German Conversation
We meet every Monday afternoon at 2:30 in the Leader's home.
The present group has a pretty good standard of spoken German, without feeling constrained to be accurate. We are lucky in having two native speakers in our group, one from the north and one from the south of German-speaking lands.
Using material found on the internet we are able to discuss such topics as customs and festivals, history, German speaking minorities, food and drink, places to visit and peculiarities of the language itself, indeed any topics members like to contribute.
Recent topics have included getting to know new faces on the political scene and swimming in the Rhine.
We have begun to read a short book : Rosinkawiese by Gudrun Pausewang (1928-2020). This is an account of the author’s childhood in the Sudetenland where her parents settled in the 1920’s. Adopting an alternative lifestyle, they successfully cultivated four hectares of unpromising land, lived off their own produce, built their own house and produced six children. This idyll was destroyed by the Second World War but, growing up in the aftermath, Pausewang the writer developed new ideals for a modern Germany.
Whilst our aim is to speak better German, we also enjoy comparing our personal experiences of German-speaking countries and learning more about our impressive European neighbour. We are lucky to have our native-speakers in the group,but we don’t mind lapsing into English if necessary!
New members welcome.