JN53

What you're doing, BethAnn, sounds good. I remember when I was far enough along in my German learning to read a novel, so I chose Das Wiedergefundene Licht. I started to write down every single vocab word I didn't know but gave up after 20 or so pages and then just read it for the gist. At the end I felt I understood the story and felt I had also improved my German!  To keep on the topic, I'm happy because there's young guy at work that I can actually communicate with in German. We both had fun communicating for a few minutes! (I am actually currently living in the U.S. where there don't seem to be too many German speakers.)

  What I know as Kohlrabi is definitely not the same as a turnip-at least not in my corner of the U.S. Kohlrabi just called kohlrabi. The Steckrüben (rutabaga in US English, but apparently swede in UK English) can be huge. I have made fries (chips) out of them, but I supposed mashed would taste good, too. The 3 different vegetables could go great together roasted, in my opinion.

When I first moved to Thüringen, after the wall came down, people thought at first that I was from the south, which I was-Stuttgart. However, I lived with a family that spoke basic standard German and maybe it was somewhat classy, as Kiplette mentioned. I felt I had a really good grounding in the language and then I could also learn to understand Schwäbisch. I don't know if that got us back onto topic a little or not, but those are some of my experiences.

My German is near-native, so C2 level, although I may have lost a little bit, since I haven't been in Germany for a few years. Years ago I took a few VHS courses, after I had had 3 years of US high school German. I also joined a church, a club and looked for opportunities to speak German when I was in Germany. I also read everything I could-and that I had time for. Currently I keep up on my German by watching the Tagesschau, shows on YouTube and then writing e-mails and messages in German. I also read my German Bible.  As far as the accent, mine is near-native, but for some people I guess that just doesn't happen. We are all wired differently and have had different opportunities to speak German.  I suppose what Robinson said is my advice-get out and have in-depth conversations.  

  When I lived in the west part of Berlin and went to the former east part, I also noticed that people seemed nicer. I experienced this in stores. However, when I traveled again to Thüringen and was at a small-town train station, the person there was so nice in comparison to anywhere in Berlin that I was almost shocked!  I guess I had just gotten so used to Berlin and the "Berliner Schnauze." 

If rude equals being direct, then Germans will be direct when speaking English, unless they are taught some of the culture along with the language. I can't say I was taught much culture in my German classes in high school in the U.S., but in Germany I learned how to use German to be direct and sometimes have had to catch myself being direct here in the U.S. when I speak English.

So, since I had lived in Germany for more than 5 years, if I were to go back to Germany, I could live there for 3 years again and then get a German passport because I could count 5 of those previous years, which would make 8 years total to get citizenship. Is that how Paragraph 12b should be understood?

  How is the past duration of a stay in Germany useful for citizenship? What 12b law? Do you have a link? I'd love to read more on that.

  Do they only paddle pumpkins in the Eifel or do they also paddle other types of squash?

  Well, I can't say that the doctors in Germany are that different from the U.S. (I have not experience in other countries). I can't tell you if South African doctors are better. I was sent to a psychiatrist here in the U.S. for stomach problems. She said I didn't need to be there, but I still had stomach problems after seeing her.  When I was in Germany, I had a doctor visit me at home because I was feeling very sick. He saw that it was messy, with some clothes laying around and dishes in the sink (I had been sick, so what did he expect!) and wanted to send me to a psychiatric clinic. I went there, but they had no room for me, which is good because it would not have helped me anyway. I still have some of the same problems, but it is not "all in my head," as some doctors tend to say.  I didn't leave Germany for a few more years and would still be there, if not for family duties.  Hope your vision gets better quickly! 

  This reminds me of the saying, garbage in, garbage out. I'm not saying creepypasta is garbage, as I have no experience with it, but just thought I'd give my two cents worth.  As for where I stand, I never watched Alien or Terminator and wouldn't want my kids watching either of those movies.