In the lyrics of the great Oscar Hammerstein:
Getting to know you, getting to know all about you
Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me
Getting to know you, putting it my way
But nicely
You are precisely
My cup of teaGetting to know you
Getting to feel free and easy
When I am with you
Getting to know what to say
In my conversation German class my teacher shared with us 111 questions for getting to know you. They started taking my breath away, right away.
#10 Was fehlt dir zum Glück? What’s missing for your happiness?
#17 Welche Entscheidung in deinem leben würdest du gern ruckgängig machen? Which decision in your life would you like to undo?
Is it German to go so straight to the point (of it all)? I guess this isn’t the first time I’ve asked this question. See page 53 when I quoted Goethe (and Cicero).
„Die Deutschen sind übrigens wunderliche Leute! – Sie machen sich durch ihre tiefen Gedanken und Ideen, die sie überall suchen und überall hineinlegen, das Leben schwerer als billig.“
“By the way, the Germans are strange people! – With their deep thoughts and ideas, which they seek everywhere and put in everywhere, they make life harder than it should be.”
— Goethe
“Memory is the treasury and guardian of everything.”
— Cicero
There’s a Chinese saying, 开门见山, open the door and see the mountain, meaning getting straight to the main point.
I like that about Germans. I really like a lot of things about Germans. I’ve been getting a warm feeling for the country, the people, the history; the art, the music, the science; and the rather intensely thoughtvoll humor:
I’m ready to speak deutsch with you. About what’s missing for our happiness and which life decisions we’d like to undo.
Liebe Grüße❤️,
Fei