This week’s Farmer Focus is Isabelle Jakobi, a band student and will also be a part of German 5 next year.

SNAPSHOTS

The best smell in the world: The smell of marshmallows over a fire.

Favorite thing to do on a summer day: Go swimming or read a book.

Favorite road trip song: “I don’t have a favorite song, I just like to listen to MayDay Parade and Five Seconds of Summer on the way up to whatever.”

Worst sound: “Whenever you run your fingers across the seatbelt and it makes a scratchy noise. I hate that.”

Favorite salty food: French fries.

ZOOMING IN

Q: What is your favorite word in German?

A: “Natürlich, which means naturally.”

Q: When did you begin to learn German?

A: “A little bit before this year, my dad taught a little bit of it to me.”

Q: Do you know any other languages?

A: “No, I don’t.”

Q: Does anyone else in your family speak German?

A: “My dad speaks it, my two uncles, my aunt Sonya, and my oma and opa (grandma and grandpa). Yeah, they all live over there [Germany] right now.”

Q: Do you ever get to visit them in Germany?

A: “Yeah, the last time I was there was between 5th and 6th grade, and I spent six weeks in Germany, over the summer.”

Q: Why do you  like the German language?

A: “I think it’s interesting and different than most other languages. I like Germanic languages more than I like Romance languages, just because people don’t really like to learn them. So it’s kind of fun to know it.”

Q: What instrument do you play?

A: “I play the flute.”

Q: How long have you played?

A: “I’ve played since 6th grade, so four years now.”

Q: What is your favorite part about band?

A: “Getting to know everyone, making new friends, playing music together. And starting off sounding pretty awful, but then coming together and making this beautiful thing that people like to listen.”

Q: How would you describe the “band life”?

A: “It’s tough. During marching season it’s hard work and play at the same time. Then during concert season, it’s kind of like relaxed but focused a little bit more on your musicality.”

Q: What is something interesting about the German language or culture?

A: “Cool thing about the German is it has a bunch of throat noises. Like you have to make a lot of noises with the back of your throat. It’s really weird.”