'Language no bar' is a total misfit when it comes to Germany. If you speak English for example, suddenly you realise, you are not a human anymore, maybe some extra terrestrial creature who has lost his way and mistakenly landed up in Germany in the spaceship of English language. If you don't get the joke, don't even bother running your mind. Precisely, English alienates you from Deutsch. You are treated so differently, you start doubting your own self weather you actually belong to the same planet? All I want to convey is, in this part of west central Europe, English is not entertained nor are its speakers or for that matter no other language exists except German. It's said, 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do.' But if you happen to cross Germany knowingly or unknowingly, forget everything else ( you could even at one point of time let go of your mother tongue) but one thing you definitely can't afford to forget is, learning to speak German, else you become a social out caste, somewhat of a ghostly figure, completely desolated. Ironical but unfortunately true. If you are not willing to learn a new language, take my personal advice, don't dream of Germany!! It 's not the right place for you then. No matter how utterly ridiculous it may sound, the fact however remains Germans are pretty stubborn and obsessed with their language and culture, to the extent of scaring away the foreigners, hence the phrase 'German Xenophobia'.

Like every coin, it has two sides; good and not so good. Experimenting with German, to put in blatantly is no piece of cake. If you look at the list of the most difficult languages of the world, you'll find German glorifying itself up there. I am not in any way trying to dampen your spirits, I individually like the language and learning it has indeed opened newer gateways for me. From my own personal account, since I shifted to Germany only last year and what all challenges I had to face in my day to day life, I can suggest a few utile tips which might come in handy to all the aspirants or the newly arrived ones. Simultaneously, I will also highlight some of the problematic issues a foreigner can face in Germany owing to the language barrier. So here we go with the theme 'life and times in Germany'.

To be very honest and frank, I grew up dreaming of living in Europe ( all thanks to Bollywood movies shot here). America never fascinated me enough, India was not to my liking and Europe was my brilliant imagination. Also, being a History buff, be it the Renaissance or Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions or the Napoleonic wars, the Tudors or the Stuarts or the French Revolution, the works of Leonardo da Vinci, the contribution of Mozart in music etc, etc., Europe was all I wanted and all that inspired me and to an extent I was lucky that I did manage to be here. Coming back to the focal point, what about Germany? Well, Germany is indeed one incredible and irresistible country with even hilariously incredible set of rules. Rule no. 1 is never to forget the rules in Germany...which never cease to end. One rule leads to another, rule after rule, you find yourself trapped in the cobweb of rules. Yayyy!! welcome to Germany.

Germans make an interesting race, very straightforward, innovative, engineering marvel, never over committing, slightly stingy or very calculative when it comes to spending on basic items though they can spend hell lot on cars...with cars, I mean German cars, they are passionate about their automobiles (we all are), they like flaunting their cars...that's why I call them the 'Sheikhs of Europe'. Like I said before, they love their rules, one day I had gone to Kaufland for some grocery shopping and the sight at the underground parking was completely hilarious. An old German pedestrian was arguing with a Dutch man who sat in his car in the underground parking of the store. The tiff arose because the old German wanted to cross using only the crosswalk/zebra crossing, to get across, to enter Kaufland and the Dutch had stopped his car on the pedestrian crossing as he was waiting for his wife to come back, who had gone to return the trolley. Since it was late in the evening, the whole parking lot was free and actually the German pedestrian could have taken another route, but he was adamant to cross only through the zebra crossing...now you can see the extent of their obeisance of rules. Being an Indian I found it even more amusing, we are not used to following rules, we create our rules according to our own convenience.

Another characteristic feature of Germans is, they are quite reserved, everyone says so. But from my experiences, I can say they might be ein bisschen 'reserved' but nowhere does it mean they are unfriendly. There goes a saying, 'It takes time to make friends with Germans, but once they become friends, they are friends for life'.The other day my friends and I were in the cafe and we wanted a picture of our group together but the question was who would take the picture? After all, we wanted a group photo. Some gentleman sitting nearby, must have over heard us and he offered to take our snap. I think that was a very friendly move. In Germany we do come across many such similar incidents. I have no reason to not call them friendly. Another good example is that of Herr Detlef von Helfeld, I write for him and before I choose any topic, I always like discussing the subject of the topic with him, not because I want to seek his approval but because he gives very sound advice and brilliant ideas which I incorporate in my write ups, even if it's a weekend he replies back and he has always been very encouraging, another friendly gesture which I thought is worth mentioning.

Now we take a look at the other side or the grim reality of adjusting in Germany from the point of view of an Ausländer or outsider. If Germany gives you a lot, in return it demands equally from you. Let's view the challenges and difficulties that spring up for the newcomers in Deutschland mostly due to the language obstacle or die Nachteile -

1. The difficulty and unfamiliarity of the language - During my Deutsch learning course, many a times I felt like pulling out my hair. The grammar, the deklination, the verb positions, the exceptions...ahh!! my mind would go blank after an hour of German class and the remaining time I hopelessly used google translate. Even now after having completed the course, God forbid if someone asks me something on the road in German, by the time I reply a grammatically acceptable sentence, the person already moves ahead. As mentioned before, Germans and their rules are inseparable. The first lines taught to a German infant are most definitely 'Rules, rules here and there; rules, rules everywhere.' Jokes apart, the strict rules are visible in their language too, which makes the already complicated, even more complicated. Though there are many similar words used in German as in English but their pronunciation and meanings are very dissimilar. I once made the blunder of thinking Chef as a cook ( well it means so in English), whereas, it actually means a boss in German. So, please don't try relating German and English or be prepared to be laughed at. To add to our grievances, their words are not mere words they are a train of alphabets, unending, keep aside remembering the spelling, you can't even properly pronounce them. Soooooolongggggggggg!! Eg- Follow the Straßenverkehrsvorschriften (road traffic rules) for your Sicherheit (safety). By the time, the newcomer finishes reading the words on the board 'road rules', he has already met with the accident. Reason- it took him so long to read one word that he got hit by the other approaching vehicle. 'Sicherheit' goes away naturally and your mind is thrown in a complete disarray. Sehr geehrte Frau/ Herr have mercy on us foreigners, phuleezzzz. Can't these gigantic words be shortened? Fancy understanding their sentences, when a single word is such a roller coaster ride...phew!! What a mental and physical exertion.

2. Difficulty for Asians - As compared to other European languages, Asian languages bear no resemblance not in the least to German. Asians find it relatively harder to grasp the language due to stark dissimilarity between their native languages and German. It's an all new challenge for them to understand the trickiness of Deutsch, notorious for baffling its own speakers, keep aside the poor outsiders. The difficulty in learning the language hinders the process of social integration.

3. The severe side effects or German Grammar Syndrome - I am a victim of this syndrome. Ever since I started learning German, subconsciously I have started applying the German grammar rules even in English. At a coffee shop, I said to my friend- “My German is so-so, you German better than me speak” hearing it she burst out laughing and my reaction was F*** what the hell does that mean? And why have I placed verb at the end of the sentence?? Daily we were fed in class ' In Nebensatz, Verb am ende'. It is the aftermath of learning German, you start treating every other language like German.

4. Learning becomes a herculean task- Without previous knowledge of Deutsch, learning becomes troublesome. Despite the Govt's partially sponsored German language courses for the foreigners, the difficulty arises not in getting enrolled but in understanding what your teacher is teaching in class. Due to diverse nationalities in each batch, translating the weak points in English is neither possible nor practical. Throughout the class, German is spoken which is fair enough, when you hear you gradually pick up. But what about those who don't know even the basics? I had already taken my A1 level exam in Abu Dhabi from Goethe institute, still I couldn't understand a word that was being taught. So initially, I just mugged up without understanding, for me translation of the lecture in English was a necessity and it did give me a hard time. Cramming a language without knowing the basics as you can't understand what is being taught in class, makes you lose interest. All I would advice you is to make an effort on your own to understand the language rather than completely relying on class room teaching. More than this, I would suggest you to keep 3G forever on and keep translating. Here I would like to argue, the German Govt. seems partially insensitive to the problems faced by the foreigners in adjusting to this all together weird atmosphere. The learning of the language should not be imposed rather it be made optional. The sole criteria of getting your spouse visa renewed is on the condition that you clear B1 level German language exam within the stipulated time.

5. Keep your eyes and ears open all the time- I registered myself in an intensive course at Sprachen akademie, (where again you have to take another entrance test) thinking I would become so fluent in German that I would even leave behind the native speakers. After months of learning German, each day for 5 hours and 2 hours of home assignments, I still struggle in speaking the language correctly. What I've observed, I picked up more words and sentences outside of my class than inside, I listened to people talking in the bus or by hearing radio or by reading the headlines of newspapers, all these things slowly helped me in my learning. Class room teaching, I find, is more or less a waste of time, when a person lives in a new country, slowly they adjust to the newer surroundings, it can't be done rapidly. Learning is anyways, a human trait, it's inevitable and a gradual activity that continues till we die. Everyday is a new learning experience. This is how the entire system works. I am personally not in favour of class room teaching of Deutsch, rather we learn it more rapidly through our exposure in our daily life. Intensive courses are very strenuous and they kill the joy of learning. Everyday bombardment of home assignments along with monthly exams, I would recommend the normal language courses to be taken instead.

    

6. Miscellaneous problems - There are a few Germans for whom their language is their pride, even if they know English, they would still speak in German. Some of them are very rigid. Hope none of us come across such people who could be real pain, no matter how tight a situation is for you or how desperately you need help, they will see you struggling but would only speak German. Also, I have noticed particularly at the Ausländeramt, the officials could be very rude at times. When they see you giving a blank look to what they are saying, they raise their voices as though you are deaf. They don't realise that the poor fellow is having a hard time comprehending what all is being said to him since he is not proficient in the language. At least in offices like the immigration office or the income tax office, bilingual officials should be hired who could speak in English as well, since it's the language majority of foreigners understand. Another fun fact about Germans is, they love to write. Even in this day and age of technology, they rely on letters or briefs. Amusing, isn't it? Germans are known for their technological advancement yet they count on post...are we really in the 21^st century?? Anything in writing becomes an authority or a proof. Please keep all your official letters safely and keep translating them, better still maintain a file of all the letters that come your way, letters will keep flooding you. Sometimes I wonder,what if there was no google translate, all foreigners would have died of helplessness and hopelessness in Germany.

    

7. Discrimination shown in the book during the Orientation Course - Well this is the best and also the rough part. During the German language program, the orientation or integration part lasts for 15 days. It is said to be the most important segment and you can't miss on this. During the integration course, we learn about the German politics, History and culture. Those like me, who are fond of these subjects find it fascinating, infact, I would rate it as the best segment in the entire course. But those who are not interested in any of these areas might be very bored. I saw many of my batch mates yawning and counting every second for the lecture to get over. Besides, what I observed was, instead of focussing on Germany and the ways to integrate in the German society, unfortunately the authors were more critical of Turkish people. All the bad examples and all the trouble making instances were directed towards Turks. I would call it 'discrimination'. No doubt, Germany grants Meinungsfreiheit or freedom of expression but that doesn't mean hurting the sentiments of immigrants. There may be cases where some Turkish people are involved in petty crimes or violation of laws but you can't measure the entire Turkish community on one scale. I am sure, there maybe many Turks living peacefully according to the norms of the society. Russians or for that matter East Europeans are also known for notoriety but why are only the Turks singled out? Another thing, isn't it an integration course, more good examples of speedy and smooth integration of foreigners in Germany be highlighted rather than putting forth the bad examples. For heaven's sake we are in Germany, not in Turkey. We are interested in knowing about the German culture and the process of integrating into the German society. The authors have certainly not done justice to the orientation material, the book could have been authored in a far neutral and unbiased manner. I am taken by surprise why is it even being taught in the curriculum? The targeting on one specific group sends bad signals and clearly shows how closed Germans are in accepting foreigners.

This blog specifically deals with the hurdles faced by the freshly moved in, however, take my word, German is a very interesting and rich language. Like any another language, it will take its due course before you can fluently speak it. But don't you think, anything new is always challenging in the beginning,once you get hold of it, learning becomes easier. Consistence and patience are the keys to unlocking 'the made in Germany' lock. Once you are through it, it's really fun. After my B1 level, I feel a lot confident and empowered. We all might crib and criticize Germany for being overly strict with its rules and regulations but the moment you leave Germany, you start missing it. I think it's the charm of this place which attracts people from all around the globe. We do struggle initially but then great opportunities also await us and so do greater rewards. Many find it actually a good system. Undeniably, Germany provides a platform from where you can reach out to your goals a lot quicker and it offers multitude of brilliant realms which are otherwise lacking in our homelands. With UK tightening its visa policy for non-EU immigrants and the same holds true for US, more and more Indians are chasing after Germany, and Germany too on its part is leaving no stone unturned in creating a paradigm shift in its policies, promoting itself as the new big educational hub and at the same time trying hard to come out of its previously foreigner unfriendly image, which was criticised world wide. In short, Germany is in for an image transformation from a foreigner unfriendly land to a foreigner welcoming paradise.

Once you get the flavour of the language, there is no stopping you, the sign and the bill boards in German, people talking on streets, all these trivial things around you, kind of instantly connect you to the surroundings, it gives you a sense of familiarity and rekindles a homely feeling. To me Germany is my home away from home! Hope you too feel the same.

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