The highlight of my German class (other than, you know, learning German) has been finishing up with class early so that I have my afternoons free to spend with Kayla. She has quickly become one of my best friends here. This past Thursday, after class, we watched an episode of 'Samantha Brown: Passport to Europe' on her computer. It was the episode where she visits Salzburg, and it was very cool to see the episode highlight all the sights we walk past everyday on our way home from class together.
Yesterday was our last day of German class, though, which means my afternoons with Kayla will be no more, as our real semester starts Monday (yikes). Truth be told, I am very glad the course is over. They weren't lying when they described the course as an "intensive" German course. It was very fast-paced, no English was tolerated whatsoever, and if a word came up that one of the six of us did not understand and that one of us asked what it meant, Frau Eva would call on another student and make him/her explain the concept or word using circumlocution. A good example of circumlocution would be what a person does while playing the game Taboo. That is to say, if one of our classmates asked what "putzen" means (the verb: to clean), and Frau Eva called on me to circumlocute it, I would explain, in German, "It's what a person does when he mops the floor, washes the windows, tidies up the room, puts his clothes away, etc.") A few of these exercises a day and your brain will be exhausted. Basically, you just always had to be on your toes in this class, and with only 6 people in class, it's very obvious if you have not studied or prepared. Because Kayla and I would meet up after each class and spend the afternoons together exploring, shopping, eating, whatever -- I could get through the intensive German course with that awaiting me each day.
Looking back on the past few weeks, my best afternoons with Kayla involved food, like the restaurant we visited last week where we ate soup (goulash for her, vegetable for me) for lunch and apfel strudel with ice cream on top for dessert! Or the afternoon when we made spinach ravioli with sautéed zucchini and a toasted french baguette (courtesy of Rob). Other fun afternoons involved running seemingly mindless errands, like buying Guthaben from A1 and then loading the minutes onto our phone -- things that suddenly became so much more interesting and rewarding when done in German.
But while I'm sad to say goodbye to my afternoons with Kayla, my brain needs a break.
Although it won't get that much of a break, because our regular courses start on Monday when Uni. Salzburg opens.
Quote of the day: "I want to crack this Nutella open and lick the jar clean.... and yes this is my 3rd jar this week." -- Sandy
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