spend Christmas in Texas, my tooth started hurting.  I decided I would wait until I returned to Germany to go to the dentist because (a) nobody wants to go to the dentist during vacation and (b) I have insurance in Germany. I tried to contact my dentist when I returned, but I was having trouble getting anyone on the phone, so I went to his office, and NO ONE WAS THERE. The practice was gone. There was even a fern blocking the stairs. Apparently, he and the other dentist had a falling out, and they both left the building. 

Now, it is not difficult to find a good dentist here, but finding a good dentist that I feel comfortable with and who speaks English takes time. I already had pain; therefore, no time.  A good friend told me she really liked her dentist; she knew he had spent some time studying in the U.S. and his office is a three-minute walk from my apartment!  I quickly made an appointment, and soon I was on my way to the dentist's office.

I had never been so happy to go to the dentist! I was confused, though, when a female dentist came in and introduced herself--in German. I was sure Karen had told me her dentist was  a "he". It's okay, I thought; soon enough, she will notice that I am struggling in German and will speak to me in English. Nope. Didn't happen. I still have a hard time believing that this dentist didn't speak any English when nearly everyone around here speaks to me in my native tongue after 30 seconds of hearing my German, but she never did, despite my obvious limitations.

I was completely unprepared.  Had I known I would be seeing the English-speaking dentist's colleague, I would have studied some dental vocabulary, or I might just have looked for a different dentist. I liked her, though. I thought she was good, and her name was appropriate--Dr. Zahn.  So, I was ready the next time. I looked online for a English-German dental vocabulary list, but none I found seemed to include everything I wanted. So, I made my own list, and when I was getting a Füllung, I concentrated on the words the dentist was saying in order to keep from focusing on what she was doing. I am hoping no one will need a list of dental vocabulary, but in case you do, here is mine:

A

das Amalgam - (metal) filling
ausspülen -- rinse

B

beissen  -- bite

E
empfindlich -- sensitive


F
die Füllung -- filling; they can be aus Metall (metal) or aus Keramik (ceramic)


K
die Karies -- cavity
kauen  -- chew
knirschen -- grit your teeth
die Krankenkasse -- insurance
die Krone -- crown



R
das Röntgen/Röntgenbild  -- X-ray

S
die Schiene -- night guard (for those who grind their teeth)
der Schmerz/die Schmerzen  -- pain
die Spritze -- shot/injection

T
taub -- numb
tief  -- deep

W
die Wurzelbehandlung  -- root canal


Z
der Zahn -- tooth
das Zahnfleisch  -- gums
das Zahnweh  -- toothache

Phrases:
den Kopf zu mir drehen  -- turn your head toward me
durch die Nase atmen  -- breathe through your nose (I'm not sure why, but that one really stuck in my head).

She also used a bunch of other verbs that are not specific to the dentist office, like öffnen (open), schliessen (close), sich kümmern um (to take care of), and betreuen (to look after).  As you can probably tell, I had some time to think about it while I was there!  Do you know of any others I should add to the list?

Sag's auf Deutsch!

I'm trying to get back into learning German, and so lately I have been watching more TV.  I was recently watching an afternoon soap, Alles was zählt, when I saw this commercial featuring celebrities in Germany who are not of German descent:

It's a great public service announcement that encourages people to learn German.  At least, that's what I gathered from my limited language ability.  You see, the problem with this commercial is that it's ALL IN GERMAN.  The people this announcement is trying to reach aren't going to understand it.

Thank goodness for YouTube. Someone thought to add German and English subtitles*! It's too bad this version is not the one you'll see on the RTL channel.

   *You may have to watch it on YouTube to see the subtitles.

New Year's Resolutions

Exactly one month ago today I flew home for Christmas.  During those two weeks at home I reverted back to my old self--you know, the one that never remembers to take her camera anywhere. So, I did a lot in those two weeks, but I don't have a lot to show for it (except for maybe a couple of extra pounds!).

I usually make new year's resolutions, but I like mine to be fun--they are more likely to be accomplished that way. I think I am also more likely to accomplish them if I tell everyone my resolutions, so here they are:

1. Learn more German!  (Specifically, by the end of 2012 I want to be at or surpass a B2 level.)
2. Visit at least 10 cities/towns on my list of "German Places I Haven't Been Yet".

What cities/towns are on the list?

1. Aachen
2.  Bamberg
3.  Berchtesgaden
4.  Eisenach
5.  Freiburg
6.  Garmisch
7.  Köln
8.  Nuremberg
9.  Quedlinburg
10.  Rüdesheim
11.  Sylt
12. Trier

If you are wondering why Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg, Munich, and Oldenburg (among others) aren't on the list, it's because they used to be on it. :)  I am sure the list will grow as the year goes on. Are there any others that need to be on there?

Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

People from my hometown probably assume that I am already fluent in German.  I did learn some German at home, but it was "nursery-school" German:  household items, like Brot and Milch; Christmas carols and children's songs about things like rings and hats; and silly rhymes, like this one that was apparently a favorite of my great-grandfather's:

Ich und du, Böckers Kuh
Müllers Esel--das bist du!

(Translated: "me and you, Becker's cow, Mueller's donkey--that's you." Hey, it rhymes in German.)

Needless to say, phrases I learned at home, like "Hast du Geld?", probably won't get me very far in Germany, so I am trying to learn as much as I can before I go. Fortunately for me, there are so many resources out there now. Besides an indispensable textbook and my telenovela, I've found some great resources online:

1.  BBC German -- Great for beginners, and it's free! 

2.  Babbel -- LOTS of vocabulary that I haven't seen in any other program; important words from das Aufladegerät (charger) to der Torwart (goalie) and die Happy Hour (just what you think).  Has a free iPhone/iPad app.  You have to pay for full use of the website; it is about $10 a month.

3.  Yabla -- Another website that I think is worth the money. Watch videoclips in German (music videos, interviews, commercials, etc.) with subtitles in German and English. The best part is that you can S-L-O-W down the speech, but it doesn't sound warped. Any words you don't know in German go into your "flashcards" for you to practice later.

4. Slow German podcast/site -- Hear Annik's podcasts about all things German, from Advent to Zeitungen. The website has transcripts of all podcasts, so you can read while you listen. 

5.  Deutsche Welle -- I think this one has a little more for advanced students, which is probably why I haven't used it much. Die Nachrichten, Deutsch lernen mit videos und Übungen...


The first three are available in other languages as well.  I think they are all wonderful now, but the true test, of course, will be whether or not I can communicate when I get to Germany. 

*Just how important is it to learn another language?  Check out this video:

I love it! Thank you, TexaGermaNadian, for posting it. :-)

Telenovelas

I started studying German (again) last fall, but it's just been in the past few months that I have really kicked it into high gear.  I've always heard that if you know a second language, learning a third is easier.  I'm not buying it.  Learning German is hard work.

The only advantage I see to having already learned another language is that I know how I learn best.  One thing I found that really helped me strengthen my ear for Spanish was watching telenovelas.  I can't say that I know enough yet to strengthen anything in German, but I'm learning a lot watching a German telenovela. Yes, the Germans have telenovelas, and they  follow the same format as their Latin American counterparts: boy meets girl, but then boy loses girl many times thanks to some terrible/meddlesome people and unfortunate circumstances.  However, in the end (and there is always an end),  the bad guys get what is coming to them, and the good guys live happily ever after. FIN.

Telenovelas are great for learning a language.  Since you don't have to focus on the plot (really, we all know the plot already), you can concentrate on what's being said.  So, I've been watching Lena - Liebe Meines Lebens on the German channel ZDF (the website has captions, too!).  I have to admit that this one comes with an extra load of cheese, but it's entertaining.  Besides, where else are you going to learn words like Lösegeld (ransom) and Hirntumor (brain tumor)?