Sunday 6 November 2011

Tired of Google Translating? How to find everything you need

When you don’t speak the local language, there are two things you should do upon arriving. First, start learning the language and second, find an English expat group.

Matt and I found a local English expat group on Facebook (keywords: English Stammtisch) and decided to check it out. I was surprised to find that it was not only foreigner travelers/workers but local Germans who wanted to keep up/improve their English. There were approximately 70-80 people overtaking this bar all speaking English which is generally something I have not been seeing. Besides the obvious opportunity to go out and meet new people, these people had great tips and stories. Job wise, a few of them offered to pass my resume along to the HR manager or see if their company had any open positions for me. One of them happens to work for a staffing agency and I have an appointment with her tomorrow.

It was a lot of fun and we discovered a new bar/area of the city and some other bars along the walk.

They are scheduled to meet up once a month at the same bar but often have other random events throughout the month, including: English book swaps, Halloween parties, or just extra mid month meet ups.

If that’s not your seen, Toytown Germany is an English website that offers many resources including job listings on forums. I took a browse through a few of the forums for the Nürnberg area to see what people were asking and offering. There were threads about apartment listings, where to find the best restaurants for a good price, where to find an English speaking hairdresser, etc.

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