The End and the Beginning

Since I am no longer in Germany and starting a new life back in the U.S., I'm starting a new blog called Simply Life. Go check it out right now! Well, only if you want to, there's no pressure. :)

Here is a photo of me on the last day of teaching in front of one of my schools. I miss the students and my colleagues already!

What a whirlwind!

Oh wow....sorry readers! I know it has been forever and a day since I wrote. But I do have a good excuse(s) for my lack of writing. Since my last post this is what has happened: 1.)I taught for a few weeks, 2.) traveled back to the U.S. for my brother's wedding, 3.) came back to Germany after four days, 4.) got engaged! :), 5.) finished my last week of teaching, 6.) welcomed my parents and sister to Germany on my last day of teaching, 7.) traveled around Germany and Austria for almost two weeks with my family and Kenny, 8.) packed up my things, 9.) flew back to the U.S., 10.) applied/applying for jobs, 11.) planning a wedding....

So lots of stuff. And now that I am no longer a Fulbrighter, I will have to make a few changes to this blog, including its purpose. I want to continue blogging, but of course the focus of this blog can't be of my travels in Europe, so I will have to give it some thought and see what I come up with....Be prepared for some changes in my next post!

Keeping Promises

So I kept my promise! I've made the time to write in my blog one week after my last post. But it will have to be kind of quick today....my teaching is keeping me kind of busy. I'm going to school on my day off tomorrow because an 11th grade class I work with is going to skype with a German class at my former high school! Yay! I'm excited! I just hope all the technical stuff works. And then on Tuesday I'm doing a lesson on the presidential election process and Osama bin Laden. I admit I don't know all the details about each topic, so I have to do a bit of research. But one thing I do like about my job is that I sometimes have to research different topics that I don't know much about, so even though it can be time-consuming, I'm learning and becoming more informed! Oh and I hope I don't say Obama instead of Osama on Tuesday. I've been doing it already and it might be a bit embarrassing to get the two mixed up in class.

And I've been busy with looking for jobs for when I return to the U.S. Never a fun process. Then my parents, sister, and Kenny are coming on June 30th to visit! So I've been looking into some stuff for that. I have to admit, right now I'm leaning towards wanting to go home more than wanting to stay here in Germany. I mean Germany...I love it and I really like my friends I have made here and the students....but the old country is calling me. But at the same time I'm kind of afraid of the transition of going back to the U.S. Will I not see people and places in the same way? Possibly....probably. Will the ways I have changed and other people have changed make my relationships different? Maybe....but even though things will probably be different, I don't think it will be a bad thing necessary. At least I hope.

Here are some more photos to make up for the lack of blogging I did last month.

Regensburg (where I studied in 2008): I went to visit a friend there over our Easter break.

On the grounds of an old castle along the Rhein River

I'm back!

Wow....I know I've been away for too long! And I'll tell you a secret, and you may already know this if you look at my blog regularly....the post before this one for April 10th was really posted today. I wrote it on April 10th and had every intention of posting it that day, but for whatever reason I didn't finish it and am just now posting it today.

Once again I've been pretty busy and have not kept up with my blogging duties. In the month of April I only taught for two weeks because we had two weeks of vacation! One of the great perks of teaching in the German school system. During those two weeks the wonderful weather that I spoke about on April 10th was still going. I enjoyed every ounce of sunshine and the beautiful garden/yard of my landlords. On the first week I mostly bummed around Altdorf and a few cities nearby (Bamberg and Regensburg) And then as a nice Easter present Kenny and my friend Kate came to visit from the U.S.! We traveled to quite a few places, including Innsbruck (photo above) and took a hike in the Alps! That was a check off of my check list. We also took a river cruise on the Rhein River and saw Rothenburg, a city that is still encircled by a wall, well the old part of the city anyway. The nice weather held out for the most part while they were here and we had a delightful time! It was Kate's first time in Germany, so I enjoyed showing her where I've lived for the past 8 months....which leads me to my next thought....my countdown till I go home. Now this isn't entirely a countdown that I am completely excited about.

Of course I am feeling a mixture of emotions as I realize that I have a month and half till the end of my grant and about two months till I go home permanently. And only 5 weeks of actually teaching (we have another two week break in June). But as I anticipate my brother's wedding on June 18th (yes, I'm going home for that and coming back...) and search for jobs for when I'm back in the U.S., I can't help but feel a bit excited to see my family and friends on a more regular basis. But I know I will miss Germany, speaking the German language, and my friends, colleagues, and students who I haven't gotten to know here. But I think when June 30th (last day of teaching) and July 12th (the day I go home permanently) roll around I will be mostly ready to go home. But I won't get too emotional just yet, I mean I still have almost two months!

Oh and a quick update of my latest post: Another student did join my literature club! And I did do some more tutoring. Double success! Teaching has been good, just busy. Working at two different schools now that are 40 minutes apart by train can be a bit more time-consuming. I'm learning the ropes at this new school, although I realize that I only have 10 more days of teaching there and it feels like I just began! But it's great to know that I'm impacting more students by teaching at two schools and making (hopefully) even more of a difference. In a week one of my 11th grade English classes might be having a Skype conversation with a German class at my former high school. It should be really cool!

Now I will make one last resolve to write on here more frequently, particularly because I won't be here too much longer. Maybe one post a week...? I think I can handle that :)

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Oh yes and we were in Munich too!

Flowers in the old castle gardens in Rothenburg.

Spring!

"Here comes the sun...dodododo....Here comes the sun...."

I wanted to start this post out with a little bit from The Beatles because I like this song and because spring has arrived! Daffodils, trees and bushes with blooms, yellow, green, blue, purple, red....no more just gray and brown and white. And the sun! We have had sun almost everyday for the past couple of weeks, even if it has been a bit cloudy some days, still the sun has been shining consistently. I just hope it all lasts!

Because it was in the 70s last Sunday, I went to a place/park called Dutzenteich with a friend. We walked around the lake or pond (Teich is pond in German, but it is a bit bigger than a pond for my standards), which is right next to Hitler's former Kongresshalle (which is part of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds). In the old Kongresshalle is a museum about the Nazi Party. Very interesting, but kind of weird when you think about the history and the fact that part of my view of my Sunday walk was a building of the former Nazi Party. Click here for even more information on the Nazi Party Rally Grounds.

These past two weeks I've stayed pretty busy. I've decided that I need to soak up as many opportunities as possible to experience German culture and make my teaching experiences here as worthwhile and productive as possible. I started tutoring a student in English outside of school. I only did it once, but I will probably do it a few more times before I leave. My Literature club has started. I unfortunately only have two students (but maybe three this week!) that are a part of it. But they are students who I already knew, so we are comfortable with each other. And I think the students are learning a lot and enjoying themselves. To be honest, I would rather have a smaller group so that I can really get to know the students and so that they have the opportunity to get to know me and get extra help with their English. I've learned to make the best out of situations that seem failures or not ideal. I have so little time here that I have to make the best out of all situations. And I've been trying to take time to meet new colleagues at my schools and continue to deepen friendships I have already made.

Berlin and 3 more months of Germany

The Fulbright Kommission in Germany is pretty great...for many reasons, but particularly for their recent Berlin Conference that they organized for Fulbrighters from the U.S. and German Fulbrighters going to the U.S. next year. Needless to say, I was at the Berlin Conference this past week. It was a fun and insightful conference. We had multiple speakers, including the mayor of Berlin, and we had different workshops for teaching assistants and workshops for other Fulbrighters. Besides the more academic and professional side, we also had the chance to see some of Berlin and spend time with other Fulbrighters. For me this meant hanging out with the other teaching assistants who live around Nuremberg and who I am friends with, seeing sites in Berlin, and just enjoying the exceptionally nice weather and blue skies! I also felt a wind of motivation to continue to really improve my German and make the most of my teaching experiences at my schools from the workshops and other teaching assistants. This all lead me to realize even more how little time I have left here in Germany. Only 3 more months! Three more months I tell you....wow...craziness, unglaublich (unbelievable) all those words that signify astonishment...that's what I'm feeling right now. So I'm going to try to make the most of these last three months and try to keep my goals for this year as one of the things in the forefront of my mind.

And I know you all have been anticipating #10 on my list....

#10 The logicalness of the German language: Some of my friends here who are American and I often make note of how sensible the German language can be compared to English. We often find ourselves surprised at how logical certain German words and parts of grammar are. For example, the word for glove in German is handschuh, which literally translated into English is "hand shoe." Now does that make sense or does that make sense? For what a glove does, the German name is much more sensible, and I like it.

The tall building in the back was our hotel (park inn).

And the people in the front of the picture are my friends who are also TAs.

Neues Gymnasium (New School)

I will finish my list soon, but right now I want to update you all on my most recent teaching experiences...

Two weeks ago I started teaching at a school in Nuremberg. I teach there 2 days a week, and I continue to teach at my other school for 2 days. Despite its ugly, concrete and graffiti-covered outside walls, the new school contains friendly and enthusiastic colleagues and interested students. I have only been working there for two weeks, and so far I haven't found too many significant differences between this school and the school in Altdorf. One difference, though, is that I have gone to more different classes than in Altdorf, and in many of these classes I have just let the students ask me questions about myself and life in the U.S. Because I have had the opportunity to meet more students and talk with them on a more personal basis, I have encountered more diverse reactions toward the U.S. Unfortunately, some of them have not been quite positive. And I have noticed that the longer I am here in Germany, the more I encounter and hear negative attitudes toward Americans or the U.S. I try not to take negative comments personally, but I have to admit it can be difficult to not get too offensive. I hope to change some people's attitudes by being a positive representative of the U.S. in my new school.

Now on to our latest break...The schools were on break last week, so I took the time to travel a little and relax at home. The weather is finally becoming warmer, and the sun is coming out a bit more! This is definitely helping to decrease my recent depressed feelings and lonliness. I'm just not a fan of winter, especially gray winters. I traveled to Regensburg, Ingolstadt, and Neumarkt. These cities are all within 2 hours of Altdorf. I traveled with a friend of mine, Matt, who is also a teaching assistant from the U.S. We met up with a friend that I studied abroad with in Regensburg in 2008. She is back there studying now. We also met Matt's former host parents in Ingolstadt and went to the Audi museum! Ingolstadt has an Audi factory. I wasn't super interested in going to the museum, but Matt kept saying how cool it was, so I thought "why not?" It turned out to be pretty interesting, even for someone not crazy about cars. Check out Regensburg and Ingolstadt below.

Regensburg. Check it out- We aren't wearing any hats or gloves! Spring is coming!


I like this one!

Now on to #9 of my list.

9. German chocolate: I was going to not put it on the list, but I realized a few weeks ago that I kind of had to. Most German packaged chocolate is not that different tasting than the chocolate in the U.S., at least in my opinion. But what is inside of German chocolate bars is what makes them special to me. They often have more natural or, at least, different ingredients/fillings than the chocolate in the U.S. For example, yogurt, honey, raisins, marzipan, and espresso. I realized that I had to put chocolate on the list because I ate a whole bar of Ritter Sport chocolate, which is not the same size as a candy bar in the U.S. (see below), in one day....yep sometimes it happens to the best of us. This bar has yogurt, nuts, and honey in it.