Every woman should find a partner who looks at them the way Ben looks at you. Seriously, you two are so sweet together. I hope you get to travel to all the places you want to go. Just be sure to make some content while your there for those of us who can’t currently travel.
@@alexs3447 This couple is so amazing! A woman that is so well aware of her culture of origin while looking at the World with an open minded and intelligent attitude and a man who knows how to value that. That's very rare in this superficial World. Rather take a good look at this couple! Greetings from Western Europe! 🤗
@@kape2469 nice point! but how do you know if their love is deep especially in Western countries where divorces happen like 50% of the time ? This is normal white attractive people who got little thing going on between them, who they call as love. seriously in Germany where I am now (an Indian), divorces are extremely common here. people look extremely good, beautiful eyes, physique etc still get divorced. I sometimes laugh, India poeple don't really care about looks but still be lifelong , even if it depressing for us. what a world we live in..
I once met a couple who were Belgian (her) and Russian (him) -- they spoke French with each other, English at work, and their kid's daycare person spoke Spanish. The kiddo seemed totally comfortable "code switching" -- I was really impressed.
I'm American and my wife is Swiss. We just had our second child. My wife speaks to the kids in Swiss German and Spanish and I speak to the kids in English and Spanish. We plan to teach them French and Standard German when they enter school, and Standard Arabic a bit later. We'll see how it goes!
@@JohnDoe-zo8wj, the OED, the source of the definition I quoted, would disagree. The term may have accrued further meanings, but that is the one I have known for decades. Language does evolve, but there is no need to be pissy about it.
As an American who is learning a foreign language and moving aboard soon, I feel like I relate a lot to Ben, and I'm excited to see more of his experiences learning German and moving to Germany in the future!!
Hey, you should check out the channel easy German. It teaches you German, German customs, German grammar. Everything has subtitles and the videos have transcript.
Ihr seid zwei super sympathisch junge Menschen. Es macht Freude euch zu sehen und zu hören! Ich wünsche euch ein erfülltes Leben, Kraft für das Meistern von Schwierigkeiten und immer genügend Optimismus für Neues.
I like Ben's enthusiasm for living in Germany, but itll be a huge commitment on his part and i feel for him in that respect. All the issues of moving to a foreign country Feli has already overcome, so that will be growing pains that Feli will need to assist Ben with in the future.
My wife and I have good German friends whom we met while vacationing Hawaii. They really enjoy traveling (and especially visiting the US) and both speak English pretty well. What I find fascinating about their language usage is how immersed in English they become when they visit here. She is more comfortable with English than he is; but, when in the US, it’s only English for both of them… even to the point that they “discuss” (read: argue in private) grocery purchases in the supermarket in English while they’re here!
I think it is incredibly kind of both of you to share what I would consider to be rather intimate details of your relationship, but I also would second what Ben says that Feli really does come across as very much herself when she is in front of the camera. If she leaves me the impression that she would be an interesting person to meet one day. I think it says quite a lot that Ben discovered that the Feli that he found on RU-vid was very much the person he went out on a date with. That says a lot about Feli. I think it's wonderful that Ben is not only willing to live in Germany but that he wants to do so, and when you have that kind of multilingual multicultural relationship I believe that you just have to consider that. Wherever you go, don't lose the Kentucky. That's you brother. It would be like Feli losing the München. Carry it with you and your children will always have the best of both.
You both are the story of my parents in the 1970s. He needs total German immersion and quick. Your children will be fluent in both languages and he will be an outsider if he is not fluent before them.
Not a problem, my German wife spoke in German to our daughter from birth. My daughter is now fluent in German and my German is still bad (I work too much to spend time on it). But I get by fine when we are in Germany and I am very happy that my daughter knows the language so that she can speak with her relatives when we visit (and translate for dad).
only if they raise their children in Germany, if they raise them in America it will be difficult to bring them up with fluent German skills while they're immersed in an English speaking country and only one German speaking parent. I grew up in Germany in an immigrant household and quickly lost command of my mother tongue once I started speaking German all the time despite having two foreign parents.
@@edithputhy4948that's on you then. I don't know a single immigrant kid here in Austria who doesn't know their mother tongue. Especially if BOTH parents don't speak German, how do you communicate at home?😂
@@NoctLightCloud I used to be much better as a little child who didn't speak German but I lost it once I joined kindergarten and switched to German only. We do have a language barrier bc my parents don't fully speak German and I don't fully speak our mother tongue so we don't understand each other 100%. Most of the time I speak German or a mix of both languages and my parents speak their native language.
I started learning German about 45 years ago by listening to the Deutsche Welle on shortwave radio. I went over and visited some people and did fairly well. I now watch Tagesschau and ZDF Heute Show via YT.
my wife and I use 3 languages. I'm German, She's Peruvian, so we use English as we both know it well, spanish when i miss an english word but know it in her language and german which she is learning at the moment. in the beginning we only wrote and talked in english. but since she is learning german, it is SO WEIRD to speak german to her. it doesn't sound like my normal german and not like my english to her. it really is hard to suddenly change languages with someone you communicate daily with in another language x.x but that VLOG would be awesome :D
I have friends who speak Swiss German and it doesn't bother me when I'm at their house and hear them talking especially to their children. I took German for 2 years in high school and know a little German. Sometimes I would say to their kids "Was ist das?" Just to see the kids reaction. The first time I said it the kids just laughed. A 24 hour all German would be a great video!
I am Brazilian married to an American. It is some work to mesh both cultures, but so much fun too. I agree we are always missing family and friends, but we make up for it and make sure the time spent together is worth it. Great video Feli!
There is an English version of "99 Luftballons" called "99 Red Balloons" also by Nena. Back in the day when it was a single hit on a 45 rpm record each version was on the opposite side of the record.
When I started watching Feli, she had a heavy German accent when she spoke English. It is interesting she now has an American accent when speaking English. Very lovely couple!
There was a guy I worked with at Walmart who knew just about as much German as I do, which is not very much. But we still had fun speaking German to each other, what little we knew, like numbers and common stuff (and some insults too!)
Absolutely loved this video! I love the fact that both of you are so open to each other's cultures but I especially love the fact that Ben is so open and even excited about moving to your country to learn the language and the culture! I just don't see that very often for many people in my personal life so to be able to see that from other people that are American it's really refreshing and it gets me excited! I lived in Germany for a few years in my childhood I think from ages 2 or 3 until 5 or 6 and then again from Age 9 through almost 13 and Germany has my heart! Most of my happiest childhood memories took place in Germany and one day before I kicked the bucket I'm going back! I just feel like a huge part of me has been missing for the last 34 years and I know it's in Germany! I can tell you this Ben you will not regret it! There is nothing better than living abroad and getting to see life through other people's eyes and other people's cultures! It also gives you a completely different perspective on your own culture and on your own country!It will give you an appreciation for your own country but it also gives you a huge appreciation for other countries! I really cannot wait until you guys travel so I can hear what each of you think! Particularly Ben since hes not lived abroad before. Lol.
You two are so cute together! Love it! And he's such a good sport--it would be awesome to see Ben trying to understand Feli in German for 24 hours! :-)
Such a fun video to watch! You two look so happy together and you're so synched in to each other 🥰 I love that travel is so important to Ben and both of you want to experience different cultures. I've always loved Mark Twain's quote, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness."☺️
From my own experiences of parents who have different mother tongues is that they each speak with their kids in their own mother tongue from when the kids were born and the kids will grow up fluent in both languages. Good luck, guys!
The discussion about what language you think in reminded me of a foreign exchange student who came to my high school years ago. He was from Spain, but was VERY fluent in English. Well, one day he had a total meltdown/panic attack because he had started thinking in English. He was SO worried that he had somehow forgotten Spanish! It took a few of us to talk to him in Spanish before he calmed down and realized that he hadn't forgotten anything!
Feli should speak 100% German so that Ben has 100% German immersion. Ben should also watch German news programs on the internet. I have a friend who is fluent in 13 languages here in the UK. He spends no time consuming English media. Instead he for example learned German by becoming a Bayern Munich supporter, watching German Satellite TV programs and sometimes attending a German Lutheran Church. He learned Polish by joining a Polish club and playing in a Polish folk band. He is married to a Brazilian girl student who liked him because he spoke Portuguese.
I agree. Ben should watch movies in German (maybe with English subtitles, but only if absolutely necessary. Subtitles distract people's attention away from the German spoken dialog & actually block learning since they become a crutch.) or with German subtitles if German audio is not available. Hearing the German dubbed English movies that Ben has already seen with English audio will help also. Knowing the English dialog already will allow the German dialog to slide into his brain easier. With practice he can figure out what the actors are saying when watching German dialog movies (without using subtitles) that are new to him. His brain will start inserting the German meanings connected to each word automatically, and his German passive vocabulary will increase faster and faster until he has no need for translations. Use movies that you can pause so that you can answer his questions without missing the subsequent dialog. With one movie per day his German comprehension will improve rapidly and (relatively) painlessly. He may need to take a formal German course to learn genders, plus accusative, dative, & genitive grammar rules, word order, etc. (Start here: en.easy-deutsch.de/tenses/#:~:text=There%20are%206%20tenses%20in,or%20%22He%20was%20talking.%22 plus the German government website for learning German ). You can help him a lot with the grammar rules, just don't make " Feli " a nasty 4 letter word. There are some things easier taught by someone who is not close to you. German & How to Drive a Car are two of them. I wish both of you the best of everything in your futures.
I so agree - take the time to watch the movie (dubbing of US series in Germany is not so good) in English and then in German. (subtitles : first in English and later in German because reading and hearing are two subjects). In a few years you can watch Tatort (if you desire) or whatever without subtitles. The internet is a great teacher.
Yep. Some people have a great gift with language. My brother was a scholar in ancient history, so knew how to write Cuneiform, knew Arabic, Hebrew, Ugarit, Urdu, Spanish, some French, German, etc.
It is interesting to hear about your switching between languages, Feli. I had this weird thing when I switched between countries (in my case England and Germany) that at times my impression was I could feel the new synapses building up in my brain. When I started studying English at a German university, that became even weirder: 90 minutes of a seminar or lecture in English, then getting out of class and talking German with others, going to the library, doing work in English, asking the librarian for help in German, going to the next class which was in English and then going home, perhaps partying in German again, but there was this friend who had some foreigner staying with them, so we spoke partly in English again ... Having had this for a few years, i think it is the basis for my effortless settling into working as a translator: Working on easier texts, it is almost as if I copy them, just into the other language.
Don't feel too guilty Ben. My wife is Chinese and it took me sooooo long to be able to pronounce her name properly (it's full of sounds not used in English). Then when we got married she went and changed her whole name (not just her Surname) into her adopted English name.
Awesome video.. I am born and raised in Cincinnati but im 36 now and have been here in Middletown, Ohio for about 10 years but its not far, Im like 25 minutes up I75 North lol
This was really heartwarming to watch, best of luck moving forward! :D It's lovely to hear your thoughts on living in different countries. While I'm Canadian, I've never felt particularly close to Canada as a whole, and even from a young age felt much closer to where my nonno is from; Italy. I don't know if I'd ever move to Italy specifically, but I have little doubt that I'll eventually move elsewhere (most likely a European country, I'm done with North America).
What a beautiful couple. I just found your channel and it's interesting watching and learning about Germany. I want to vacation there someday. Love your channel.
*"I married a German girl but had know idea how tough they where. The words "HARD WORK ETHIC" can't even be translated to English! Maybe 'Workaholic' just starts to cover it."*
For everyone being as curious as me which celeb it might be : I’ve googled celebs from Kentucky and the only celeb around their age, that is huge and from a small town in northern Kentucky is josh hutcherson. I didn’t find the others to match on that list :)
Yeah that was my guess too. I wouldn't call Union Kentucky *directly* between Cincinnati and Lexington but it is south of the former and north of the latter.
My Dad's from Ireland and we grew up corresponding with our many, many cousins via letters. This was all pre-internet. But, I consider ourselves very lucky in the sense that we have been able to visit and live in their homes and vice-versa. The world is changing quickly and my Dad is 81 year old, youngest of 11. There were always great stories to be told and we grew up listening to the music, etc. I am grateful for so much ☘️
I would like to see a video of you speaking German to Ben for 24 hours. I’m sure that would be hard for both of you, but it sounds like he’s already picking up on the language quite a bit. 😊 Ich liebe Deutsch und spreche beide Sprachen, also würde ich es wirklich genießen. Ich komme aus den USA.
Here's an interesting topic to cover, Felicia.: Music. For years there's been German songs and/or German words used in songs without some never being totally explained by either side. How about if YOU break down some of these for us? It will take some exhausting research but I believe we will all enjoy hearing the TRUE translation of the word; words and /or meaning of the song given by a German who leaves NOTHING out of her essays about German culture; dialect; or differences. Here are a few to start you with: "Grusse." ( Used in "Don't Bring Me Down."); "99 Lift Balloons"; and "Ich Hasse Dich."
Just a brief comment on this, particularly for Feli... From what I am able to pick up on (I actually watched another Q&A video you did after this one before actually watching this one) you're pretty fortunate that you found Ben. I'm not saying this to stroke his ego, but just that there's a LOT of idiots out there (stereotypical "idiot Americans") who function as though the rest of the world is America's play-thing, everyone needs to bow and scrape and service us, etc. CLEARLY Ben is not like that, and that is soooooo cool. I think you found a good one! :D What Ben said in this video as well as the other one which came after is also something I personally found to be true: Germany is an absolutely beautiful country with so many amazing places, and Germans (no matter their reputation here in the U.S.) are a very lovely people to know and deal with. If you treat them with humility and as fellow human beings, that's how they'll treat you in return. I love love love Germany and can't wait to go back there myself. And I'm also so thrilled for Ben that he's found someone who seems to really complete him and with whom he has the potential to be the person he was truly born to be. Yay for you both!
4:23 It's one of those things where it sounds different; it sounds foreign and different to how I could say it, and I can hear it, but I can't tell what it is. Like, not only do I know I couldn't say it, I can't even tell what it is that's different to how I would say it, but I can hear that it is different. It's kinda frustrating really.
The very best way of learning a foreign language, is to just jump into it and speak it. Without worrying about grammatical errors, wrong pronounciations and also encourage people to correct you when you make mistakes. A truly great way is to geta job in a daycare. Because children are learning their language themselves, your own learning curve will experience a serious boost. Children also has the capacity of correcting you without belittleing you. No hidden agendas or ridiculing you, which often seems to be the goal among adults. (Just think about the first words people usually try to teach you, are vulgar, dirty or to make fun of you.) That is basically non existant among children.
That's one lucky dude. She has amazing eyes, lovely smile and a radiant personality. Any guy able to win her affection must be special. I hope you two are still going strong, I assume you make sure things were stable before introducing him to your followers. I was 27 when I married someone outside my culture (she was 30) - from the Philippines. Life has been a grand adventure with her, now going on 20 years with 3 kids. It amazes me every time I think about that she moved to the other side of the world to be with me, leaving behind a very large family and network of friends. Thankfully, digital technology (Internet) has made it easier for her to stay connected back home.
@@JohnDoe-zo8wj I have watched several of her videos. She seems nice enough although I don’t know her personally, she doesn’t come across as high maintenance to me.
The thing about response is interesting. I´ve had the same when I was working with colleagues from Russia. I understood what they´ve been talking about after a while and - as I wasn´t able to reply in Russian fast - I just answered in English. But I got them off guard and they looked at me in shock. Because, well, they didn´t assume I am understanding them. But honest, I´ve had Russian lessons in school, 25 years ago. ps.: as part of a bilingual couple, I would recommend you to speak both languages at home.
Ever see the war film _The Longest Day_ ? German soldier, hands up, pleading: _Bitte! Bitte!_ Surprised American soldier turns around, shoots him. American soldier: I wonder what "bitte bitte" means?
The Longest Day was heavily fictionalized. Here's something that's entirely true: 84 American soldiers surrendered to the Germans at Malmedy and the Germans murdered all of them on site.
When I came to Germany 30 plus years ago, I lived in the country and NO ONE spoke English. I lived in Germany for ten years and spoke only German. In later years, when I had telephone conversations with family or friends in the US, I found myself describing things that I no longer remembered the English word for. “You know that round thing that you throw into a hoop? Oh yeah, basketball.” Honest. That’s how it was for me. Now I have been living in Sweden for over 23 years. Almost always, when I “forget” a Swedish word, my brain takes me directly to the German word. Almost NEVER to the English word. Explain that.
Happens to most people who learn a 2nd language then a 3rd language. Foreign languages are stored separately in the brain. When a word is unknown the brain defaults to the most recently learned languages before going to the original language. Think of it as one language layered on top of another language. When there is a hole in the top layer you fall through the hole to the next layer. 😃
you guys are awesome and amazing! soooo süß! danke sehr für viele interessante Videos! currently I'm learning German as my 4th language and I really like your channel. nice to see your "sunshine-like" personality. subscribed!
After 7-10 years living in in the USA you start thinking and dreaming in English . Now 29 years later I mix my thoughts in English and Spanish , sometimes I have to think twice if I’m speaking Spanish to someone because it comes natural in English first then Spanish . Great videos and you made me a subscriber ! keep up the great work 👏👏✌️🔥🔥
My cousin met her husband on Match (15yrs ago). They’ve been happily married ever since. There really wasn’t any other dating sites at the time (that did some background check), and people tended to be very weirded out since it was so new and other (probably not so professional) services had sketchy history-> especially worried for my cousin on the first date that she would be safe and he wouldn’t be a psycho.. lol. Well, he wasn’t, and he has made my cousin so very happy after a broken marriage.
For me the most difficult thing about mastering a new language is listening and understanding. The other three are very close but I'd say reading is the easiest, then writing, then speaking.
Love your channel, Feki. My story, Im an American growing up in California, but unfamiliar with Spanish or the Mexican culture til my college years when I learned Spanish and married a lovely Mexican lady who spoke no English at that time. Were now 30 years into an intense linguistic-cultural immersion and going strong. My definition of fluency in when you can argue in your 2nd language and occasionally win. The long road indeed. John, near Manzanillo
Soooo cool! I've known many people who have moved from Europe and speak with almost no accent in English, like Feli. I don't know ANY hillbillies who are as articulate and motivated as Ben. He seems so smart and eager for new experiences and change. I love that! Best to you both!
I agree and it is good to see this eagerness. I was very much like this some time ago. It is very refreshing to see the desire to acclimate to other ways of life 😊
Just stumbled upon your channel. You remind me so much of my own story. I immigrated from Germany 15 year ago to get married to my American wife, who I also met online. We tried speaking German with each other initially (she did learn some in school), but that led to too many misunderstandings and arguments so we abandoned that. But I do speak German exclusively with our children, trying to incorporate at least some German culture/exposure into our daily lives. It's so funny that the "settlement" question pretty much matched your's exactly, but we ended up having kids pretty quickly so now we're sort of stuck with waiting until we're empty nesters. At which point I'd love to live back in Germany part time, maybe 2-4 months each year. I guess we'll see what the future brings. Anyway, good luck to you both! Also, love your content!
Super adorable couple! Ben seems to have an aptitude for language. Since you brought it up about the possibility of kids in the future I'll just share my observations of international couples I've known where the mother-to-be is west European and the dad American that they usually choose to have their babies here in Europe. The European maternity benefits are generally much more generous ; and maybe not so surprisingly most young mothers prefer to have their own mothers nearby for support. What the family chooses to do after the children have passed the infancy stage is more of a blank page. But don't wait too long to make a decision, because the children will soon be at that impressionable age where they mainly begin to identify as being German or American.
I agree that many of us think there is time to travel and whatnot before kids. I understand this desire but now that so many years have passed realize that you should not wait. I have missed opportunities and wish I approached life a little bit differently.
Bitte bitte Feli....sag bitte nicht "Your guyses". It's horrible. The possessive of "you guys" is NOT "your guyses". It sounds terrible. Unlearn that horrid expression.
I ALWAYS pick up on the “anyway(s)” and it sticks out like a sore thumb! There is no (s) at the end of anyway. It is VERY sloppy English to hear someone add an S to the end of anyway 😊
It can be a struggle - US or Germany, Germany or the US. I know. I live it. I am from the US, my wife is from Germany (kind of like you guys). We met in California. I was working; she was there on an extended visa. She was offering German tutoring and I wanted to brush up on my school German before taking a trip to Germany. So, I fell in love with the teacher and we married in California. After a couple of years of back and forth (mostly her) and Green Card drama we discussed my moving to Germany - also, for 'a while', ' a couple of years', 'we could go back and forth,', etc. I was able work/career-wise to make the move and 27 years later we're still in Germany. I'm not one of those who gets languages easily. I work at it even today. BTW, I'm in München and love it.
So happy you two found each other and like t see both of you on these videos. It would be wonderful to watch you two make memories together and so many blessings to you for a wonderful future.
English and German are much more closely related than many realize, which is why Feli has already been speaking perfect English for a while now and Ben has no problem picking up words and expressions even as a total beginner in German.
@@michaelrmurphy2734 actually, both are Germanic at the core and English has been massively influenced by Latin to the point where it's become hybrid while German has been influenced only to the point where it's still mostly Germanic.
@@Fugazinome riiiiight (richtig), "Completely different grammar" 😂😂. That's why older English grammar (Shakespearean to start with and then going further into the past) is pretty much identical to that of Modern Standard German. "There are some German words akin to English words" - virtually 90% of the words in English that are not taken from Latin are akin to their German counterparts. At least read the Wikipedia article on Germanic languages, dude.
Hi I love watching you videos I was so lucky to live and work in Germany in Regensburg so I understand your German perfectly thank you for the videos I watch all the time 🎉
Speak only German to Ben for a day. Deana and Phil have done that and it's fun to watch. Thanks for the snapshot about your start, was interesting to see how you met.
I really loved how articulate you are with your answers! I'm so glad it wasn't a speed round. You are an interesting couple and your chemistry makes the watching really entertaining (I like that you speak with each other and not only with the public, I mean this was a whole conversation, it gives a cozy and comfortable feeling). And please do the 24h german challenge, it's been done plenty of times but the reason it's that it works! Can't wait to see how you do! Good luck for everything!
A bit late but I don't speak anything but Californian English but I worked for Siemens and had a couple of meetings in Germany where all of the European but the meeting was held in English. I was always amazed listening to German Engineers explain things English.
Nice to see that you’re so happy. The cool thing about the US is “boom” you’re now American, but can continue being German too. Welcome, new fellow Yankee.
Learning a language is easier when you're in the country and have a need/desire to speak it. It's hard to overstate how motivating that is. And it's why I think it's silly when Americans express concern about "immigrants coming here and not speaking the language". That might be a thing for very old immigrants, but it's not something that persists past one generation. Because people want to be able to fully interact with each other.
While talking with my wife about youre video, I just remembered something else about different ways in different countries: Some years ago my wife and I were in a Square Dance Club here in Germany. Our club also did gigs at events. On a company event, which had an American theme to it, we did some entertaining, and after us dancing we were invited to the bar for drinks. I asked for a beer and got a bottle of Millers. The barmaid gave me the bottle and went of to the next customer. I looked at my bottle and at her back and finally asked about a bottle opener.... she took the bottle and just opend the cap with her hands.... Well again I learned something new. A German bottle of beer can't be opend that way....
