Tag Achtundvierzig – Abend (Day Forty-Eight – Evening)

My meeting with my tandem partner this evening was certainly the highlight of my day. His name is Florian Thaller. Born in Munich, he moved to Hannover when he was young and there he grew up. He is studying English at the University of Marburg and is taking part in a five-year program to become an English teacher. Thus was it determined early in the evening that this tandem learning would be helping me learn and helping him perfect. We met in the main market square in Oberstadt and then walked to Sudhaus, a local favourite pub. There we talked, in mixed English and German, sometimes switching off between the two at convenience, about universities, growing up, traveling in Germany and the United States, foreign languages, music, and a multitude of other topics. Since this is the first time he had ever done a tandem programme as well, we decided to just use it as a “hang out every week or so and talk in German and English time.” It certainly worked well this evening. We also discussed maybe going to Frankfurt or Heidelberg (both locations are free to get to via the train thanks to our student ID) some weekend for a day trip. It would be awesome to have a German who is familiar with such places to guide sightseeing! Overall, despite feeling anxious at first about the prospect of meeting and working with a German who I had never met, I think that this is going to be a great opportunity for practise, for learning, for fun, and for making a lasting friendship across borders.