Traffic or sex? Rooster or urine sample? Humidity or homosexuality? Smoke or smell? Mixing up those words in German led to some very funny, embarrassing stories when I first came to Austria. German sounded like one long mish-mashed word to me and it took me years to become fluent. But not before I embarrassed myself at least 1000 times!

So how did I finally learn German? That moment came when I lost the fear. I swallowed my pride and sometimes spoke German like a small child but spent entire evenings trying to understand and connect with a full table of laughing, talking Austrians. When I spoke I made 10,000 mistakes. It wasn’t easy at first but little by little I began to understand and little by little I was able to join the conversations. So I understand why some people say they are afraid to join our monthly English Stammtisch at the Bierheuriger Eder. Afraid to make too many mistakes or to embarrass themselves. But HAVE NO FEAR, no one at the Stammtisch speaks perfect English. The moment you sit down to a cold glass of beer and begin to speak is the moment you begin to improve. Take the first step and come by for a visit. Bring a friend and if you’re lucky, I’ll tell you the story about the day I told my husband’s little old Austrian grandmother that her doctor wanted her to put a „rooster“ in a small cup (Harn/Hahn). Or the day a friend of mine went to the butcher and asked if he could „smoke“ the meat instead of „smell“ it (riechen/rauchen).

Just show up from 19:00 onwards on Thursday 9.4.2015 at the Bierheuriger Eder, ask where the English Stammtisch is, sit down, order a drink, relax and try out your English. Myself, Marie Motil (Am), and Paul Brady (Uk)  look forward to seeing you there!

Cheers!