Today the group spent some time registering with the state and applying for visas, and later on I purchased and activated my very own German Handy. Going through these processes demonstrated two key parts of German culture: first, the Germans' love for paperwork, and their dedication to using much longer words than any poor mortal could ever pronounce.
The registration and visa forms were not so bad because we had a patient German tutor walk us through the process and explain every scary term like "Staatsangehörigkeiten" or "Vertretungskörperschaften". Actually, he did not so much explain the terms as furrow his brow and say, "Maybe you do not need that one." Maybe he did not know their meanings either.
Things got a little more serious this evening when I was trying to "freischalten", or activate my new Pay As You Go phone. I bought the cheapest little thing in the store with a plastic SIM Card. The only step left was online activation, which I was praying would have an English option. No such luck! Instead I was left staring at terms like "einzelverbindungsnachweis" (itemized bill, or course!) and "guthabengrenze" (still undetermined) and wondering just what I was signing up for. After about 45 minutes of trying to be careful, I gave up a little and just started going with my German gut. Aufladebetrag 15 Euros? Sure! Automatische Aufladung? Sounds convenient! But who knows what is really going on in this contract.
In other news, real language class starts tomorrow! Yes!
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Oh, how I love the German language. But my favorite ones seem to be the shortest -- bier und wurst und sauerkraut...actually, anything starting with sauer.
ReplyDeleteGuthabengrenze would be the limit on your account, sounds like a handy thing to have with your Automatische Aufladung to make sure you don't accidentally end up with a crazy bill.
ReplyDeleteI despise paperwork in German, so terrifying.