
On September 9th, 2012, The Wife and I took a tourist walk through Hannover known as “The Red Thread.” We didn’t finish the entire tour, but we did end up at the town hall building, where we saw a Renault Twizy electric car being charged in the parking lot. I was so impressed I had to take a picture, but the owners, an older husband and wife, walked up right at that moment. Wanting to be polite, I asked permission.
“Entschuldigung Sie bitte. Darf Ich ein bild aus deine Auto nehmen?” I asked with an American accent so thick you could hear the baseball and smell the apple pie. Luckily, the man’s gesture in response let me know I was welcome to proceed. As we were walking away, I asked my wife if I had spoken correctly.
“He understood you,” she replied. “But in Germany, we say ‘make’ a picture. Also, ‘aus’ means ‘out of,’ and ‘Auto’ is a neutral noun, rather than feminine.”
“Dammit,” I said, clenching my fist. “So, basically, I just asked that man if I could steal a picture out of his she-car?”
Click here to learn more about the term “Culture Shock.”
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love it …
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Thanks man!
How’re things on your end?
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Komisch … er … I mean, lustig!
Believe me, the first time (I made those mistakes) was also the final time. Then again, if I sprinkle my German sentences with “oot and aboot” and drop some “eh”-bombs at the end, do you suppose they can forgive the fact that I’m a Cana’jun in Yurp? ;-)
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Haw haw! Heck yeah! I can even forgive it! :)
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I once asked my German father-in-law for a ‘breast to put my drink in’ – apparently breast and bag are very similar
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Haw haw haw! I love it!
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So now the shoe is on the other foot, linguistically speaking ;-) Are you enrolled in any language or integration course yet? Incidentally, “entschuldigen” is the verb, and “Entschuldigung” is the noun form.
Keep the good stuff coming. I am sure your wife is the one who will be laughing now (with you, I hope, instead of at you) ;-)
Chris
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Thank you Chris!
And oh yes, the tables have turned. But, of course, I will always make fun of my wife. :) Perhaps with a little more sympathy though. :)
How are things with you?
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Good story. While my German is passable, many times I’ve had to rely on the forgiving nature of Germans when I choose all the wrong forms of words.
Honest effort and good intent are wonderful tools.
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Thank you Dan! And I appreciate your support. All of the Germans I’ve tried to speak with in their native language seem to appreciate the effort. I have yet to be mocked or insulted for trying, though hopefully it happens soon so I can write about it. :)
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Another thing you should be aware of is that people value their online privacy here very highly. If you’re taking random pics of people on the street, they should not be recognisable when you publish. Same with cars. I usually blur out the license plate if it’s legible.
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Oh, excellent point. I should have thought of that. Thank you Ian!
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Ahh, don’t worry about it too much, we Germans are quite aware of the fact that German is a shit difficult language to learn. Honestly, I think the guy was over the moon you attempted the sentence in German, seeing that most Germans’ English (with the exception of your wife and myself of course) is pretty runt. I really don’t want to know what the first real-life Americans thought of my school English when I bombarded them with it.
Just keep trying, you’ll do well as long as you are not afraid.
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Thank you Sandra! I really appreciate the words of encouragement and support.
And you’re right; fear really is the biggest obstacle. Being afraid to try and speak German, or panicking whenever you try and use your German. I suffer from the latter, and tend to forget most of what I’ve learned the second I start to speak. It’s incredibly frustrating. I’m working on a blog post about it. :)
How are you doing?
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I am great, thanks for asking. Also, my German is improving by the day now that I’m back. Still working on getting my ass to Hanover before this parasite pops out of me. I’ll keep you updated.
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Awesome! Please let us know your plans!
Is this your first parasite?
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Nope, the first one is called The Little Monster though, so Parasite was still available for Number 2
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Haw!
God I love making fun of babies.
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If I may: I’m sure your school English would have impressed the snot out of any real-life American who had an inkling of what it means to express one’s self in a foreign language.
I’m not saying there aren’t any Americans who can appreciate it; just that I expect the number of Americans who have never tried to use a foreign language in practical, real-life situations far outweighs (per capita) the number of Germans — or any Europeans — who have tried it and made it work.
Anyone who giggles at a foreign accent, shaky grammar, or limited vocabulary of any attempt in a foreign language without appreciating the sheer gumption it takes to risk feeling like a schmo should be kicked in the balls like a delicious salad dressing would do.
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If I may: I’m sure your school English would have impressed the snot out of any real-life American who had an inkling of what it means to express one’s self in a foreign language.
I’m not saying there aren’t any Americans who can appreciate it; just that I expect the number of Americans who have never tried to use a foreign language in practical, real-life situations far outweighs (per capita) the number of Germans — or any Europeans — who have tried it and made it work.
Anyone who giggles at a foreign accent, shaky grammar, or limited vocabulary of any attempt in a foreign language without appreciating the sheer gumption it takes to risk feeling like a schmo should be kicked in the balls like a delicious salad dressing would do.
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Hi Cliff, thanks for your kind (up to the ball kicking bit) words.
Of course you are right, I just didn’t feel like my humble self going “Naturally, my English has always been nigh on perfect” ;-) Plus, that wouldn’t have been very encouraging for someone who – despite the fact that no-one ever should giggle at anyone trying to express him/herself in a foreign language – is afraid of just that happening.
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Hey! Das hast du schon ganz gut gemacht! And you made me laugh so it’s really all good. :-)
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Thank you! I appreciate the positive encouragement!
Are you in Germany?
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My heart is in Germany … I am in Canada. My parents emigrated in the early 50s, the rest of the family is still in the fatherland.
I love reading your posts … and I love your wife! ;-)
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Thank you very much! And I will pass that along to the Mrs. :)
Will you ever return to Germany?
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I’ve been many times. I’ve thought about moving there, but I was born here in Canada and so was my son now.
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Ah. Alright. Well, if you ever come for a visit, let us know! Anybody who likes this blog deserves a beer on us.
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Cool story, I love it!!
The fact that you are asking for permission in German is very polite and shows respect to the culture. Please keep on trying!!
BTW, I saw a free charging station here too at IKEA in Costa Mesa, CA where somebody had plugged in his Nissan Leaf. I thought that was kind of interesting to see.
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Thank you Stadt! Now I don’t feel quite so foolish. :) I guess I always try and err on the side of overpoliteness. That way I won’t offend any Germans. :)
How is your German?
Nissan Leafs are cool!
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Ich finde den Nissan Leaf auch cool. Leider sind die Elektro-Autos noch recht teuer. Ich hätte gerne einen.
Mein Deutsch ist hoffentlich besser als mein Englisch – wenn ich das so sagen darf :)
~Anja~
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Your German seems awesome to me! I could understand most everything you said before I had to take it to Google Translate. :)
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Oh, wow! That would be so confusing. I think your German is splendid. Love the car. The Twizy, you say? That’s just adorable.
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Right? The little Twizy, just charging away…
Thank you for the positive reinforcement! I will keep trying to talk to these Germans. :)
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Your sentence was pretty good. I understood it well, even though you did ask him to steal a picture out of his car. LOL
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Thank you Raani! I’m still working on it. :)
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The German say “roughly translated” something like: “No Champion ever fell from the sky”… take your time – a language isn’t learnt overnight.
(Doesn’t mean you can’t try. LOL)
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I’m trying! So hard! Like a champion in the sky!
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*grin*
I don’t doubt it will develop!! You’ll see!
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You should try Frisian.
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From the Celts? Oh dear lord no. :)
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