When your German language book and Tony Robbins tells you to dream bigger.

It's 4:49 in the morning and I woke up around 4:20am to feed my little girl who's now 3+ months old. Normally I would go back to bed and wake up when the sun is fully out around 7:30am. So why am I up when the birds are chirping at the sun to hurry up? I think it's a combo of my German language workbook and Tony Robbins.

My history of German learning books

I've got a friend that calls me the library of German books. I started learning around 2019 when I moved to Austria. (You could technically say late 2018 when I was very casually Duo-lingo and participating in a small spouses-of-German-speakers study group in Israel.) Upon moving, I remember getting off the plane very excited to smell the fresh clean air of Tirol, happy to be starting a new life with my husband in his home country, which was then followed by an immediate small sense of "oh no... I don't understand ANYTHING that my parents-in-law are telling me". They were both very kindly trying to help me integrate by speaking German as often as possible with me, which was a big blessing that not every new person has when they move to a new place with a new language. But it also triggered a slight fear of realizing that I really need to get my butt into a German language class.

Thankfully Covid hadn't taken over the planet yet, and so I took many many German classes, some ending in tears of frustration. Note: The tears are from me being too hard on myself... please don't think that there are German teachers yelling at you "So which is it?!, Akkusativ oder Dativ?" to students. Fast forward to now, where I'm studying German after a long pause with an online tutor once a week and using a B2 German workbook.

This workbook, like many before it, has a personality. My first German textbook was sometimes that friend that was trying to warn you to be careful. There was a comprehension short story that was all about a family that almost died because they ate poisonous mushrooms they picked from the forest. Yes... I will never forget the words:

1. Pilz, the word for mushroom...which sounds like pill, and

2. giftig, the word for poisonous...which oddly sounds like the word present/gift in English.

What I picture happening during a wanderung.

That's German for you! Giving you some knowledge about the language and about eating dangerous mushrooms from the forests. So going back to how my new language book is telling me to dream bigger.

The German book motivation part

This new B2 book also has a lot of personality, meaning in this sense, their are many different types of immigrants. The comprehension exercise had 3 paragraphs of text, each about a different person that immigrated to Germany. The middle person wasn't that motivating... he was basically just unhappy about not feeling included into the German culture and wants to go back home. Fun times. But the other 2 were determined. The third person grew up in India, and had the mindset of no never being an option and is now an owner of a tech company. He mentioned that he constantly gets asked, "When are you planning to go back home?", to which he brilliantly replies back, "every night".

The first person was the real one that made me stop and reconsider my own goals and life-attitude in general. She was a woman who grew up in Togo, ran away from her family who was going to force her to marry young, ends up having a son very young and found a way to support herself and son by selling firewood and self-backed cookies. She then makes a long journey through the desert and ocean to make her way to Germany where she started studying economics. She now is married, her son is an engineer and she with her husband own a business together. The text mentioned that her self-confidence is her greatest protection and boy, are they not kidding! When was this book made and is this amazing woman still alive?

So, that remarkable one-paragraph-story made me first very grateful for the life I have. Then it made me think... am I not thinking big enough? Then this Youtube ad came along.

The Tony Robbins push to do something

Something that was also very tied to this extra motivation was oddly enough from a YouTube ad that came up. Normally I impatiently wait for the 1...2... 5 million ads that come before a video, but then I heard Mr. Robbins! I've been a big van of self-help/self-improvement books for a while now. I remember in looking through some old books from elementary school there was a book that I bought from the Scholastic Book fair called "101 Ways to Get Straight A's". Yeah, I was that kid.

I can't believe I wasn't mercilessly teased in elementary school.

I learned about Tony Robbins in my university and became a big van of his work. So, I ended up sticking around for the ad to see what was up with Tony and the other guy next to him. It's about an online 5 day event called Own your own Future Challenge that's May 11 to 15 where their will be a series of free streams that are going to motivate you to do something. Since the basic participation is free, I decided to sign up and I was happy to find a friend that's also going to join. I'm looking forward to this, and also curious how it's going to work with my 3 month old. Everything is an adventure, haha.

What to do now

Aside from joining the online motivational event next week, I'm also really going after more fluency in German. I say this because this October I'm planning to start a one year program that, when it's over, I can be certified to be a kindergarten assistant. This was feeling like a very big step, because until now, I felt very limited in the career opportunities route since my German level is too low for most of the things I was interested in. This course requires a minimum B1 German-language level, which I have after passing the exam sometime last year. Also, in a more long term way, I would like to feel comfortable enough to be able to be able to go to parent-teacher-conferences and speak with other mother's at the park. Having parents that also needed to learn another language (my parents met in New York, but they are both from Spanish-speaking countries) really reminds me that I can do it too.

It's 6:26am and that's the post for this week! I usually attach a German learning exercise to the bottom of every post, but I think I might start splitting the post into two, so that it is easier for people to search for the German language exercises. If I have some time today, I'll see if I can put up a small zuhören/hören exercise. And a happy mother's day! I'm very excited to have my first one :)

Popular posts from this blog

Old year reflections and new year dreams

Image
Being a big fan of self-reflection, I love to think about what is to come in the new year and dream. New Year's resolutions has been seen more now as a shallow promise to make a big change, but I like to think of this more as an opportunity to look back on the previous year and then stop and think about where I want to be, what I would like to do, the possibilities that await. And if you can find a friend or friends who are also into a review, then all the better! Sharing visions and dreams can sometimes really become fuel for a wonderful journey. I've put together 2 small things to get the conversation going. It's not all questions about the meaning of life, but allows for looking into the previous year and then a little thought as what is to come. I recommend this mini reflection workshop below. New Year Reflection Program #1 Find a friend or friends who want to reflect together! Make it a date :) #2 Sit down together and enjoy some snacks and tea/coffee.
Read more

Tool: Online map maker

Image
When you think of world maps, you might think of a history teacher, but generally not a music teacher. But it does come in handy! As a music teacher, part of what we can do is introduce musical instruments to students. Recently another music educator made a really cool lesson about castanets and so I asked if I could use her self-made castanets for Kindergarten students. When introducing the instrument to the students, it's good to mention where the instrument originated. And especially if they are younger students, having visuals is important.
Read more

Halfway in the year review (Level 10 Life)

Image
 So it's July and halfway through the year. It felt very good to finish June. The end of a studies and work semester, the completion of different group projects, and participating in 4 concerts was all part of June and despite getting sick the last Friday of the month, it all worked out. And funny enough, once I got the okay that things are settling down, the impulse to think of the future kicked in. Yes, of course I am enjoying this freedom of time with relaxation too. And I think when things slow down, one feel good thing is thinking positively about what is in the present and what is to come. So I looked at what I did last year December, the Old Year Reflections again and my last Level 10 Life. It was a good feeling to see that some things have already been completed, and also a reminder of old ideas. And I was motivated to then re-do my Level 10 Life. What is a Level 10 Life? It's a way to be intentional with your life focus(es). It's a concrete method to reflect and c
Read more