I wake up to German radio.
I get in the car for my 5 minute commute and listen to Dutch radio. (A softer way to ease into the morning, and they play good music.)
I spend the day surrounded by German in the office (Along with French, Dutch, Spanish, and various forms of English).
I have a meeting in another building so I chat in Polish with the Polish receptionist.
I drive to Polish class listening to French radio.
I sit 1.5 hours deep in Polish that is supplemented by German when my Polish teacher cannot think of an English word.
I drive home listening to Spanish radio.
This is why I live here!
And tonight I pack, because I go on a business trip tomorrow through Saturday night in Spain. I won't be posting again before Sunday. I'll be cavorting with work colleagues from throughout Europe with a sprinking from the Middle East and the US, most of whom I run into only once every six or 12 months if that, or some only via phone, or some never before, so it promises to be a fun time.
3 comments:
It's funny, I feel much less internationally exposed here. In the US, I'd chat with my Chinese, Venezuelan, Brazilian, Spanish, German, Swiss, Italian, Croatian and Austrian colleagues. I'd hang out with my Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian friends, watching Chinese movies with Vietnamese subtitles (they'd explain any major plot points that weren't obvious). And if I went home for the weekend, I'd spend time with my extended Thai family at my mom's restaurant and try to pick up some Spanish from the Guatamalan dishwashers. So I guess mainly what I miss here is the Asian and South American component!
christina: I hear you (and fully agree) on that point. :-(
I agree with both of you. I love the linguistic diversity I have here - every day I speak English with my students, German with my German colleagues, French with my French colleagues and Spanish with my Spanish colleague - but miss the cultural diversity that the US has.
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