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.