Friday, July 10, 2009

VHS oder Beta

Today marks the end of my first week in the Volkshochschule (commonly referred to as VHS). I signed up for a one month intensive summer course. Before moving I took several months of private one-on-one German lessons. I didn't quite reach level A2 before leaving and was a little apprehensive about where I might be placed. I certainly didn't want to start over again, but was worried that being placed in the second level of an intensive course might go too fast for me. We were told to arrive at the school about a half hour prior to the start of the first class so that they could determine where to place me. I should have realized what I was in for when the "test" consisted of being asked in German "Where are you from?" I confidently answered correctly and they put me into level 2.

It is certainly a much different experience than my one-on-one lessons. To say it is frustrating is an understatement. We are moving incredibly slowly. Our book consists of four chapters. I thought it was safe to assume we'd get through one each week. So far we are on page six. That's about one third of the way through the first chapter. The class consists of fourteen other students from all different backgrounds; French, Russian, Korean, Turkish, Spanish, Mexican, Lebanese. With so many different backgrounds, it is no wonder we're moving so slowly. We've all gotten to this point with different teachers and different materials. I get frustrated when others get hung up on what seems really basic issues. But then a few minutes later we'll hit on something I've never come across and we all slow down for my sake. I'm sure I'm not the only one frustrated in that classroom.

Quite possibly the scariest part of the classroom experience is that I have to come to terms with my age. I could easily be the oldest student in the class. There might be a couple others in their 30s but I could be wrong. There is a brother and sister team in the class that I'm sure is half my age! But for the most part, it seems to be college age students spending their summer learning the language for school or work.

Regardless of the pace of the class, I walk out of there completely exhausted. I forgot what it is like to use my brain for four hours straight. I came home the other day and slept for two hours and still fell asleep by 11. Let's hope this isn't another sign of me showing my age.

Needless to say, I haven't gotten out and about as much as I would have liked to so far. But I think we're going to try to correct that this weekend. She has to work late tonight, but we're going to hit the local pub once she's home. Tomorrow night is the big night. All over the city and subway are ads for Kölner Lichter (enjoy the awkward translation!). It is a gigantic fireworks show synchronized to music. Apparently this event has gotten so big, they've moved it a little further north of the city center because of the huge crush of people it brings in. The weather however doesn't look too promising. I don't mind the cold but I hope there's no more rain.

What else is there to do around here? I've got a little widget running some headlines from The Local on the right side of this page. It contains German news written in English. They also post listings of local events and movies weekly. By no means do these look comprehensive, but it is a start. Here's one to file away if you live here or are planning on visiting. If anyone else has better local event listings in English, please let me know!

So, in the spirit of Kölner Lichter and VHS, enjoy this one before you head out for your own weekend debauchery:

1 comment:

  1. www.tagnacht-koeln.de

    prinz.de

    not in english, but after you get about 20 - 40 words down, you'll be good to go.

    ReplyDelete