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Tecktight TAC 2012 Team Sputnik | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5335 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes  Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 81 of 96 29 November 2012 at 7:20am | IP Logged | ||
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Hey, not fair! You wet my appetite with the promise of an update, and now I see none :-). And as Tarvos said:
we really need you for the Skype session - how will we do without our Team Sputnik Skype muse? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Tecktight Diglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member United States Joined 4977 days ago 227 posts - 327 votes Speaks: English*, Serbian Studies: German, Russian, Estonian | Message 82 of 96 03 December 2012 at 11:31am | IP Logged | ||
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Hi, hi!!!
Okay, here I am! I've finally come out of my hole! The past few months have been a total whirlwind, as I said. I've experienced so many new things and underwent many changes. During/since leaving Moscow, I went through lots of anxiety, and, consequently, sank into a deeper depression. In Berlin, I found myself missing so many classes, not practicing German, being scared to do basic tasks for no particular reason, breaking down into crying fits at random intervals. Then, to top it off, I wasn't/am not getting sleep because I was going out to clubs WAY too often in an effort to drink/dance away my issues, which, of course didn't work. It just made me tired and sick, to the point where I had mild pneumonia in November for three weeks (but I still didn't learn my lesson, I guess). Disorganization and confusion has ruled me for too long. I guess I denied my problem to myself for a long time, but I think I'm finally progressing. Last week, I finally confessed to my academic director what I've been feeling, and we made some arrangements for counseling. On Friday, I saw a therapist for the first time. She just gathered some basic info about me, but I really like her and think she'll be able to help me sort out things. I think the future looks more positive. So, that said, I think I'm ready to get back to my normal life. To re-ignite the passions that somehow blew out, and HTAL is definitely one of those. Edited by Tecktight on 03 December 2012 at 11:33am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4708 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish | Message 83 of 96 03 December 2012 at 11:38am | IP Logged | ||
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Aww, that's awful. Don't feel pressured, take your time and come back stronger!
We're still missing you! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Tecktight Diglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member United States Joined 4977 days ago 227 posts - 327 votes Speaks: English*, Serbian Studies: German, Russian, Estonian | Message 84 of 96 03 December 2012 at 11:45am | IP Logged | ||
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Despite whatever else I’ve been going through, I love Berlin. It’s definitely my favorite place that I’ve lived in so far. I love the freedom of it. No one judges based on age or appearance, and what you do is more or less your own business, unless it’s hurting someone else. It’s a refreshing change from D.C., where you essentially get dirty looks if you’re not boring and wearing a suit. Still, Germans are rather difficult to make friends with, since they’re more cautious and most I’ve met have already been established in Berlin for a few years and consequently have already built a friend circle which they aren’t eager to breach with a new face. All the same, I’ve made a handful of German friends, but most of my friends are other foreigners. For some reason, I seem to have a magnetic connection to Spaniards. Granted, there are many here, but literally wherever I go I meet some. It’s become rather a joke amongst my friends. Berlin is also an odd sort of Twilight zone. It’s not proper Germany—in fact, I don’t feel that it’s ‘German,’ at all. It’s the biggest melting pot I’ve ever been in. Perhaps New York or London could compare, but I wouldn’t know. Time is really not a proper concept here. I feel like this city is full of young people who came here to ‘find themselves’ or ‘find art’ or what have you, but, in reality, don’t know what they’re doing. There is too much partying, every single day, for hours and hours. Things don’t end at night, but in the morning. It’s difficult to find motivation to do concrete things. Concepts like having a career, settling in somewhere, starting a family, and so on, are not things usually discussed or on people’s minds. Everyone and everything sort of just floats around. Therefore, I feel like I’m not living real life. So, that said, I don’t know if I’d be able to live in Berlin the rest of my life. But I’ve definitely found my home in Europe—where exactly in Europe remains to be seen, but I’ve got time to think about it. We’ll see where graduate school takes me in 1.5 years from now. To be honest, my German hasn’t improved much, but this is my fault. I haven’t been actively studying it, at all. If I had the energy to just take even 30 minutes a day to review grammar and vocabulary and such, my German would be light-years from where it is now. Still, I’ve seen some progress, just by virtue of passive absorption. My level of understanding is pretty high, but speaking is still low (though I guess that’s how it always works). I can understand what’s going on in all my classes (which are all in German) but I generally sit silently in the back. I do love all my professors though, and the subjects are pretty interesting. Next semester should be even better, though, because I’ll be taken every one of my classes at the university, Humboldt. So that’ll be five or six. I love Humboldt classes because they’re a real mixed bag—particularly in the politics courses, there are many Erasmus students, and, as a language-lover, I love an international crowd! Everyone is so interesting to talk to. ☺ What I am happy about in terms of my German, though, is that I’ve picked up on the colloquial phrases like “mal,” “doch,” “ach so,” “na, ja,” “nie” etc. etc. Just things that make one sound more ‘native.’ I’m currently renting a room, but I’m on the search for my own apartment. I hope to find one in Kreuzberg or Friedrichshain and so escape the abundance of hipsters where I currently live. Then again, it’s impossible to fully escape hipsters here in Berlin… It will soon be my Christmas break, and I plan not to return to the U.S. at all but to visit my mother in Moscow, instead. I’m still working on my visa, though, which, as we all know, is a task. It’d be easier if I weren’t seeking a year-long, multi-entry visa, of course. I’m getting rather worried about it, because I hope it will process in time. I haven’t even gone to the consulate, yet, though I do have (finally!) all my materials together. EDIT: Edited! :) Edited by Tecktight on 03 December 2012 at 5:04pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5335 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 85 of 96 03 December 2012 at 6:34pm | IP Logged | ||
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I am sorry that you have had a hard time, but I know you will pull through. And don't worry about having been
a bit unproductive for a few months. I once dropped out of my studies after 2 years and a half with nothing to show for it but an insanely large student loan. I felt like I had flushed 2 years and a half down the toilet and like a complete failure. That was however my best decision ever, and I have even managed to cover it up on my CV. So a couple of months of taking it slowly is not something you should let get to you. Remember, you are the muse and mascot of team Sputnik, and is probably the one that has made most progress in Russian! We miss you, and love you, and we are there for you every step of the way. I think that in your shoes I would have tried to go for more fun in my language learning instead of beating myself up over not studying more grammar. Watch fun TV- shows or read crime novels, or Greek mythology or whatever you fancy. When you look for an apartment see if you can find one that you can share with some really cool Germans, and the very best option: See if you find a cute German boyfriend. And don't underestimate the parties you go to. I have learned at least 10% of my Spanish in discos. Fun is underrated in language learning. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4708 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish | Message 86 of 96 03 December 2012 at 6:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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What's wrong with hipsters? ;))))
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| mrwarper Diglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member Spain forum_posts.asp?TID=Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5227 days ago 1493 posts - 2500 votes Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2 Studies: German, Russian, Japanese | Message 87 of 96 04 December 2012 at 6:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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@Tarvos, do you really want somebody to respond? ;)))
@Cristina I have a somewhat different take on 'fun' in language learning. It's overrated, for if learning a language is not fun enough in itself, why do you do it? And if learning the language is fun, and doing something detracts from it, why do you keep doing it? Seriously, if 'adding fun' to it really makes a difference, maybe you chose the wrong thing in the first place ;) Which leads me to the part of Teckight's update I wanted to comment on...
You described perfectly what surrounded me after my real friends here left and I was left 'alone' in the city. I let the 'party' routine get on me like some kind of mind-numbing fog, and I spent years in a zombie-like state before I snapped out of it (it wasn't even really fun). Now I am happily detoxified and I think about more adult stuff but I won't have that time back... Moral of the story? It has happened to others, so keep an eye open and try not to let it happen to you too :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5335 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 88 of 96 05 December 2012 at 2:13pm | IP Logged | ||
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@mrwarper: Fun is an individual concept. My colleague reads grammars of Old English for fun, I read crime novels for fun, or go on dates with hot Spanish guys. It doesn't mean you must have a smile on your face every time you study, but that you must find something which you like.
The reason why I never get anywhere with my German, is that I had a hag of a German teacher who took all the fun out of studying by making us go over grammar rules until we cried. And all the fun stuff I could do in German cannot get that teacher and the stupid rules out of my head. In French I had this really cool teacher who let us do songs, and hoarsed around with the texts, and made us want to learn French. Which we did. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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