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.

Continuation of List

I've been thinking a little bit more about some of the things I like about Germany the past two weeks and here are some of my conclusions:

7. Shops are closed on Sunday: Some of my fellow American TA friends here in Germany would probably disagree with my appreciation of the fact that most stores are closed on Sundays. Most restaurants and bakeries are open, but grocery stores and shops are usually closed, at least here in Bavaria. Growing up Catholic and still a Catholic, I have learned the importance of having a day of rest on Sunday for God. My parents taught me to avoid shopping, working, or running a bunch of errands on Sundays. And even if you don't believe in the value of having a day of rest for God, I still think everyone has to see the value in taking a day to forget about shopping and working, and just relax. I appreciate the slowness and calmness that surrounds Altdorf and Nuremberg on Sundays. For many Germans (again at least in Bavaria) Sunday is a day to spend with family and friends or doing hobbies. It's good to slow down and enjoy the most important parts of life, why not do it on Sunday?

The last three items/points will have to wait...I'm still thinking about them. It's not that I don't like a lot of things about Germany, but I want to pick the most interesting aspects.

In more recent news...it's still cold here, and it's getting difficult for me to bear, but winter is always a drag for me. Here are more photos of Altdorf....I realized I needed to put more photos up.

I'll write more soon with more details about my teaching experiences!

Altdorf's old Rathaus (town hall)

Some restaurants and shops

Reflections

First of all, I've become quite a sucker for reading blogs lately, and this has caused me to be more inspired to write in my own blog more and bring out my personality a little more in my writing, so here it goes...

I've been doing some reflecting about my life as an American here in Germany. Of course, since I live in Germany and work with and teach Germans, I tend to interact with them a lot. So I've become more aware of how they are different from Americans and how they view America and Americans.

Many Germans keep up with American politics, and I have had many Germans talk with me about American politics and ask me questions. They normally have no problem with giving me their opinions about American politicians, etc. Their eagerness to talk about politics often makes me uncomfortable because 1. politics is a topic we Americans often avoid and 2. I, unfortunately, don't keep up with American politics very well nor do I have much interest in it. I am sometimes embarrassed that I don't keep up better with American politics, but I'm even more embarrassed here in Germany because some Germans seem to be more educated on it than myself.

Therefore, I have one resolution for my last five months here, and hopefully I will continue this resolution even after I return home: to read about American current events and politics once a day. And at the same time, try to stay a little more up-to-date with world politics and events.

When Germans ask me about American politics and just current events in general, I want to be able to feel comfortable with talking with them about it and be able to answer their questions and correct them if they have invalid ideas.

Furthermore, from my recent blog reading (here are the two blogs from which I've gotten most of my inspiration and motivation to blog more: Jennifer and Emma) I notice that people make lists on their blogs, and since I have just recently hit the halfway point of my stay here in Germany, I want to make a list of ten things I like about Germany.

1. German bakeries: They are a staple here. I love their fresh breads, rolls, and pastries that haven't been packaged or sitting on a shelf for two weeks.

2. German houses: The houses here vary in some areas, but I really like their tiled roofs, brightly painted facades, windows that don't have screens, and the often present woodwork on the outside of the houses.

3. Kaffepause (coffee break): Germans like their coffee and cake. It is a tradition here to have coffe and some kind of dessert in the late afternoon. Of course this doesn't happen necessarily every day because people work, but people bring in cake to my school all the time, and often I meet friends or colleagues for cake and coffee later in the afternoon on the weekend or after school. Conveniently, I love coffee and sweets, so this tradition is very suitable for my palate.

4. German travel lifestyle: Many Germans walk or ride their bikes to work, when possible. And schoolchildren also walk or ride their bikes when they aren't too far from school. This of course happens in the U.S. also but only in certain areas, and I feel that many Americans are not as fond of this habit, unless they live in a large city. For the Cincinnati area, where I am from, almost everyone has to drive his or her car everywhere. To work, to school, to the grocery store,etc. But here, unless you live in a very rural area, having to take a car to go to all of these places is often not necessary or common. I can walk to the school I teach at in 5 minutes, and I can walk to the grocery store in about 10 minutes. However, in a few weeks I will have to take a train to the new school at which I'll be teaching....sigh.

5. Young German children speaking German: I'm sure if I were German, I wouldn't think that German children speaking in their native language was so cute, but as a foreigner, I think German sounds so much cuter and less harsh when children speak it.

6. German cathedrals and castles: Germany, like the rest of Europe, has a much longer history than the U.S., therefore, there are a lot of historic places and buildings, and Germany does a good job of restoring and renovating their cathedrals and castles.

Okay, I'm out of time....I will continue this list during the next week or two!

Thoughts on Teaching

Through my experiences so far as a teaching assistant, I've learned to improve my flexibility and spontaneity in the workplace. I'll admit, I'm the type of person who likes things planned out in my head beforehand, and I like to have quite a bit of control with my work. But I realized this week when yet again a colleague at my school asked me to do a lesson only an hour or two beforehand, that I've improved on my flexibility and spontaneity. At first, these kind of requests caught me off-guard and kind of stressed me out. But now that I've become more comfortable with teaching, I usually accept these requests without a second thought. For instance, last week a colleague asked me to come into her 7th year class and just let the students ask me questions. Questions about my life in the U.S., about myself, and so on. I've done this before for other teachers, and I know that often the students don't necessarily have questions ready, so there tends to be moments of silence or the students become restless and talkative because nothing is keeping their attention. So I've learned to ask them questions. I ask them about their lives, what they know about the U.S., what they would like to know about the U.S. I've also started to allow students to play games like "Simon Says" or Hangman. The word game usually gets students' attention. And although these games might not be the most challenging or thought-provoking, the students are still hearing and using English. And they are hearing and using it with a native speaker, which is something many of my colleagues find very important. I've learned to just relax and be myself. When I'm not worrying so much about my lessons being well-structured or organized, I think they run more naturally.

Because my schedule is not the same every week, I've also learned to be flexible. Of course doing lessons spontaneously like I explained above is partly being flexible. I've learned to just accept the fact that some days I go to my school to teach without knowing when I'll come home. I've learned to just take my work day by day. Some weeks I teach more lessons than other weeks. Some weeks I'm needed a lot and other weeks I'm not needed very much. I've just learned to accept it. I've learned to let go of my frustrations when a class gets canceled or something goes wrong, resulting in me not being able to do a lesson I had spent hours on preparing. And like probably most teachers, I realize more and more that one's lessons will not always go as planned, and sometimes they may go very badly. It's just how teaching is, and you have to make the best of it and be willing to change your original plans. When we teach, we also learn.

Aside from teaching, this past weekend I went to Vienna (Wien) with another teaching assistant that I know. We were only there a little over 24 hours because we only had Saturday and Sunday to travel and it takes about 6 hours to get to Vienna. But we were blessed with beautiful weather! It was quite a bit warmer than usual, in the high 30's and mid 40's, and the sun came out quite a bit! Germany can be quite overcast and gray this time of year, so my body was ready for some Vitamin D! We saw some great sights like Belvedere Palace and Schönbrunn Palace (pictured below),the St. Stephen's Cathedral, and Vienna's beautiful town hall. Oh and eating apple strudel and coffee at Vienna's Sacher Café. And I enjoyed the long train ride, as much as a person can enjoy a 6-hour ride. We had some good conversations and I had two books to read from time to time.

Welp, let's see if I can keep up with my writing!

December Reflections

I know it's January, but since I haven't written in this blog for over a month and didn't write at

all in December, I'm going to give an brief overview of December...

December was quite a busy month.

Visitor from the U.S.: Kenny (my boyfriend) came to visit for the first week of December. It was wonderful to see him, and we also went to visit my relatives in Austria again. While with my relatives, we went to Salzburg's Christkindlmarkt (Christmas market). We got to see the beautifully decorated city and walk around to the various booths of handmade crafts, Christmas and winter items, and delicious food. Below is a picture of the Christmas market.

Snow/Winter Wonderland: Here in Altdorf we got a lot of snow, and I mean a lot, over the first few weeks of December. We even had a day off of school because of the snow! The snow made life a little more interesting and the town prettier. All together I think we probably got over a foot of snow! I went on two walks through a nearby woods that I normally jog through. I have some pictures below of the snow-covered woods.

Christmas Time in Germany: Christmas is quite similar in Germany as it is in the U.S. Decorations of lights, fir tree scrappings, angels, Santa Clauses (Weihnachtsmann in German), etc. Of course, there are some other traditions found in Germany not found in the U.S., such as Advent calendars, which count down the 24 days before Christmas. I've seen these calendars in the U.S., but they aren't as popular there as they are in Germany.

I also had the chance to go to Nuremberg's Christmas Market, which is the most famous one in Germany. When it wasn't too crowded, I enjoyed walking through the rows of booths and drinking a nice warm cup of Glühwein (hot, spiced wine).

From December 24th through December 26th, I stayed with my Austrian relatives. It was really interesting to experience Christmas in Austria and see their traditions. I also went to Christmas Mass at the Catholic church my grandmother grew up in. My Austrian relatives' Christmas traditions are similar to my family's in the U.S., but the Christkind (who brings the children presents) comes on December 24th, and the children open the presents usually that same day. Of course, I missed my family a little bit during these days, and I was particularly anxious to fly home on the 27th! So yes, I decided to come home to Indiana from December 27th to January 3rd. It was a quick week, but I was able to get really cheap airfare, so I decided it was worth it. And it definitely was! Last week was spent relaxing at my parents' house, visiting friends, eating lots of good food, and visiting Muncie and Ball State University. I was sad to leave, but I'm also glad to be back here in Germany to finish my last six months.

Reflections of the past four months: I've been thinking about my time here so far, and I have to say I'm pretty content here. Of course, I have my frustrating days when I feel like my German is terrible and I feel like an awkward foreigner. But at other times I really think I'm helping the students enjoy their English classes. For example, I had a class of 5th graders singing, swaying, and clapping along to an old childhood song, and I received positive feedback about an activity I did with my two conversation groups. For this activity, I made up various discussion questions and different words that the students had to describe for another person to guess. I printed out these questions and words and cut them into little strips of paper. The students and I took turns picking out the strips of paper from a hat and discussing what was on them. It was a relaxed activity for the students, and it was an opportunity for them to talk about themselves and learn about each other.

I plan to start a book club in February. This will be for older students who are interested in reading short stories from various English-speaking authors. I'm excited to share with the students one of my own interests, and hopefully this club will allow them to enjoy learning the English language.

I promise I will do a better job in the coming weeks with my updating!