Goethe Insitut in Frankfurt

It may seem like we live this never-ending jet-set life, spending countless weekends in romantic European cities and towns, sipping wine and munching on schnitzel and bratwurst.  But no, there is another side to our lifestyle here.  For Tanya, it’s work.  For Jay, it’s his three to four days a week in Frankfurt at the Goethe Institut in his never-ending quest to master (or at least communicate in) the German language.  Dativ und akkusativ cases, reflexive pronouns and the various idiosyncrasies of this fascinating language are the opponents he must do battle with each day.  I mean, what other language can come up with such incredible compound words such as        lebensabschnittgefährter or unabhaengigkeitserklaerungen.  Or how about this favorite, Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän.  There’s no wonder that at the end of the day, I need a stiff glass of Schnapps.  

Mark Twain once wrote in his piece, “The Awful German Language” that “life is too short to learn German”.  Well, I always enjoy a good challenge and so I keep coming back for more.  Stay tuned for progress reports.

A few of Jay’s Classmates

Jay’s Dedicated German Teacher