I've been enjoying getting to know my new baby during these first three months of his life. I organized a Mommy & Me Yoga/Baby Massage class at our local yoga studio here in San Diego to give myself that regular undistracted one-on-one time with baby Lenny. During...
The GW Expat Blog
Category
German language
German Job Applications
CV vs Lebenslauf The first and primary document that most employers will request with your job application is your "Lebenslauf". A German’s Lebenslauf is very different from an American resume or a European CV. If you want to put together a Lebenslauf, it would be...
Just When You Thought You Knew German
The first time I had ever heard of “Swiss German” was when I was preparing to move from Düsseldorf, Germany to Rapperswil, Switzerland. My German neighbors had me over for a farewell barbecue and they said to me: “Whatever you do, don’t come back and visit us speaking...
Finding a Job in Germany
There are many days I think to myself, "Oh my God, why did I leave my good job and move to a country where I can't find a job to save my life?!" How many of you have thought the same? In 2009, I moved to Frankfurt from London for personal reasons (personal...
Birthdays and Friends in Germany
This year is a momentous one in the eyes of some people, because I am turning forty. I'm turning forty in a new country, and all of my oldest and closest friends live in other ones. But I am not despairing, and I am not ignoring this runden Geburtstag. (A runder...
“Kölle Alaaf” in San Diego!
It's February. In our process of settling in as a Korean American German family here in San Diego, the next event on the calendar was Karneval. I mentioned the holiday to my daughter expecting her to recall some of it from her Kindi days in Aalen at least from...
They don’t teach you those words in German class
I enrolled in an intensive course (a must-have when you plan to live in a foreign country and need to assimilate, FAST) within three weeks of moving to Germany. It met five days a week, five hours a day. The learning curve was steep. It was great. Within two months I...
An Adjusted Adventszeit
In the past week, I had to adjust to the fact that Christmas is OVER, a week earlier than I had become accustomed to. I was used to our southern German world being shut down not just from the week of Christmas to New Year's but also through the first week of January...
Losing my German
We have been in Ireland for about three months now, and every time I speak to my closest German friend, I notice words slipping away. I was "home" this weekend, so I am feeling better about that again, but it is amazing how quickly it happens. When we arrived in...
U vs Ü
Driving in the car with my family the other day, I overheard my four-year old son say to his younger brother: “I am so frustrating! No! I am so frustrating! Stop doing that!” I had difficulty suppressing my laughter, tickled at the irony of his statement. Yes, I...
More German than the Germans
Slowly, we've found ourselves integrating into our non-German lives here in America. Instead of hearing the phantom ring of our default Siemens ring tone melody, I've gotten attuned to hearing our Uniden telephone gently playing the Star Spangled Banner. Something I...
Levels of Language Proficiency: My Life in Germany
Beyond Ordering a Beer Recently I enjoyed reading Julia Child's My Life in France (with Alex Prud'homme). It's a great book (and the first one I ever read as a Kindle edition on my iPhone). Anyone who has lived abroad or spent only a brief time in the French capital...
Living the German Way in San Diego – Part 1
I admit that I was probably a bit whingey in my last message. I've had some time to get over my homesickness for Germany and Europe and embrace San Diego. It's nothing like Deutschland, but the living is so easy and the weather is as perfect (always in the 20s C/70s F...
Expats All Over Again: 10 Things I’ll Miss (and 10 Things I Won’t) About Germany
Like Jane and her husband, we are also on our way out of Germany. Unlike them though, we are becoming expats once again, this time in Ireland. There are so many things I love about living in Germany. This move happened quickly, and it was a choice for us, but it is...
Living in Germany FAQ
For quite a while now I've been thinking that putting together a frequently asked questions (FAQ) list about living in Germany and other German speaking lands would be a good idea. Many questions come up time and again on the German Way forums and e-mail list. They...
The Death of the German Language
The reports of its death are premature Lately, the Germans have had more important things to worry about than the death of their language. But once they have dealt with the collapse of the euro and the resignation of their flaky President Köhler, they'll get back to...
Vacationing on the Cheap in Germany
Since our family is still affected by the dreaded Kurzarbeit (Germany's solution to the recession provides an alternative to laying people off. They cut down on the amount of hours employees are supposed to be working and the Arbeitsamt makes up 2/3 of the difference...
Getting Intimate with The Swedish Chef
I was warned about certain things, a lot of things actually, prior to my move to Germany. None of them prepared me for what I call Swedish Chef Syndrome. I am a native English speaker from the New England region of the US. My own way of speaking is also heavily...
“On Se Won Händ”
Ripped from the headlines in Germany, YouTube has shamed and ridiculed yet another public figure, this time former Baden-Württemberg's Minister President and now Germany's European Union Commissioner, Günther Oettinger. The widely circulated video is of Oettinger...
American small talk vs German no talk
Germans don't do small talk. (Well, sometimes they do – but they rarely admit it.) Most German-speakers will tell you that their language is too serious and precise to be wasted on small talk or chitchat, especially with strangers. Anyone who has lived in Berlin for...
Recent Comments