Intro to German Class

Last week I had an introductory German class with my coursemates at TUDIAS, a language-learning center in Dresden. Our class went from about 9:00 am to 2:00 pm everyday. It was a pretty good class - I liked the teacher and the pace was good for absolute beginners. We used a book with an amusing story about a Ukrainian guy, Nikolai, trying to communicate with a German family who had a young daughter, Sara. She had two stuffed animals named Poppel and Schnuffi and was very concerned when Nikolai got their names wrong. He also had to evade a lady trying to promote a sports drink at a supermarket; the poor guy just wanted to buy some salt.

TUDIAS is in a beautiful building, Dresden's World Trade Center. The center has a great bakery, some other restaurants, an all-purpose store, two grocery stores, and offices all facing into a beautiful courtyard with a glass ceiling, big windows, and water features. I definitely enjoyed the breaks. On Wednesday there was a fitness fair in the courtyard. We watched four girls doing a Zumba demonstration and later, out the window of our classroom, I saw older women sitting in a circle, doing wrist exercises in time to soothing music. On Thursday, there was a farmer's market. I got a delicious grilled flatbread sandwich filled with olives, feta cheese, and peppers from one of the stands.

Inside Dresden's World Trade Center

I wish I could say I spoke much better German now, but the reality is that it will take a lot of studying and practice to make progress. We have the option to take free German classes through the university's German Department while we're here, but I'm not sure I'll have the time to make it worthwhile. At any rate, I do understand more now, which is good. And I can say "Excuse me" and "Sorry!"

One of my classmates who has more advanced German skills than I do told me that the accent in Saxony is quite different from other parts of Germany. For instance, "ich" sounds more like "eesh" than the "Ic" in Icabod Crane here. I don't know, but the Saxon accent is definitely easier for me! I have a hard time with the guttural sounds.

On Thursday night, our teacher invited us to attend a party to celebrate the end of the summer language courses. It was held at a student club (i.e., pub) called Bärenzwinger. That club is near the river and is in the side of a hill. It has three distinct areas - first, after you pass through a large stone archway, an enclosed stone-cobbled courtyard with a skylight, then, through another stone archway, a bar, and, through a short tunnel next to the bar, a dance floor. I enjoyed some so-so snacks, conversation, and very tasty beer with my classmates. I also danced to my heart's content, though my classmates and I had some quibbles with the music - the DJ seemed to be stuck in another era. I can't believe how late I stayed up that night - or that I made it to class on time the next morning (unlike half of my classmates)!