Last week I finished my fifth week of classes in Germany, and today I began my final week of classes. The time has been moving very quickly and I will be really sad to leave next week. In only a few weeks I have made numerous new friends and progressed greatly in my language skills.
The weekend before last I decided to visit some relatives in the Netherlands. Although their first language is Dutch, they both speak fluent German, so I was able to practice my German with them during my visit. However, one of the more stressful moments of my time in Germany was taking the train to get to the Netherlands. I had to make a connection, but due to my first train being delayed, I only had 2 minutes to make the connection. Luckily, my first train arrived slightly early so I was able to make it to the second train. Once I made it to the platform, I noticed that two trains were listed on the screen for that track. Each had the same train number and departure time, but different destinations. I thought this was strange, but still boarded the train when it arrived. It listed my destination, Arnhem Centraal, on the outside, so I figured I was on the correct train.
However, once we started moving, I noticed that on the screen inside of my specific car, it listed the other destination. I started to get nervous that I had accidentally gotten on the wrong train. I checked my app and the train number matched up, so at this point I was very confused. As we kept going, I heard a worker coming through the train asking people, in German, what their destination was. I quickly sat up and told her I was going to Arnhem. She said that the train was going to split, and the back half (where I was sitting) was going to the other location, and the front half was going to Arnhem. At the next stop, I hopped off the train and made my way to a cart further up.
I was very surprised that the train split, but luckily I made it to my destination on time. I have found using the trains to be stressful at times, but overall it has been a fantastic language learning experience. Having to think on my toes and communicate in German during these stressful situations is one of the best tests of my German language capabilities!
Ordering food in German has also been an adventure. I have had so much delicious and authentic German foods, including currywurst, bratwurst, schnitzel, potato salad, and fries. This past week, I had the chance to try some authentic German food. I ordered potato pancakes, which are well known and very popular in Köln. They came with cooked apples, butter, and a slice of black bread. The potato pancakes were absolutely delicious, especially when eaten with the apples. I enjoyed the black bread much less. It was very dense and tasted bitter. However, I am very glad I got to try these dishes!
