# Your first week in Berlin

**Language:** German  
**CEFR Level:** A1  

> Master essential German survival skills by listening to Leon and Clara's conversation about navigating your first week of administrative and daily life in Berlin. It may feel challenging at first, but by the end of this course you will be able to fully understand and participate.

**Setting:** Leon is staying in a Berlin-Neukölln apartment building while helping his daughter settle in, which is the same building where Clara has just rented rooftop space for her new urban beehives. Meeting by the courtyard recycling bins, they strike up a conversation and decide to help each other navigate the chaotic first week of Berlin bureaucracy and supermarket runs.

## Lessons

### 1. Asking where someone lives

Leon and Clara strike up a conversation in the building, discussing whether they live there and Clara's unusual hobby on the roof.

### 2. Explaining how long you are staying

Leon explains to Clara that he is visiting for a week to help his daughter move into a shared apartment before returning to Dortmund.

### 3. Discussing appointments and administrative tasks

Clara and Leon talk about the challenges of visiting the local registration office and decide to practice the formal conversation together.

### 4. Answering questions at official appointments

Clara and Leon roleplay a formal meeting at the registration office, where Leon practices spelling his name and answering questions about paperwork.

### 5. Asking someone to speak slowly

Leon asks Clara to speak more slowly because he is struggling to understand, and they decide to switch back to using the informal "du".

### 6. Talking about grocery shopping

Clara asks Leon about his shopping plans, and Leon explains that he needs to buy coffee and water and return some deposit bottles.

### 7. Inviting someone to join you

After Clara mentions the supermarket's opening hours, Leon invites her to come along so she can show him the way to the bus stop.