Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Sprechen Sie Dutch?

3 Months into our time here in Germany and I have been very busy with everything.  Sorry for the absence of postings.  Though I have noted that the majority of comments that we receive on our blog come from Dana’s posts, so maybe I should take the hint. 
Nevertheless, I recently have been feeling discouraged about the rate that I am learning German.  (Why can’t I just go to sleep and wake up speaking fluent German?)  Today, I read this blog post from another basketball player who is also playing basketball in Germany, Tony Skinn, (you might remember him as the point guard from George Mason’s Final Four run a few years ago) that has feeling better about where I am at.   Here is an excerpt from his blog: 
“Yes, Ive been able to pick up on a few Dutch words/phrases. Luckily the majority of the people I encounter on the day-to-day basis are able to communicate with me in English! While Id love to learn the language, it has been extremely difficult to pick up on.

Looking back, it was much easier for me to pick up on both French and Italian than it is Dutch, probably because I was forced to take Spanish in College. I used to surprise myself when communicating with the locals in Italy and France, but I dont even try here in Germany.

Try ordering a pepperoni pizza in Dutch? Almost impossible, if you ask me! Lets just say Ive gotten a lot better in using sign language to communicate.”
I would totally agree with him that Dutch and German are difficult languages, though he might be surprised at how well he can communicate if he ever plays for a team in the Netherlands. 
So, if you are keeping score at home, it’s currently:
Tony Skinn 1 (being a better basketball player)
Bryan Foltice 1 (knowing Germany's official language)




4 comments:

Mom said...

Too funny! Do you think Tony doesn't realize that he should be speaking German, not Dutch in Germany? Maybe you should put a comment on his blog about where he lives and plays basketball.

Anonymous said...

Bryan - interesting to learn that you are back in Germany. Hope all is well with you and your family! CU is having a great year so far - 11-1 and #3 in the latest NAIA D2 poll, though the WHAC looks tough this year. Do you ever get a chance to listen to CU's games on the internet? God bless, and give our love to Dana as well!

Andy (and Nancie) Smith

Bryan said...

It's funny that you mention it Mom, I checked the comments of Tony's post and 4 people had already called him out on it.

Bryan said...

Hey Andy, It's great to hear from you! We've been following the Cornerstone basketball team from here, though we haven't caught any games on the Internet this year so far. The Cstone night games are difficult to catch being 6 hours ahead. We usually don't miss too many of your called games on the Internet when tournament time rolls around.