Fifty years ago, Germany, take 2

German isn’t an easy language, at least for French-born individuals. After taking a first 6-week course the preceding year, I returned to Tübingen, in southern Germany to perfect my training in the local language, thing I had not paid too much attention the first time around, as I guess, I focused mostly on the fun part and not the academic rigor! 

So, just fifty years ago, I was there again, this time with a group of students that was not even close to the previous one in terms of fun-factor. My fellow students were just serious and kept just their nose on the grindstone. All work, no fun! 

A good thing for me as it served me as a huge springboard for my transition from ski-bum (read ski instructor) into high-powered executive inside the ski industry, at a time when linguistic skills were still largely trumping the best business school degree, at least in that line of work. 

This would be a fantastic door-opener or “break”, whatever you might choose to call it, into my young adult life and this is why I consider (true) foreign language fluency and its power in anyone’s résumé...