Autobahn 44 to Kassel, wind turbines everywhereI give major kudos to all those who have studied at a University in a foreign speaking country. It really takes some resourcefulness and the courage not to beat yourself up that you don’t understand everything. At times I think I don’t have it in me but then another day starts and eventually the plummeting feeling becomes a gradual fall. Because I study at a distance learning University, I rarely have the opportunity to attend regular lectures. Two of my subjects are learn on your own with a practical at the University. The other two have required lectures covering all the material for the exam in three days and practicals, those of which I attended these past two weeks.
It was tough. I’m used to taking rapid notes. In my own native tongue I could memorize at least the last two sentences verbatum or summarize the professor’s last paragraph in a few notes on the edge of the lecture material. This time my usual note taking style was no use to me. I lacked the german vocabulary, I wrote down unfamiliar German verbs next to the words I could translate in hopes I’d look it up later. What German I could digest and process came out written in English because I couldn’t remember the German words, only the general idea behind it. I wrote it in English because it was faster, sometimes that was the case in German because I had forgotten the English word. I’m a mess.
I got the hand of it after awhile but then I struggled during the 3-hour Practicals. Reciting all that I understood about DC motors and Transformers in German was next to impossible. I froze and nearly didn’t pass the bill. What was worse is that I developed a cold after the first week and had to leave the room several times to give way to a coughing fit. All in all, I survived. It wasn’t as bad as I imagined but wasn’t as good as it should be in order to pass the exams. Well not yet. I just gotta keep chugging.
Some things I noticed:
- Most everyone I met is already involved professionally in Power Electronics. A few others are completing this masters degree as a hobby to keep their brains up-to-date or they want to know how to install their own solar cell systems. A pretty strenuous hobby if you asked me.
- After all lectures, the students knock on the desks. I guess a sign of respect. I never did this at UF but I think it’s pretty cool.
- My courses consist of only men. My guess is that a good half of them still say goodnite to a poster of Star Trek’s Lt. Uhura above their childhood bed. (Or whatever the equivalent is in German society) The first lectures had 50 students. The professor started the lecture with “Lady and Gentlemen, welcome…” but then at the break, I saw another girl, from Spain. She’s lived in Germany for 12 years and her German was only slightly better than mine. (Ugh. That worrying feeling is returning. *Sigh* Courage, right?)
Wow! Kudos to you for jumping into these lectures and for sticking with it! I can imagine it must be pretty exhausting at times!
Is your German developing at lighting speed right now since you’ve hit such a steep learning curve?
Happy Easter.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m glad to have found yours. But I’m curious – why do the master’s in German? It seems like after you’re finished, you deserve a dual degree for all the extra work.
My hubby is enrolled in a MSc in Power Engineering now at the TH Aachen and everything’s in English. Though he’s a German, his mother tongue is English (don’t ask) and he wanted to be sicher when it came to voltage and machines, etc. All the solar companies here have a working language of English too.
@ C: It all came down to what was available to me with the degree I already have, where, and how long it would take. At the time I arrived in Germany, the University in Munich offered only the “Diploma Abschluss”.
Aachen is just a bit too far to study in my beloved mother tongue, but what a relief it would be.