I can't give you much advice...but me too.
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I am moving to Germany as an American born and raised. I met my fiance when she was an exchange student my senior year in high school. Two years later we are still going back and forth to see each other whenever we can and we're engaged. our situations are very similar... My German is not at all fluent, I don't know what to do for work, not sure where we'll live... etc.
As for learning the language, I find the best way to learn vocabulary is with a dictionary and flashcards. Read or watch something in German and write down whatever words you can catch and look them up afterwards. Grammar is all about practice. Memorize the rules as well as you can and practice them. Some colleges offer a sort of "German as a second language" course, which is a single semester which supposedly helps greatly.
One thing that we both may need to worry about is the fact that marriage (unlike in the U.S.) does not qualify us for German citizenship without abandoning our American citizenship.
As for your relationship, I think the way I have done it is to let her know that you want to stay emotionally close, and show it by telling her you love and miss her regularly, or other intimate/personal things that you would say normally. A webcam is also better than just the phone, it is extremely nice to be able to see the person in addition to hearing them.
Hope this helped, if not, at least you know you're not alone!Alex Hahn 16 Feb 2009, 08:31 - Report