Besides the obvious preparations for an overseas move, I had to come to terms with needing to learn yet another language!
Growing up, I never really appreciated the languages that have become like second nature to me now. English wasn't my first language. I only learned through my older sister and when I was officially in school. The schools that I attended were of "typical American families" and being made fun of for looking and talking "differently" was somewhat discouraging. It made me ashamed of my background and knowing a different language.
In hindsight, I'm glad I was in the position of being "forced" to have learned Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese dialect. Those years of endless Chinese Sunday school in Maryland were a joke. I actually learned the most from spending every summer in Taiwan with family and going to summer school there. Although my reading and writing skills have deteriorated over the years, I still can communicate fluently in those languages.
So now I get an amazing opportunity to add German to my list, I plan on taking an immersion class when we get settled. But in the meantime, this came in the mail today and hopefully it will help me get started with the basics:
