Guten Tag

1. Use one of the greetings you've learned and send a friend a virtual postcard. There are several sites for electronic greeting cards, digitale Grußkarten. At schreibmalwieder.com (http://www.schicknekarte.de/index1.htm), which means "time to write again" there is a variety of cards with categories ranging from cars to love to get-well-soon. Captions on the cards are sometimes German, sometimes English. Blue Mountain (www.bluemountain.com) offers a similar service in English.

Fit bleiben

1. Find your sport on the German Internet. Go to the German search engine WEB.de or any other major search engine and click on "Sport." You'll find links to hundreds of sports and outdoor hobbies in German-speaking countries. Use the page to find out the German words for your favorite activities then click on one of the home pages. You can also click on the sports news of the day. In German.

2. American sports are also popular in Germany. If you are a football fan you will enjoy the home page for American Football in Germany (http://www.amfid.de/). A related site is Chants, Cheers und Pyramides, das deutschsprachige Cheerleader-Magazin (http://www.cheerleading.de/). Click on "Lexikon" and see how the American words are used in German. Both sites in German.



Du vs. Sie

1. Du or Sie? More details about when to use which form can be found on the "Wichtige Umgangsregeln" page of Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, German Academic Exchange Service, (http://www.daad.de/deutschland/de/2.6.3.html). Select "Stil und Etikette" from the pull-down menu and scroll down to "Sie oder Du".

2. In the business world the use of the du or Sie can become a reason for legal action. Have your teacher help you with this short report on the use of du in the workplace. LAG Hamm: Duzen am Arbeitsplatz (http://www.wdr.de/tv/recht/urteile/leitsatz/rl01229.html) This article is in the archives of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk, West German Radio. In German.



Sportvereine

1. The "richtig fit" home page of Der deutsche Sportbund (http://www.richtigfit.de) provides written reports on sports in Germany, nutrition, and fitness tips. In German.

2. Bayer, the international research company (http://www.bayer.de/) sponsors thirty sports clubs. Bayer's sports page (http://www.sport.bayer.com/index.cfm?PAGE=7) has graphics and photos and provides information about the firm's involvement with many sports. In German and English.

3. Soccer is king in Germany. Visit the official home page of the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (http://www.dfb.de/). Contains information about professional soccer including women's league, national, and international competition. In German.

4. The official home page of the FC Schalke 04 professional soccer club (http://www.schalke04.de/) features a picture of the month and an extensive online shop. In German.

5. An extensive gallery of action soccer shots featuring Oliver Kahn, the keeper for Bayern München, can be found on his official home page (http://www.kahn.de/). Click on "Galerie." In German.