As with other languages, using my knowledge of German has made understanding languages like Dutch, Danish and even Russian a lot easier in terms of both vocabulary and grammatical know-how. Likewise, pairing German with my understanding of Russian has made understanding brief snippets of Czech and Polish also possible. As quite a handful of my professors here in Copenhagen speak some German, I have also been able to build closer connections with them than if I spoke only English.
In all of these ways, learning German has opened up many possibilities in my life that I enjoy, as I type this out. When I was brought into Frau Omlid's German 3/4 class, I ended up meeting my best friend, who, just slightly over a year ago, invited me for winter break to visit the country his mom and her family have known as home: Denmark. Had I never taken German, I don't think I would have ever considered the possibility of studying abroad or even traveling overseas in the first place. I especially don't think I would've considered Denmark as a place for either of those, much less both. Yet as I remember all of the events that led me to typing this journal out from Copenhagen, Denmark and think back on where and how it all began, one thought comes to mind:
Hä...Frau Omlids Klasse. Was für eine welkommene Überraschung.
(Huh...Frau Omlid's class. What a welcome surprise.)
