German

It's strange how you take a path, then you divert from it and you come back to the same path? This is my story...

After getting my SPM examination results which I did quite well for, I applied for a scholarship to the UK for Engineering. But due to some special interests of the government and the limited number of scholarships to the UK, I was offered the second best option for an Education in Europe which is Germany. I felt then, it would be horrible to learn another language especially German because I have never done German before. Right then, I only knew a few Asian languages besides English of course. So, I thought real hard and decided to appeal for a transfer to an English speaking country like the United States.

A week upon appeal, my appeal was approved. I was rather surprised because it has never been approved that easily and at such a short period of time. So, now i'm here in the States. No matter how enticing a country would be, like the States, there are more things out of the country that interest me. One of such is Germany. After getting the transfer and going through the entire program, I felt like I have missed a good opportunity to learn an intellectual and interesting language and the German culture. Also, Germany is also one of the top countries in Engineering and I hope to get an internship there for the summer to work. It would be a most interesting experience because I've always been in love with Europe.

So, back to the story, once I entered the United States program I began to see how the culture and country would not fit my interest, especially when it comes to the world of glamour, fashion, hollywood, hard-bitten politics, and the confusion, business and youth and cultural corruption there is in the states. The more I thought of it, the more horrified I got because of the many movies that I've watched that reminded me of the wild culture in the States. Sure enough this is what you get here and everyone behaves like heaven is theirs, which as a more conservative person, I am uncomfortable with.

As an individual I tend to be very respectful of people, their opinion and my own. I will not blatantly argue with you for the sake of winning an arguement or to show you that I am superior. And neither will I flash my credentials in front of your face and promote myself. But unfortunately this is what happens here, a dog-eat-dog world. The person who talks the most, has the most social contact, most qualification (although having a small brain) leads it all. So, after seeing all this going around, I realized that this is not the culture I want to learn, or experience. Who cares about glamour? Who cares about democracy (look what's happening now)? I don't care.

Well anyway, that's why I have decided to learn more world culture while I'm here since America is made of a mix of people from different nationalities. I learned more about the Vietnamese when I'm here and I even stayed with them once and I came to understand that some of them are Chinese. I learned more about the Germans here. I met a German once and she was outspoken, frank but not blatantly rude. I also learned something about the Greeks from a friend who is half Greek (not the kind of Fraternity or Sorority Greek - A Real Greek). And that's why my heart is going back to Europe, the land that first captivated my heart. And that's also the reason I'm taking German classes. I just hope that I'm better at dividing my time for homework because things are just so super fast here. I cannot but wonder how the Americans cope with their lives. Are they automated? Just a thought and please don't get offended if you're an American. I really think highly of your work culture and your diligence.

So upon my first lesson of German I fell in love with the language, the teacher and the events. Tuesday we have German movie gatherings and on Wednesday we have Kaffestunde or something like that (which means coffee time). I'm still perfecting my spelling. So I really believe that the grass is not always greener at the other side, and if you're meant to learn something in my case a culture or a language or just to get to know some people, you will eventually cross path again. I'm crossing my fingers for an opportunity to Germany and hopefully I'll find an internship.

It's homework time. I'll see you tomorrow night :)

posted by Anonymous @ 5:31 PM