Learning German

Some of my former students started their Spring Break tour of Europe in Wien. What a treat to see them!

Beautiful flowers are everywhere in Wien. I ordered these from a flower market auf Deutsch, so I think they are particularly beautiful. :)

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

I hardly every write in the middle of the week, because language school is eating my time pretty much completely. I am about finished with this round--I will take a break until September--and I'm both excited for a break and a bit sad. Some of the sadness, of course, has to do with the fact that I go every day to school with a friend, and that's fun. We talk and laugh and tell stories about our kids and just generally have a good time. I'm going to miss doing that every day. (Though she lives right around the corner, so it's not like we won't see each other.) But some of it is because I am really enjoying learning German. Okay, maybe enjoying isn't exactly the right word. I appreciate the opportunity to learn German. How's that?

I've told you before that when we found out the team was being moved to Vienna, my first thought was, "Oh, no!! Not another language!!" I'm middle aged (I'm a young middle aged, thank you), and I was just not sure I could stuff one more language in there with the English and Russian that are already roaming around in my noggin. But given time, I came to see this as a kind of do-over, a chance to do something right the second time that I didn't do all that well the first time. And I've talked about that, too--being hesitant to speak Russian, never wanting to make a mistake, being far too timid for my own good--all of these stunted my ability to speak and understand Russian. (I've come to know that I can read and write language far more easily than I can speak and understand them.) And that is a dreadful weight when you live in a place where people don't/won't speak English. I was always nervous, always embarrassed that my Russian wasn't anywhere near Marc's, always afraid that something would happen that I couldn't handle because I couldn't understand what was being said to me. So when it came time to move to Austria, I was one determined girl. I WOULD speak German well.

Over time, though, I came to understand that my motivation for wanting to speak German well was a little off. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it well. I wanted to prove that I could learn a language and operate in it without worry. But, of course, Vienna is a very different place than Moscow. Many, many (most?) people here speak a little English, at least. I really could survive and even do well here without going past the level of German that is required for my visa. But as I prayed to put down roots and plant myself in this place, as I fell in love with Austria and Austrians just a little bit more every day, my motivation took a turn. I don't think I have to prove anything to anyone anymore. I want to do well, to really know German, because I desperately want to make relationships with the people around me. I prayed to love this city, to love these people, to see them as God sees them, and because He is so faithful, He answered those prayers quickly. I do love this city. I do love my neighborhood. I do love my new country. And I will speak their heart language.

That takes a lot of pressure off of me and allows me to learn and enjoy the learning. It is a truly fun and wonderful thing to suddenly look at something you haven't understood and understand it. We have sweet team members who speak great German, and they are so kind to look things over and see if we've understood this or that notice or bill. But when they did that yesterday, we had understood what it said correctly. Can you imagine the joy of that?! As we seek to plant our lives here, nothing is more important than learning the language and just daily putting ourselves in the same places again and again in order to make relationships.

And so, I'm looking forward to a language break, but I'm also not looking forward to it. I am excited to grow in my ability to talk to people every day. I'm excited to reach out and make relationships with the people around me in the language of their hearts. And it really, really helps in the grocery store. :) Wherever you are in the world, I pray that your roots are planted deeply in a place you love, and that you are looking forward to seeing some folks you really like tonight, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye