Learning German

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I am taking German next year because I like the language, and from what I've noticed the people are not overtly full of themselves. They don't hang their flags all over the place, and the girls aren't all stuck up. when I was in the hospital my nurse was a white guy who knew some Spanish and we had a conversation in Spanish and I told him I went to Spain and he told me the Spanish are a bit up their own asses. open to people who they don't know, and don't want to be. I don't like people like that because it's hard enough for me as it is, as a black aspie. From what I heard I think Germany is a great place for aspies, I am a bit unsure on how they treat black people though. I rarely see people hanging their German flag all over the place, you always see the Italian flag in cars and the Puerto Rican flag all over the place, and the guys remind me of Cholos and the girls try to look like Kim Kardashian and are stuck up their own asses. I just like laid back people who are happy about their nationality but not always putting it in my face. I talk to Temple Grandin and she said the Italians, Spanish, and French are really social so that may be the reason for the way alot of them act.

My whole point of this post is to see if learning German is a good idea? and are Germans full of themselves for the most part?

Funny, I am having the same experience. I visited Germany once, and am now a huge Germanophile (if that's a word). I have friends in Lower Saxony who make better friends than most Americans I know. Most of the other Germans I met are very nice. I pictured Germans as very closed-minded and me, but the ones I met are not like that. I am now learning German myself because I want to learn more about their culture, and take more trips to that country.

Keep in mind, though, that Germany is very diverse, and people have different attitudes. I was only in Lower Saxony and Rhineland. I hear Southern Germans are less open, and my Northern German friends call them arrogant. East Germany must be pretty different, given what they've gone through.

Hi there,

I am from the South of Germany. The South, the East and the North have a little fight going on about which part is better, so I wouldn't take it that seriously what people say. I live in the near of Munich and the boyfriend of my aunt is fully integrated in our family since years, he is from Africa. People in whole Germany speak and understand English, especially the younger people.
We have relations in the North and the East as well, so actually I would say that are only prejudices, just experience us.
Mostly we hide our flags in our cupboards due to our history, what makes us feel ashamed a bit. If there's a football game going on here, we dare to put them on our cars and have a bit pride, I would say that's all.

Have fun in Germany and enjoy us.

Karin

If you are learning German and would like some additional resources, check out Deutsche Welle on the web and look under the Learning German category. They have a lot of really good on-line classes that range from absolute beginner on up to fluent. I have been working my way through all of them as a way to brush up on my language skills. I had 3 years in high school, 2 years in college and then was posted there for 18 months courtesy of the US Army. The problem is that all of this was 40 years ago! I give their classes two thumbs up.

As for the people, all I can say is that they seem to be really open and friendly, especially if you are trying to speak their language. That small bit of extra effort makes a big difference in how you are seen as a person. BTW I have relatives who live there, native Germans, and have never encountered any social issues, even with those who are much older. I just try to be sensitive about certain historical topics, if you know what I mean.

Thank you all. It sounds like Germany is really positive. I think I'm gonna take the class at my University next school year. I am just trying to learn a language where people are really open and down to earth.

I'm of German-Irish decent and I have an interest in learning German. I feel like I take after that side of the family more while my brother takes more after the Irish side. I would like to visit there some day and it would be nice to know the local language. Either for conversation or even just reading signs and restaurant menus.

I've been curious about contributions to film such as Fritz Lang's movies and some of my favorite music comes from there. Also of course I like good German beer.

Recently I've tried a German language program from Mango.com that seems reasonably priced. If anyone lives near a good Public Library system you should check their website. Some of them have Mango or Rosetta Stone you can log into with a Library card.

I hope sometime to get through Mango German and then take a regular class.

Some German words are super long, but don't let it intimidate you. Most of them can be broken down into smaller words. Also, there are few rules that have exceptions, unlike English. The sentence structure seldom varies either. I think it's a great language for anyone who is logic minded.

I spent a bit of time in Austria when I was a teen. Very friendly people, very nice. The only issue I've ever noticed is that Germans like punctuality, if you are late, that might bug them. Other than that...nice people over all.

Viel Gluck! (Good luck!)

Tomboy

German was one of my special interests for awhile, but I stopped studying it for a couple of reasons. First, I had no practical use for it. Second, I have an undiagnosed learning disorder that makes it too difficult to learn even a simple language like German. It just wasn't getting through. Third, I figured that if I couldn't even express myself well in English, I shouldn't be wasting my time with another language. I still have a minor interest in it, though – it's by far my favorite language. The only tip I can give you is to listen to German music. I learned more by listening to Rammstein while viewing the lyrics in both German and English side by side than I ever learned with a lesson book or audio program.

Good. the reason I posted this is because I am a Spanish major and I'm going into my Sophomore year and it's too much Latina, Latino, salsa stuff for me and I would not want to be living in one of those countries. My Voc Rehab counselor says he thinks Spanish is useful in AZ where I live, but how will I ever get through to him that I like German. I am afraid to tell him, because I'm gonna have to if I'm gonna quit Spanish.

Are you seriously thinking of trying to move there or visit there someday? Just tell your teacher that.

Also I'm not sure what your education situation is but if you want to use language to enter a Study Abroad program this might be another good excuse to switch.

I used to live in Germany, but it was around the age of 3-5 so I don't remember much. I do have a couple of German books, but I haven't really read them. (Unless you count a children's book from my childhood that was written in both English and German)

Viel Glück

I was living in berlin for 10 years. All i can say, it is very nice country, multi culture people live there. Some have open minded, be careful @ east germany dont go around alone.