This post is submitted to Friday Fictioneers.
German class started at 8 a.m. I hated it! The old building seemed an appropriate place to learn this old European guttural language. Even the architecture suggested a dark and troubled time.
It took two years of German classes to receive my degree. It was that or take the equivalent number of hours in mathematics. My instructor for the entire two years was Herr Blumenthal. He stood an unimpressive five foot one, always smoked a pipe, and wore had the same tweed jacket for the entire two years.
My days started with the same words “Guten Morgen Herr James!”
Oh Danny Boy! 
Thank you for this little window into your world.
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Have a peek anytime.
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I’m tending to think it ‘s Herr James who should take the blame for your aversion to his subject. The teacher is usually the key to how a child responds, I believe.
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You must hate mathematics more than German. But what do Germans have to say?
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Guten morgen, Danny! I took two semesters of German. Not an easy language to learn and sadly, besides counting to ten, singing part of a drinking song and asking what time it is and if you’ve heard the birds… the rest is gone.
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All those and for some strange reason I remember “bring me the newspaper in German :”Bring mir die Zeitung.” 🙂
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Crazy how the memory works.
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Your story read so true that it must be personal? I agree that German isn’t a pretty language.
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I got on better with German than French, though better either than the equivalent number of hours of maths!
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Doesn’t sound like it was a pleasant time.
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Guten Morgan indeed. Great story!
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Not a fond memory.
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No, don’t expect it is. I’ve had a few teachers like that… one art teach in particular who literally destroyed my artwork right in front of a prospective buyer… a very detailed scaled model of a home I built in high school… the company bought the blueprints anyway and that really helped with my college plans. The teacher… was fired on the spot.
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Wow!
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Now I understand why so many of our visitors here in Berlin do only speak English.
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My lack of German has not stopped me from visiting your country twice.
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And did you pronounce his name as Herr Yahmes, with the last syllable rhyming with “yes”? I enjoyed my years of learning German, but certainly understand that it’s not for everyone.
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About the only thing I remember is how to say hello, goodby, and bring me the newspaper. 🙂
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Ha! Wie gehts, auf wiedersehen, and I don’t remember the word for newspaper 🙂
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derZeitung
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Yes, that’s it 🙂
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Same jacket for 2 years! 🙂
Glad the protagonist earned the degree!
Nice And New- Anita
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I did escape!
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Perhaps, you might want to check the spelling in “Guten Morgan” (Guten Morgen).
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Corrected. Thanks for the catch. Perhaps explains why I did not do very well in German. 🙂
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Indeed it does 🙂 I am glad you are not mad.
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(Un)fond memories of learning foreign language at school – probably as I was never any good at it!
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Same here.
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