Learning new languages does not make me want to pull my hair out I swear

I am going to be spending my junior year of high school in Germany. Outside of independence, critical thinking, cultural awareness and all those other amazing lessons that come with studying abroad, I will also be thrown headfirst into a language where my conversational skills are akin to those of a kindergartner, and not a very articulate one at that.

 I already have two years of classroom German under my belt, so I am hoping  I will be able to communicate with people enough so that I don't starve or get so insanely lost that I never see my host family again. However, I am still trying to learn a little (or  a lot) more German before I leave  September 9th. I really like German, and I can't wait to become immersed in it, but if I'm being totally honest, I am not the best at learning languages. I have been practicing a good amount in preparation for the next 10 months, and I wanted to share with prospective or current CBYXers (or anyone else who wants to learn German) some of my favorite strategies for "Deutsch learnen"

• Read a favorite book, in German. I have been reading the first Harry Potter book (very slowly), but it has been really good because I have most of the book almost memorized, so I can usually figure out what is happening if I get stuck. It is also really satisfying to know that you are reading something that actual German speakers read, and that you understand it (sort of) 
• Watch Netflix, in German. The audio for all of the Netflix original shows and movies can be German. You can also add English subtitles to help you understand. It is super awesome, and helps strengthen your listening skills, which are very important for school and conversing and pretty much everything. 
• Email your host family, in German. I know that some people don't have their host families yet, but if you do, I would encourage you to email them, at least partly, in German. Most Germans these days are pretty good at English, so they probably aren't having many issues communicating with you, but I offered to converse in German, and so far it has gone really well. I have learned some new German phrases and colloquialisms, as well as lots of vocab. Sometimes doing worksheets or exercises can get boring, and asking questions about your host community is a way more fun way to practice. Even if you barely know any German, your host family will appreciate a sentence or two, even if it reminds them of a toddler :)
• Use Deutsche Welle, in German. Deutsche Welle (http://www.dw.com/en/learn-german/s-2469)  is a really awesome website for learning German created by the German government. There are courses for every level, and most of them include videos, either news stories or German soap operas or something like that, to help you learn vocab and grammar. It uses the European language levels, so I would recommend taking the quick placement test if you want to know where your German skills are. Their Deustch Interaktiv course is the one I have been using. It is really awesome and I would totally recommend it. 
• And of course, Duolingo. I have no idea when you are going to use the sentence "The girl is eating the apple" but Duolingo seems to think it is going to be integral. Who am I to judge. People love it, the bird is cute, and I can use it on my phone, so it is good enough for me. 

That is most of what I have been using. Through all of this, I have also been keeping book of new German words that I hear/read and then look up. (My favorite translation website is dict.cc) It reminds me to keep looking for new vocab, and writing things down really helps me remember stuff. 

Hope this helped!