11/3/2008 - Still climbing mountains
By Lauren Stabler, Marietta High School
As I sit here in class, I cannot help but wonder why people say math is universal!
Is that a seven on the board or a one? Why is there a comma between one and five to represent ‘one-and-a-half,’ and why are there dots between every three numbers? Shouldn’t they be commas? What are we even learning about right now?
Month two is almost over, and things are only getting harder. A former exchange student once told me it only took a couple months to get over the language barrier. Perhaps this student had six years of English before coming to America.
German is a difficult language and would take much time to learn in school. It is even more difficult, however, when the entire language is coming at me at once and in warp speed. How could I possibly figure out what people are saying without even knowing the basics?
Imagine an eighth-grade boy sitting in trigonometry class. Could he learn anything without having the basics first? If so, how long would it take for the learning to begin?
While I would sympathize with that hopeless eighth-grader, I know he only has to put up with the tremendous stress one or two hours a day. Also, worse comes to worse, he could always drop the class.
Here in Germany, I cannot “drop the class.” Instead, I am stuck in that trigonometry class 24/7 without friends, without family, and the teacher and students are not the least bit sympathetic or comforting. (As a sidenote, I have discovered that American culture is extremely comforting, even if the people are superficial.)
It is almost impossible to really try and learn German in these conditions. I often do not; however, I realize it can only get better if I do.
Before school began, I traveled with my family to Austria to go hiking in the Alps. The trails were difficult, but once we reached a mountain’s peak, the reward was a hundred times greater than the challenge.
The majesty and immensity of the Alps were truly breathtaking. I promised myself I would one day return.
The end of our trip marked the end of my welcoming to Germany and the beginning of a very long year.
This article originally published here.
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