While I’m pretty terrible at learning languages (a major disadvantage and embarrassment), I still love learning interesting words or phrases or local slang that reveal some gem about a culture. For example, in Ecuador, the Spanish is excellently pronounced and paced, so it’s a great place for people to go to learn Spanish. But, in their slang, they also incorporate many Quechua words when the sound of the word fits the meaning better than the Spanish word. Like, “chuchaqui” (choo-chak-ee)–it means hungover. When you say it out loud, isn’t it so much more apt than “resaca?” I love this.

Back to German: because English is originally Germanic, we have a lot of overlap in vocabulary and some constructions. But there are also German words for which there is no direct English translation. We can explain the meaning of the word, but we don’t have one word that means the same. This brings me to my personal favorite:

Gemütlichkeit. It’s a word you sing a lot during festivals. You hear this maybe every half hour at Oktoberfest. The song goes, “ein prosit, ein prosit, Gemütlichkeit…” and this is repeated again before you then cheers three times. It means, a toast, a toast, this feeling of warmth, camaraderie and acceptance, here at this table in this cozy place–all of us, all together, where we belong. Isn’t that beautiful? Doesn’t it give you warm fuzzies?

It’s a word that I’ve needed for those times when we’ve been outside skiing and we go into a mountain hütte. There’s a fire on, and people are gathered around wood tables. The light is beautiful and the food is delicious and satisfying. Everyone is smiling, and there is no where else in the world you’d rather be.

In German, I think there is a word for this feeling because this very particular feeling and experience is highly valued. It is a priority to share a drink regularly with your friends in a cozy place and to bask in that warmth. At least this seems to be so in the South of Germany where we live. It seems a part of mountain culture here, which extends through Austria and into Northern Italy: Tyrolean. I think many mountain cultures all around the world share this particular value. It was true in Japan though expressed and felt a little differently, and it is true in Colorado. Through this word, I learn a little more about myself. It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I love the mountains. But it’s not just the natural beauty and the activities that draw me there. It’s also the Gemütlichkeit.