New country. New language. New Year Resolution.

End of January is the right moment to ask: How is it going with your New Year Resolution? Still feeling dedicated? Losing steam? Gave up?

Many of us made very special commitments this time: to learn a new language and/or build a social network from scratch in Germany (or elsewhere). Reasons may differ: a dream job, an exchange programme, a secondment. Perhaps, you’ve been even living in Germany for a while but still speak poor German and have mostly international friends?—?does it sound familiar, Berliners? One day it’s time to immerse into the local culture.

On the verge of 2015, I was facing this challenge. After 4 years in Germany, I was confident enough to speak German with colleagues but the mere idea of using this language beyond the office was painful. Social events? Conferences? Dancing courses? You must be kidding. I would use any opportunity to use English instead of German.

This had to change.

So, my New Year Resolution 2015 was to pull myself out of the shell and finally start speaking German with strangers on literally any topic. Automotive data? No prob. Russian politics? Sure. Ski resorts in Austria? Absolutely. Reading books and watching movies would have been of little help. I had to start attending events to meet new people. But which events? Frankfurt is plain boring!

I was not alone in this opinion. Frankfurt is full of expatriates, and many of them express the same concern: There’s not much going in the city. Frankfurters are reserved which makes it hard to strike up new friendships. Newcomers often arrive for 1–2 years to work in Frankfurt and leave disappointed with few social connections and a bad impression of the city. Have you ever had a similar experience?

The root of all evil here is not Frankfurt although this place is very special. The problem turns out to be more trivial?—?language barrier. Germany deceives foreigners with its educated citizens: Most Germans can speak at least some English, many have a very good command of it. Up to 50% of population of the largest cities has immigration background (I wrote about it here). You can easily survive with zero German skills speaking Italian, Turkish or Russian?—?I’ve been doing it quite successfully for almost 3 years. However, chances are you won’t break the ice making the locals speak English. No rocket science: this holds true everywhere.

I had to overcome my fear and linguistic clumsiness. Piece of cake for a bubbly personality! Apart from the fact that when it came to German, I suddenly turned into an insecure introvert hiding in the corner.

Luckily, I ran across a fantastic interview of Susan Cain, the author of “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” to Marie Forleo. Susan gives a brilliant advice: If you need to network and you hate it, set a quota for yourself. Set a minimum of events you must attend per month. My bar was quite low: 1 occasion per month is a must, 2 would be better.

By mid-April I was making at least 1 event per week, often more.

By the end of the year, if someone asked me, “English or German?”, I would say: “Whichever you prefer”.

In this article I’ll tell you what Frankfurt has to offer to make you feel home and finally start speaking this tough language. Many of the described activities are equally available in other German / European cities. So, don’t shy away if you live in London or Madrid?—?some ideas may be worth checking out!

Clubs and associations

Germany is a country of clubs and associations (“Verein” and “Verband” in German). In 2014 their number hit the 600.000 mark. For example, German Football Union boasts almost 7 million members in a network of more than 25.000 clubs. Dancing Sports Association founded in 1921 accounts for 225.000 members. Even if your hobby is as exotic as glass painting, chances are Germans have already organised a club around it. Provided that most Germans strictly separate work from personal life, clubs and associations are often the only way to make new friends. Unfortunately, I realised it way too late but you know it now.

If you’re not a big fan of sports or handicraft, look into professional or networking clubs. Frankfurt hosts a variety of such organisations like :

• Junior Chamber International, or JCI (local name?—?Wirtschaftsjunioren, WJ for short),
• Rotaract (youth unit of Rotary) including a chapter Rotaract International,
• Lions Club,
• Business Professional Women (BPW)?—?ladies only,
• and Zonta among others.

WJ, for instance, is a network for young professionals?—?entrepreneurs, managers and aspiring managers under 40 years old. Frankfurt Chapter is among the most active in Germany. Each of 8 thematic teams organise workshops, seminars and get-together’s at least once a month. In March, WJ hosted Germany from Outside Forum to explore Germany’s image in the eyes of the world. 9 speakers and around 100 guests discussed German humour, startup scene & innovativeness, education and other topics.

Online platforms

InterNations.org

InterNations?—?a Munich-based company?—?offers an interaction platform for expatriates and locals interested in cross-cultural exchange. In 2015, the year of my quest, InterNations accounted for more than 150.000 members in Germany and more than 100.000 in the UK. The platform is also available in Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Sweden and Denmark.

Free members can attend only big parties organised once or twice per month. Frankfurt hosted 48 official events in 2015?—?even more than Munich (46) and Berlin (45). Paid membership grants access to activities organised by fellow members. In 2015, the most active group was “Badminton” in Munich who ran 90 activities. In total, InterNations members organised almost 5.500 events around the country.

InterNations might offer the easiest way to start socialising in Frankfurt as the primary goal of the network is cross-cultural exchange and new ties. Not only expatriates, Germans too actively engage themselves in InterNations activities. You will have plenty of opportunities to say: “Now, let’s switch to German. I want to practice it a bit”.

Meetup.com

Meetup, unlike InterNations, charges only event organisers. Users gain a free access to details of all activities listed on the platform (most of meetups are free of charge).

You think Frankfurt is all about business, banking and financing? Wrong! Look at Meetup stats (API data): Frankfurt is a tech city. 35% of all groups belong to category “Tech” and only 17%?—?to category “Career & Business”. Surely, the boarders may be blurry. Groups like “Co-Founder Wanted” or “Product Hunters” could easily be tagged “Career & Business”, not “Tech” but such cases are rare.

Meetup platform has 33 group categories to satisfy your taste?—?from politics to crafts, from arts to LGBT. Frankfurt offers absolutely nothing to a newcomer only in 2 categories: “Sci-Fi & Fantasy” and “Paranormal” (maybe for good?). Until recently “Fashion & Beauty” was alien here, too. As an owner of a tiny boutique smirked, “Fashion is dead in Frankfurt”. With 2 new groups in “Fashion & Beauty” we may finally well be on our way to a fashion revolution. Another shameful fact is only 2 meetups with 65 members in “Cars & Motorcycles” category?—?and this is in a city where Kia/Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover and GM have their European headquarters!

Seriously, 327 groups with almost 90.000 registered members are there for you to establish contacts, practice your German or any other language, and collect new experiences and knowledge (data extracted right before New Year). So, stop moaning Frankfurt is a desert from a social point of view!

Despite the fact that “Tech” category attracts substantially more members than anything else, the bitter truth is, it does not mean all these members and meetups are active. For instance, Meetup #1 in “Tech” category “Frankfurt Startup Founder 101” boasts 1.905 members. What started as a chapter of Startup Founder Institute attracting dozens of people (always packed!), quickly morphed into webinars. Not so exiting if you value human contact. Tech Meetup #2 “BigData” with 1.830 members is a commercial event hosted by Dataconomy once or twice a year in various European cities including Frankfurt.

If you’re into data & analysis, have a look at “Frankfurt Predictive Analytics Meetup”?—?these guys meet every two months. Java-Ninjas catch up at “FrankfurtJS?—?JavaScript, HTML5 and NodeJS Meetup”. If you believe that data can change the world, check out “OK Lab” (Open Knowledge Lab)?—?it’s a local unit of the international movement Code For. Urban coders led by Mischa Z?ller and Bogomir Engel engage in open data projects and civic hacking.

For me personally the best experiences happened with

• Frankfurt Fun Hiking Group?—?#1 among across all categories with its 3.400 members
• Design Thinking group led by Dr. Christiane Gerigk and
• Techettes?—?Women in Tech?—?a community of female tech enthusiasts.

Frankfurt Fun Hiking Group gathers hikers at least once a month to explore picturesque hills, valleys, forests and even ruins of historical places. On my first occasion I managed to speak 4 languages in one day with people from Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Spain, etc.?—?the list of participating countries was long. We scouted in the surroundings of Eltville. If you haven’t tried Riesling of Kloster Eberbach winery, yet, you’d better head off for a tasting session asap.

Typically someone would suggest a route and guide the group. So, everything you need is to be on time at the meeting point, wear appropriate shoes and maybe have a snack.

Design Thinking Group aims to spread the knowledge and help develop practical skills in design thinking. The format of events differs: from presentations of success stories to practical workshops in small groups with a coach. The events normally get booked out early, so, hurry up.

Techettes is a community of women working for or interested in tech industry. A group of 6 enthusiastic ladies promotes the idea that the world needs more female coders, software developers, data analysts and other computer science specialists. Techettes don’t stick to any specific format. Today it’s a public viewing, tomorrow?—?a speech on idea management in IT area and next time it might be a workshop on sound synthesis.

Groups & Events on Xing

Xing is a less-known analogue and rival of LinkedIn in German-speaking countries. With a bit of luck it can serve as a great source of information on local activities. For instance, some chapters of university alumni associations and diasporas organise themselves on Xing.

“Frankfurt?—?XING Ambassador Community” is an official local group for Frankfurt. It is often flooded with commercial posts but a careful diver may net out many useful pearls here.

For me the best pick was Webmontag?—?a bimonthly event on social and tech-related topics. If you’re curious to learn more about the projects in tech-related area the locals are working on, come join the community.

Official arrangements

Last but not least: Every year Frankfurt hosts a Newcomers Festival right in the town hall. Exhibition space accommodates booths of language schools, clubs and associations, tax advisors, museums and even churches. Exhibitors also present their offerings on stage?—?otherwise how will you learn there’s an English improv theatre in town? As a nice bonus, attendees get a free copy of a newcomer guide with tips and tricks on surviving in Germany.

Associations, clubs, meetups, groups and events on Xing, municipal festivals?—?all these activities may help you feel more welcome in a stiff and reserved Frankfurt (or Bankfurt as the locals sometimes affectionately call it). Don’t treat this place as a stopover?—?it does have plenty to offer. Even if you don’t speak German fluently yet, pluck up courage, get out of your English-speaking circle?—?you’ll see how many people will be glad to keep up the ball?—?in German. And who knows, perhaps, in 1–2 years’ time you won’t want to leave.

Now, dear reader, what do you do moving to a new place? What kind of activities or societies help you learn a new language? Share you experience in the comment section. 

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