Germany, thinking about making it official!

[scooterscot]

I find the German language robust and understandable where as my wife cannot get to grips with it at all. She is from the south West and of course myself the north. I can pronounce my R's no problem, I think it might be accent related. Every other day I find myself learning new ways to say or ask for something and my office colleagues encourage me. However, when it comes to the French language I find it near impossible yet my wife gets by with day to day vocabulary without any hardship!

[Francko]

And none of it makes sense: a skirt is masculine, a tie is feminine, and a girl is neuter.

That's perfectly logical. Women are objects.

[Sysman]

IAnd none of it makes sense: a skirt is masculine, a tie is feminine, and a girl is neuter.

Except for the obvious cases where gender really does matter, you are better off thinking of it as a way of classifying groups of nouns which follow the same set of grammatical rules.

Das Mädchen or das Fräulein (girl) for example are neuter because the -chen and -lein endings indicate a diminutive and those are neuter.

German diminutives

Complex nouns generally take the gender of the last word e.g. das Wochenende (weekend) because it's das Ende (end).

There are exceptions. Although it's das Wort (word) you get die Antwort* (answer), because the Ant bit comes from Greek, but in the main the above rule applies.

[Flashman]

Stages of Immigration [: Losses in Translation :]

Lets chart Scooters progress.

I'd guess Scooter is currently in Stage 1. 'The honeymoon phase'. Everything in Germany is brilliant!! Maybe his wife is already in stage 2 'rejection'.

Will they make it to stage 4? Stay tuned....

[scooterscot]

Stages of Immigration [: Losses in Translation :]

Lets chart Scooters progress.

I'd guess Scooter is currently in Stage 1. 'The honeymoon phase'. Everything in Germany is brilliant!! Maybe his wife is already in stage 2 'rejection'.

Will they make it to stage 4? Stay tuned....

None of this applies to us whatsoever. This is Germany not the far east! Besides we're not talking about making Germany our home for ever and ever, no. What I am saying 2 - 4 years and a review after that. It reminds me of a chap asking me in my last permie job "so is this you until your 65" !! Scared the keck out of me I've been on the move ever since. It's not a way to live.

Home will always be Scotty land it's like an umbilical cord that cannot be cut.

Staying beyond 6 months here is awkward just from the tax perspective, just wish it was simple and straight forward. The only thing that puts us off are the doubts over the advice we may receive.

As for feeling alienated... there's a strong expat community here, which sure enough we meet up regularly, which also includes German flat mates and work colleagues. There not that much different from us, IMO, more attention to detail for sure it's engrained. Otherwise we meet up have a drink, usually hot beverage rather than alcohol.

You can live here as if you've never left home. It's not like being abroad at all, this being in Europe feels energising feels a lot more prosperous than the home I've been unable to get a job in for the last 5 years (i.e. Edinburgh). As long as the BBC news keeps pumping out the doom about cuts there's no desire to rush back either.

[Francko]

None of this applies to us whatsoever. This is Germany not the far east!

I'd have to agree with scooter on that. EU is getting closer everyday and, despite we will never be like the United States, cultural bareers are increasingly thinner.

I have recently seen an article from a german writer talking about many immigrants within EU from the unluckiest EU states to the richest ones (sorry I don't have it in English) and how they can strongly keep their cultural identities in a far easier way than it was 50 years ago. And most of all, they can manage to act more "native" abroad even more than in the countries they were born where is often difficult to express yourself because of several bareers and a generic flattening attitude of people feeling home. In a few words Scooter might be able to be even more scottish in Frankfurt than how he could be in Glasgow or Edinburgh and people will accept him as the "scotman" and not just another foreigner. The availability of cheap flights makes easier and faster to go to Scotland from Germany than let's say traveling from many places in UK.

[scooterscot]

In a few words Scooter might be able to be even more scottish in Frankfurt than how he could be in Glasgow or Edinburgh and people will accept him as the "scotman" and not just another foreigner.

It's true. I'm known as the Scottish one in my office... and the supplier of hobnobs.

The availability of cheap flights makes easier and faster to go to Scotland from Germany than let's say traveling from many places in UK.

Next Friday I could return to Edinburgh for 67 Euros with ryanair don't care.

An internal flight in the UK on the same day with easyjet to Bristol say (a route I did often) £132 one way.

[Moscow Mule]

Home will always be Scotty land it's like an umbilical cord that cannot be cut.

I've met 2nd & 3rd generation Kiwi-scots who think like that.

[scooterscot]

I've met 2nd & 3rd generation Kiwi-scots who think like that.

Not to mention the countless Americans I've met "My great uncle so n so was Scottish you know"

I think I'm supposed to feel impressed but really I think why did my distant ancestors get off the boat, ah yes I remember, the rain won't fecking stop!!

[Doggy Styles]

Maybe elsewhere in Germany but here in Berlin English is spoken everywhere... Although I'm learning the language because I feel is £$%@£ british

Few spoke English in Stuttgart, apart from the engineers, so I decided to learn German pretty quick. When I first went there I went to a (non-English speaking) doctor with a persistent headache and all he did was give me an extended eye test - and charged me the equivalent of £40 for it. I hadn't understood the 'augen' bit of 'augenarszt' on the door-sign!

Regarding the shops, they closed every Saturday at 1pm, but as a special treat they stayed open to 4pm once a month. What I couldn't believe was the post office closing for two hours every lunchtime.