Back to school...

Brian and the international school kids went back to class a few weeks ago. Minnesotans headed back after Labor Day, and my nephews are in the classroom now too. But yesterday was back to school for me, at the Volkshochschule. My German class started again for the fall semester.

I did not completely forget the German language over the summer, but it set me back a little. The words were still there, buried under piles of English-language conversations, text messasges, TV shows, bagels and lemonade and barbecues.The German words started to shyly dig themselves out over the last few weeks and peek at the outside world. They were encouraged by my exposure to German-language advertising, awkward chats with the neighbors, muesli and sausages

So it's good to get back to class and let those words breathe free. Even though I'm not excited about getting back to the nominative, dative, and accusative case (which don't exist in English or Spanish), I do like the first day of class. I love to hear the introductions from my classmates, to find out what in the world they are doing in Hannover, in level A2-2 German class on a Tuesday afternoon.

There were 12 of us there yesterday. About half had been in the same class with me last semester and half were new. Here is a recap of the most interesting introductions:

Reza is a doctor from Iran. He's in Hannover for about 15 months to do a neurosurgery internship. Hannover has a famous neurosurgery center.

Olga is from the Ukraine and was a kindergarten teacher there. Her first husband died in an accident. She moved to Hannover with her second husband, who was sick for the last 6 years and she cared for him full-time. He died recently.

Nasser is Iraqi but was borh in Kansas City. She lived there as a child, then moved back to Iraq, where she studied to be a physical education teacher. Now she's married and is here because her husband is studying to be a dentist at a dental school in Hannover.

Janina is a retired physics teacher from Poland who moved to Hannover to live with her daughter and grandchildren.

Imha is from Vietnam. She has lived in Germany for three years and works at an Asian restaurant. Her husband is a barber.

James from Zimbabwe said he he has "no job, no kids, no wife" but is happy here in Germany.

Mohammad is from Afghanistan but lived in Iran before moving to Germany. He works a hotel in town. He has been married for three years but his wife is still in Iran. Eventually he might be able to bring her here.

We all had to say these things about ourselves in our limited German. But when everyone makes mistakes together, it's easier somehow. Those German words have a little more courage to come out and make an appearance, even without the sausages.