Pete's Log: Wie geht es Dir?
Entry #1511, (Life in General)(posted when I was 29 years old.)
I just left a voice mail on Mamie's Korean cell phone. At the end, the recorded voice told me "Thank you for going" and hung up.
Diana is taking German classes at MSU. She's the only one my siblings who doesn't remember any German.
[18:31] junodog18: guten tag!
[18:31] junodog18: wie geht es Ihnen?
She's asking me how I'm doing. But using the formal you. German classes generally teach this form first, because you can hardly go wrong being more formal than need be. Toytown holds a German-speaking Stammtisch every other week, and a lot of newbies come to practice their German. We tend to confuse them by telling them they can use the Du (informal you) instead of the Sie (formal you).
Recently, a German girl explained to some of us it may be easier for them if we just let them address us formally, so they can get the one form down and save the other form for when they learn it in class. She says when her American boyfriend started learning German, she just went along with using the formal you with him until he knew better, just to avoid confusing him.
I figure I'll give this theory a chance.
[18:34] prijks: sehr gut, danke
[18:34] prijks: und wie geht es Ihnen?
It does feel odd, though, to address my younger sister in the formal manner. And now if she reads this, perhaps I won't have saved her from confusion after all.
Of course, she deserves confusion, after the unwarranted attack she made on ND football in a comment to my last entry. We'll be having words, Diana. Don't you worry.