Posts Tagged ‘english’

One of the most annoying things of being an Alien in America (most likely being in alien in every other country with a different language, too) is that you have to say just one word and people ask you “Hey, where are you from?”. I know that this is a common problem amongst immigrants, but it really drives me nuts.

I know that my english is pretty good, but my accent sucks a lot. Everytime I form a sentence in my head during a conversation it sounds so good. But when it comes out, it sounds amateurish. If people just would be able to hear how I speak in my mind, I think they would never recognize that I am an Alien in America. But sadly this is no option.

I really wonder how long it will take me to be able to speak some sentences without people wondering where I am from. Since our last visit to the US in May I actually made some tiny little steps in the right direction. I now can order water in the restaurant without being ask “Excuse me, what do you want?” You want to know my little, easy secret? Do not say water with a “t” like british people would do, just say it with a “d”.

Some days ago I told you about Flo and me wanting to try out our new american names Nina and Rian. I did the first day we arrived in California and it worked. Flo tried it on our last day at the airport and besides them spelling Rian with a “y” it worked.

When I complained about the one word thing to my american colleague this week he asked me why I am complaining and not simply be proud of my accent. I guess it is just me trying to lose some of my now still pretty obvious green alien-look to the people in my future hometown.

One of my good friends is in the hospital since yesterday. Her stomach hurt really bad since Thursday, so she decided it would be better to see a doctor. Actually it was better, because she had to go under surgery yesterday. When I visited her in the hospital today and she told me the whole story of her condition, I actually began to wonder what I will do in the future when something like this happens to me!

In Germany I would surely just go and see a doctor or go to the hospital, but in the US I would be pretty unsecure if I had ugly pains. It is pretty scary to think about going to a hospital in a country where you can’t understand any medical language. For sure my english is pretty good and I normally understand nearly everything, but guess what the only TV series is I can’t fully understand – it’s Grey’s Anatomy.

Sure all the doctors in this series are charming and so willing to explain every condition a hundred times, if the patient needs it. But I know from german hospitals that this is fiction. And that reality is cruel. Perhaps I should get some kind of medical dictionary to be prepared for future visits to the hospital, but I don’t think that this would make it less scarier for me.

It’s very likely that my first visit to a hospital in the US will be the birth of our first child one day and in that situation I might be better off with not understanding everything. But till then I will try to hold my unrealistic image of every american hospital being like the Seattle Grace alive and keep on dreaming of a charming Patrick Dempsey giving birth to my first child one day. The time to wake up from this dream will come soon enough.

This is for everyone who is a winner of the DV-2011 and is right now nervously waiting for his or her interview date at the US consualte in Frankfurt. Our date there was nearly exactly one year ago and now Flo and I can laugh about it! I already told you that our interview wasn’t very nice, but hey – it all worked out positive in the end and we now are proud owners of our very own Greencards.

You shouldn’t let yourself get freaked out by that date. The most time of it you will be sitting there and wait anyways! But there are a few things that you can do to prevent the worst. First you should have all certificates, passports and other stuff required with you and more important organized and by hand all the time! Make sure to have the money in cash, to have pictures of yourself and to have copies of everything as well! If you are well prepared you are on the safe side I would say! You should also bring some money, something to drink, something to eat and perhaps a book to read. You are not allowed to bring a mobile phone, a laptop or any other electronic devices with you so make sure to leave those things at home or in your car!

If your english is not very good, you should ask for a person to translate everything to you. This is your right! Even if the consulate staff doesn’t recommend it! If you aren’t very secure with speaking english, you should print out some sentences and learn them. You will be asked after your education, your work situation and your plans for everything regarding the US. Make sure you are able to answer questions about that topics!

As you know I didn’t win the Greencard myself – my husband did. At the consulate I wasn’t treated as a actual winner, but only as the wife of my husband. I wasn’t allowed to speak, if I weren’t addressed specifically be the consulate staff. So if you are not the Greencard winner but “only” a spouse, try to keep yourself low profile. If anyone wants to know anything from you, he’ll ask!

I don’t want to scare anyone away or make you insecure about your interview, but always have in mind: The US doesn’t give away those Greencards for fun! They only want to give them to people who are serious about an emmigration and who will follow their dreams in the near future! So even if that may be the case don’t act insecure about your emmigration at the consulate or even come up with your doubts about the whole thing! Because this will not help you at all!

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask and I’ll try to answer them! You also may check the American Dream winner forum, which actually helped us a lot with our questions!

I wish everyone with an upcoming interview the best of luck, I keep my fingers crossed for you guys and am looking forward to meet you all in the US one day!