learning a new language.

german is not an easy language to speak, and i am learning this the most difficult of ways. although i've had an interest in studying german for more than a decade, it is the upcoming trip that has shot me into gear. however, with such a short amount of time to prepare, i am failing so hard at learning anything substantial. i believe fully in immersion, but listening to german phrases (mind you, phrases that normal people don't even say on a regular basis) on tape and cd doesn't really stick in my head, so i've pretty much given up hope, for now (although i'm hoping to finagle room in my schedule this fall to take an introductory german course in the midst of all my graduate school work).

anyway, it's not that i'm worried about not understanding people or being understood; i'm told most germans speak english (well) and i'll have a german speaker at hand should i encounter someone who doesn't, but aside from feeling like that asshole american who doesn't speak the language, i feel like i'm missing part of the cultural experience. unfortunately, not much can be done, although i'm going to give the "learn german by music" cd a fair chance before submitting myself to complete failure. otherwise, my handy german-english dictionary will have to suffice.