Then to my office where I couldn't get online because I don't have a student ID because I am not registered yet. So back to the international office who sent me to someone to get a temporary ID, but she was out of the office this week, so I spoke to another woman who seemed to be in a frenzy. She pulled me down the hall to talk to this man who apparently spoke a little bit of English and was able to translate for us. She continued to talk in a harried kind of tone to me, while I stared at her blankly and the man didn't bother to translate. I've noticed people doing that a lot. Once they realize I don't speak German, they continue to talk in German with a look on their face that looks like they are willing me to understand. Even if they speak English, they make jokes in German and laugh either forgetting that they are speaking German and therefore I won't get it or are talking to themselves. I just smile.
I went back to my office to get a little work done and realized I forgot the cord to plug my computer in so i was only able to work until my battery wore out. It was enough for one day anyway. Researching the German Health Care System is more challenging than I thought because different sources describe it differently. It is more unique than other national health care systems because it is a multi-payer system with options for private health care for certain people.
Diana stopped by and gave me more things: a bunch of outlet adapters, a basket for my bike, and a helmet. She is so kind.
My roommate/ flatmate (is that what they call it?) is going to NYC for five days, so we have the place to ourselves. This doesn't really mean anything since we are not there much anyway... just that I can't bother her with all my silly American questions :)
People have suggested watching TV to help us learn German, but I have been unable to find much in the way of online TV. Nora offered her movies to watch, so I checked them out and decided on Save the Last Dance. I think it is a very cute movie. We started watching it just in German, then switched on the English subtitles. A little later I watched it again in English with German subtitles. I learned the word Scheiße.
1 comment:
I downloaded this handy little add-on for Firefox. It's a Babblefish plugin that sits right in the bottom toolbar. I just place my cursor over a word, right click, and it automatically translates to the language I had pre-set. So, I know you learned a very useful word. :-)
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