Today we began our class with learning how to say our birthdays. As we learnt numbers yesterday it was good practice to use what we learnt and say our date of birth.

We played a game of memory to learn the names of the family. Such as Großvater, Eltern, Geschwister, Mutter and many more.

Since we had learnt many sentences regarding introductory greetings, we wrote what we knew so far all out. And so today we were told tomorrow will be a small test! So no homework but it’s still very hard for me to understand all the different articles. But I am excited to see how much I really understand and I guess I will find out tomorrow!

Creo que como muchos de los que estaran a punto de leer este blog han leido o escuchado estas palabras con expectativa y con emocion respecto a un pais, que como se escucha diariamente tiene la mejor calidad de vida.

Aunque debo presentarme, me gustaria en cada blog ir contando de a poco pequeños detalles mios para que por medio de mis escritos conozcan mejor quien soy y no dar una primera impresion que puede ser falsa. Como primera noticia les cuento que vengo de Colombia, ya se imaginaran la diferencia tan grande que existe entre un pais como el mio y uno como en el que ahora me encuentro.

Lo curioso del asunto es eso. La imagen que tenia de este pais era tan diferente a la que he aprendido a conocer con el tiempo. Tengo que decir que llegue en Febrero, no muy buena epoca para un latino, puesto que el invierno no es algo que este todos los dias en nuestro calendario. A pesar de eso, cuando llegue…Dios todo era tan diferente, todo en su espacio se contemplaba como una nueva aventura.

Ademas de la expectativa, llegue con miedo. Porque la imagen que tenemos de los austriacos es esa imagen de personas poco sociables, personas toscas totalmente diferente al latino que dia a dia busca la manera de hacer un nuevo amigo.

El invierno pasaba y yo llegaba sola con mi madre, vengo de una familia de seis personas lo que significa que el clima, y la soledad no fueron un primer comienzo. No queriamos entender lo que pasaba nos rehusabamos a abrir nuestra mente y nos quedamos en la falsa idea de un pais que no abria tan facilmente sus puertas.

Independiente de eso, la idea era hacer un master, puesto que me acababa de graduar de arquitectura y de la misma manera aprender aleman (idioma al que le encontraba cierta curiosidad desde pequeña), averiguar todo era complejo pero aun asi era motivamente e increible entender que un pais con tanta calidad de vida tuviera tanta accesibilidad en estudios y en opciones.

Pero todo en orden, primero aprender un idioma y luego lograr a traves de el un estudio superior que me permitiera abrir las puertas en una era internacional.

De aqui comienza la historia, dentro de lo mas resumido posible, de mi proceso en Austria de como mi vision ha cambiado, de como he llorado pero tambien de como he reido he disfrutado y hasta he querido como mi propio pais a este pais.

I just wanted to write a short post to talk about how awesome my teacher is. Since the class is wrapping up now and we are in our final week of the intensive Deutschkurs, it felt like time to talk about the person who has made my experience learning German so enjoyable.

Laura has been amazing to us as a teacher. She seems to have a million different games swirling around in her head to make learning fun, and she never fails to make the class laugh with her stories. She manages to keep the class focused while also allowing us to practice speaking in German with each other and getting to know each other. I have been amazed at how seamlessly I have learned so much. For example, last night at class Laura told us a story about how her brother got a small pig from his friend and then convinced their mother to keep the pig, and then eventually her mother was tasked with finding a new home for the pig, who ended up placing the pig with a farmer. I can say with complete certainty that prior to taking this class I would have understood maybe 10% of that story; last night, however, I understood everything. That is in no small part thanks to Laura.

Lastly, I just want to say that Laura’s dedication to only using German in our class is amazing. After having the class for 4 weeks I’m still unsure if Laura can even speak English (she can of course, but refuses to in order to force us to learn how to adapt to speaking German). Sometimes it was a bit frustrating, but it was an invaluable learning tool as well.

Thank you Laura, for an amazing class and an amazing experience learning German!

As my participation in my latest course at the Deutsch Akademie in Wien comes to a close, I have come to appreciate the attractions of this beautiful city more than ever. From the elegant townhouse facades, to the beautiful shades of the fall foliage; from the old-world bustle of the streets, to the jaunty street trams jingling past; from the rich history evident on every corner to the easy pace of life here – Vienna is a city which has numerous positive qualities to extol.  Experiencing for the first time the city in its autumnal clothing has also been wonderfully enjoyable to witness thanks to the city’s attractive layout.

The studies themselves this past month also proved to be challenging but were precisely what I needed, and I was glad to have once again chosen a course with Deutsch Akademie. As the expression goes “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and since I had already found the standard of courses in the school to be of high quality at a competitive price-point, I was happy that I continued with Deutsch Akademie this semester.  My teacher was excellent: confidently knowledgeable whilst constantly pushing us to attain a better level of written and spoken German.  The atmosphere in the class every day was one of positivity and enthusiasm, even if many of us arrived to class after an already long work-day, and I always looked forward to seeing my comrades-in-grammar-arms, to share our knowledge and have the craic. Meanwhile the team in the office are always nothing but a pleasure to deal with: on every occasion I have needed assistance, I was always greeted with a warm smile and a helpful attitude.  Another plus which I really appreciated is the convenient location of the school itself, right next to Karlsplatz U-Bahn station: a major plus for those of us who must dash between work and studies, juggling schedules with narrow margins for time-errors. For anyone thinking of dipping their toes into the tricky-waters that is the German-language, I highly recommend Deutsch Akademie as the place to study.

Although I never planned to find myself in Vienna, much less Austria, I am very thankful for the circumstances which have brought me here. Though the language is challenging and this barrier can make life that bit more difficult, this pales in comparison with the innumerable advantages which I have been blessed to experience since coming to live here. There is an enriching quality of life to be had in the capital city of this beautiful little country in the heart of Europe.

Preko 400 balova se odrzi svake zime u Becu. Ta karnevalisticka balska tradicija je zpoceta nekad u 18.-om stoljecu kada je nosenje maski I kostima bilo rezervisano samo za pletstvo u nekim privatnim prigodama. Kako bi se ovo kompenziralo, car Josip II otvorio je vrata Hofburske palate svima. Na ovaj nacin se omogucilo Beclijama da kopiraju proslave plemstva sto je ostalo I do danas. Postoji strogi dress code gdje muski oblace tuxedo/smoking odijela, a djevojke svecane duge haljine.

Na tradicionalnim Beckim balovima, damama se daje poklon ili prilikom dolaska ili odlaska na bal. To su nekada bile dekorisane kartice na kojima se rezervisu plesovi sa razlicitim obozavaocima. Svecanost bala se otvara debitantskim plesom kada mladi debutanti I debitantice plesu valcer, nakon cega se I gosti pridruzuju plesu. Sve debitantice nose bijele haljine I samo su one koje bi trebale biti u bijelim haljinama.  “Damenwahl’ je onda period kada je damama dozvoljen prilazak gospodi. Do ponoci se najcesce plesu onda razni plesovi gdje se u ponoc zatvara ceremonija najcesce plesanjem kvadrila.

Becki valcer je poznati ples. U pocetku valcer, kao ples koji se plese sa partnerom, je smatran kao provokacijom I bilo je moralno neprihvatljivo. Tako da je Becki kongres nekada u 19 stoljecu, ucinio valcer prihvatljivim u velikim salonima, te je poslije toga politicki rad bio cesto pracen balovima odakle je nastala famozna izreka ‘Der Kongress tanzt!’, I Becki valcer je proglasen kraljem plesova.

Vecina Beckih balova su profesionalno organizovani. Neki od najpoznatijih balova su Opera bal, Bal Becke filharmonije, The Coffee-house Owners‘ Ball, itd.

Ja sam prosle godine samo posjetila bal IAEA agencije u kojoj radim koji se odrzavao u Hofburskoj palati. To je jedno prelijepo, romanticno iskustvo, gdje mozete da se pretvarate da ste iz pretodnog stoljeca I uzivate u ljepotama Beckih palata I plesova.

Do iduceg javljanja! ?

Today, we learnt more question used in general greetings.

We learnt to say different professions in German by doing a word search and trying to find a word we may think is correct. I think this is a really interesting way of learning words because you don’t need to be scared about if it is correct or incorrect.

We also started to familiarise our selves with the present indicatives. This is what is most difficult for me as there are many ways of using a single word but must be changed depending on who you are referring or speaking to. Such as the word haben. I am –  ich habe, you have – du hast, we have – wir haben.

A wooden garden bench leaned inside the pool

Schwechat is a small town outside Vienna and well-known by people as an area of Vienna International Airport (VIE). I have moved from Vienna to Schwechat since 2016. Surprisingly only 20-minute drive from the city center, I am surrounding by a pleasant nature embrace. There are some wild birds visiting my garden. Wild ducks swim in the stream behind my house. Moles inhabit underground in my garden. Hawks hover over an S1 highway. In one fine evening, amazingly I found a beaver casually swimming along the stream.

Mr Beaver

Mr Beaver swam in the pool

On Saturday 6 October 2018, I was about to mow a lawn in my garden. A poor beaver was found inside my dirty swimming pool. Assumingly, he probably smelled strange of water inside the pool and accidentally dropped himself into it. My wife and I tried to scoop him up with a big basket, but he was too big to fit in it. Moreover, he did not trust us to get into the basket. On Sunday 7 October 2018, in the morning I leaned a wooden garden bench into to pool in order to lead him out. However, he did not care to try. Finally, I called 122, the Volunteer Fire Brigade of Schwechat (Freiwillige Feuerwehr Schwechat). Full squad of firemen arrived shortly with a big fire truck and a fire van. They were all well equipped and wore not only elegant uniforms but also kind hearts in order to rescue the poor animal out of the pool. Two firemen went into my pool with a big plastic bag and managed to take Mr. Beaver inside it. He was finally set free to the stream behind my house.

Beaver rescue in Heute dated 8 Oct 18

In case you might read a Heute newspaper dated Monday 8 October 2018, you would find this rescue mission on page 10 and 11. I could not thank the Schwechat fire brigade less!

If Oxford is known as the City of Spires, then Vienna ought to be known as the City of Churches.

Rounding any corner of the city streets brings one face-to-face with a magnificent cathedral or brought unsuspectingly onto the doorstep of a tiny but exquisitely crafted chapel, tucked unassumingly onto some little side-street.  If there is ever reason to stand and marvel at the craftsmanship of men long gone us, it must be by gazing upon the any of the chapels and churches scattered across the city landscape of Austria’s capital.

Both inside and out, the interior and exterior of these places of worship reflect countless hours of work – the cumulative common-goal of innumerable craftspeople.  From the apprentice just starting out in his trade, to the master who has honed his craft over several decades of practice, every level of tradesman was employed in the making of these buildings, confections of constructions as they are.  The architects and builders; the masons and bricklayers; the joiners and carpenters; the roofers and plumbers (and later, electricians); the glaziers and glassblowers; the stucco-artists and sculptors; the lapidarists and the mosaicists; the guilders and the marquetrists; the plasterers and the painters – all working together for a single vision which is simultaneously the combined vision of all those multiple people involved.

I think more than any other building, it is these religious houses of worship which inspire me since I cannot but help think upon how the fashioning of a single structure represents the livelihoods and life’s work of so many people.  Essential to what makes these buildings more than just excuses for overly-zealous artistic flourishing is the fact that they are designed precisely as places to worship and give thanks to God. I don’t think that any other reason could be enough to provide sufficient motivation for these labours of love, which required painstaking attention to detail, dedication and patience over extended periods of time. Think of the last time you painted your kitchen or re-wallpapered your living-room: that alone is usually significantly strenuous enough of an undertaking, that we resolve only to do so as infrequently as possible, never mind having to attempt something which these great artisans did!

Perhaps the next time you step into one of these historical gems, allow yourself a moment away from behind the camera and really seek to absorb with your eyes the reality before you: to think for a moment on all those persons who brought these great works of art alive, standing the test of time so that we can still now enjoy it today.

S obzirom na to da ja radim u internacionalnoj sredini gdje se uglavnom koristi engleski jezik, u svakodnevnom zivotu nemam bas toliku priliku da vjezbam I pricam na njemackom.

Naravno dosta mojih kolega I prijatelja prica njemacki I ponekad pricam sa njima. Iako je vecini njih njemacki strani jezik (nije maternji) brzo zaborave kako je tek na pocetku I dopuste sebi da se nasmiju na moj manjak znanja – sto bas I nije ohrabrujuce.

Tako da ja biram uglavnom da pricam sa jednim drugom koji je takodjer na pocetnom nivou kao I ja. Nama nije toliko bitno ukoliko nismo nesto gramaticki pravilno rekli, bitnije nam je da se razumijemo I da vjezbamo, da pricamo. Da se oslobodimo straha. Da jednostavno progovorimo.

Cesto pricam jednu anegdotu koja je serija vise uvezanih dogadjaja koji se vezu za kiselu(mineralnu) vodu. Naime, mi kada kazemo mineralna voda na bosanskom, podrazumijevamo da je ona I kisela odnosno gazirana. Tako sam jedne prilike izasla na veceru sa rodjacima I hajde kao da probam sama sebi naruciti, pa sam rekla ‘Mineral wasser, bitte.’ Na sto me je konobarica upitala ‘Mit oder ohne gas?’. Kakav gas? Necu ja nikakav gas u svojoj vodi. Toliko sam se zbunila I onda sam se prebacila na engleski. Onda sam u supermarketu procitala na boci gazirane vode da pise ‘prickelnd’ I onda sam shvatila. Aha! Mozda ako tako narucim nece biti podpitanja. Tako je I bilo. Iduci put kad sam bila vani sam narucila svoju kiselu vodu rijecima ‘Ein prickelnd wasser, bitte’. Na sto sam dobila jos vise pitanja, stavise konobar me uopce nije razumio. Mozda je to zbog toga sto mi je ova rijec izuzetno teska za izgovoriti, mislila sam. A onda je konobar rekao ‘Ach du meinst prickelndes wasser’. Meni je to u tom trenutku zvucalo apsolutno isto I pogledala sam ga onako ljutito sto me nije htio razumjeti. Sada mi je jasno odakle taj -es nastavak. Dragi padezi I milion nastavaka u zavisnosti koji I da li uopce koristite artikle.

Jos postova dolazi, stay tuned!

My name is Hana and I am 16 years old. I have come from Australia to study ballet at the Wiener Staatsoper Ballett Akademie.

I am very excited for my new independent life style here in Vienna! To make my studies worthwhile it is crucial for me to understand the German language so I can take on board the corrections that I get in ballet school that are in German.

And that is why I will be starting at Deutsch Akademie Wien. After going into the Akademie to have a look, I found the building facility is very nice and all the staff are very friendly and I am looking forward to my first class!

Today was the first day of the A1.1 Course! I was very excited to see how the first class played out.

We began with basic introductory work such as general greetings, alphabets and understanding the basic words used in everyday conversations. There are many nationalities in my class. Canada, China, Spain, Ukraine and others.  

The course book is really clear and easy to understand, and so are the teachers but it is definitely a challenge to learn and listen everything in German! But that is why I have joined the Deutsch Akademie Wien. After the first day, I feel very excited for what there is to learn for the rest of the 4 weeks!