Category: multilingualism
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Lost in translation
“The best way to learn a language is to find a girlfriend (or boyfriend)“. I’ve have heard this statement so many times that it makes me tired. I do see where the people saying this are coming from: learning a foreign language is hard, and most people in the English-speaking…
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The irony of German humour
I poured my three-year-old a glass of orange juice and put it in front of him. He: Can I drink that? Me: Yes, it’s for you! He took a sip, then took another bite of it ham sandwich, and then asked again: He: Daddy, can I drink that? Me: Yes,…
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The moment you realise they’re serious
I moved together with my wonderful wife to China in 2017. The first weeks we stayed in a hotel in the university district of Beijing until we sorted out our accommodation. In the neighbourhood there was a small shopping mall with lots of little noodle and snack shops that was…
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Get off your high horse
I moved to China with my wife just after we got married in 2017. Until then, I had always taken great pride in the fact that I learnt the local language in all the places I had been living in before. German I’m fluent in German. That’s easy, because I…
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This blog is not for you
This blog is not for you. It is not for anyone. This blog is just for myself. It is an opportunity for myself to reflect on a life that was defined by a seemingly never-ending odyssey of moves around the world, immersing myself in other cultures, and experiencing the good…
Grammar and Tones 