"Deutsch sprache, schwere sprache"
-- German Idiom
Damn right!
Its been quite some time now since I had a fascination with the German Culture. Particularly the cities, the language, and of course the the straightforward honesty that comes with having German as the native language.
It starts really with the desire to swing by the country that 
What was supposed to be a curious research to the beautiful country end up making me totally fall in love with everything German. I was lucky enough to be living in Malaysia, meaning I enjoy a visa-free stay in all of Schengen area for up to 90 days consecutively.
Well I definitely can do alot in 3 months! I'm not gonna miss out on the opportunity to enjoy that special luxury given to me by my government!
Of course, before I can create an opportunity to make the big leap and stay there, I'll need to be able to get along with the local culture. I of course need to be sufficiently fluent in German.
Obwohl ich aus Malaysia komme, brauche ich Deutsch zu sprechen.
I can't afford Rosetta Stone, so I choose the next best thing.
The learning game app
Duolingo, designed by Luis von Ahn - a Guatamalan, Is a free app that gamifies the process of learning a new language. One can theoretically get from zero knowledge to B2 fluency if one is consistent enough to finish the whole "language tree", which will take anywhere from 2 week for the insane to about a year for the casual, as long as one does the lesson daily.
It takes about only 5 minutes on average to finish a lesson, and about 4 lesson makes up a module. Finishing the whole "tree" involves completing a set of dozens of modules. And theres is challenge in that these modules "decay" over time and you'd need to constantly take refresher lessons to keep it up to date. Much like actual learning.
As the app understand the learning happens by repetition.
Off to my first lesson I went. Ein Junge, Die Tasche, Entshulhdigung, so on so forth. basic words are easy enough, simple phrases takes practice. But soon as i hit the Conjunction module, Accusatives,Datives, Compound words... My goodness the compound words..
Indeed, Deutsch sprache, schwere sprache. The level of complexities and nuances that exist in the language makes it as beautiful as it is difficult to master. Currently I'm 30% through all the modules and i've noticed that by looking at German sentences, i can kinda guess what it means. Having been told my guess is correct by
It's like a whole new world is presented through a keyhole for me. And until i can find the keys to unlock the door itself, i can only peek through. But its there for me nonetheless!
To be honest, i am very aware that learning of a language is not as simple as a 5 minute game. I will need my whole life to learn and master a language as beautiful and complex as Deutsch. And im glad to do so.
Deutsch Leid (German Song)
I was told that cultural absorption is vital in learning a new language, so i did the best i can and listen to as many German pop songs as I can (I hope it helps).
To be frank I did went from completely-hearing-just-noises to being able to make out 1/10th of the words and phrases of the songs. There's progress then isn't it? I did very much enjoy the songs though. The genres i listen now are mainly restricted to pop and maybe some rap here and there, since they are in the Spotify charts and are the songs i assume to be trending.
So far I've most enjoyed songs by Andreas Bourani, Julia Engelmann, Philip Dittberner, pop-duo Berge and the up-and-coming Wincent Weiss. and of course there is Adil Tawel, what i stereotype as "the German version of Zayn Malik in 10 years time".
I hope my choices are in trend though. German Steemians, do you approve of my selection? Are there any artists i should be listening to that's popular in Germany either now or about to be?
Maybe i can do covers someday! Catching at l4east three birds with one trap in that 1) I can sharpen up my strumming skills. 2) I can practice the German pronunciation by singing. 3) Maybe even submit it for Openmic!!
When i do that I'd need all the criticism i can take! tell me where i can improve. and who knows that'll be the fastest way I can learn German yet.
Its a "whole-life" thing.
Of course the immediate goal is to be sufficiently fluent enough to survive in Germany (and of course be disciplined enough to steem the whole journey! though that's another whole different post for some other time.) And learning languages post-childhood does not only sharpen and opens up the brain neural connections but also sound awesome.
I've met a Steemian during Steemfest (so sorry I cant recall your name at the moment) that can speak at least 6 totally different languages excluding it dialects!! Its freaking awesome and i can only imagine the liberating feeling to be able to travel almost anywhere and not be restricted because of language!!!
I want that!!!
I also have the aspiration to be fluent in many of the world's major language (Portuguese, Spanish, French, Arab, and relearn my Mandarin for a start). It may work, it may not. I dont care, its the journey that matters and i enjoy the process.
Life is all about experiencing new things, and the best way to do it is in learning. Learning new skills, new ideas, learning about stuff I've never known before - and then proceeds to a whole week of rabbit-hole jumping. And i sure as hell will want to experience that given the opportunity, and even make the opportunities myself if i can.
I do realize that I'm very very young (relatively). I can fail for years and still be in my 20's when i finally amount to something. Why restrict myself to my small town and a rigid 9-5 job?
I have the opportunity to change my life. We all have. Steem has created such a disruptive platform that we're talking about potentially changing the way humans interact socially and how societies function in a globalized world where wealth decentralization is possible. What's changing my life when Steem has the capability to empower communities, cities, maybe even nations through empowering it's people. We've already seen Steem making it possible to help orphanages with the Myach/TeamMalaysia's initiative , a whole village with how @titusfrost helped an entire christian church in Myanmar, and even making a change in a whole town with 
I'm very positive and confident that what i am doing now can potentially be a whole life thing.
Und anfange kleiner es, mit mir lernen Deutsch.
Stay Awesome