Somewhat belated, but just for the sake of keeping this as a record of my year abroad, I should really recount the tale of my not quite as planned journey home...
I don't recommend that you actually read it - it's long (almost 1000 words!), waffley, and not that exciting!
It all began on the train shortly before Cologne. Having secured a lift to the station from my landlord, I was on the train and set to arrive at the airport with plenty of time before check-in was even due to open. Just as well really, 'cause public transport wasn't on my side! What began as a short stop at a signal just before Deutz (due to a broken down train), turned into a 111 minute delay as first one, and then 3 football fans decided that walking along the track between Deutz and the Hauptbahnhof would be a good idea - idiots. I can't even explain how frustrating it is to be sat on a train not going anywhere for the best part of 2 hours, especially when you have a plane to catch.
Needless to say as we weren't even half way to the airport yet, it was looking more and more inevitable that I was going to miss my flight - not something that aids feeling calm! We did eventually move again, but were then told that this train was going to terminate at Dormagen due to the enormity of the delay, so we were all to get off and wait for the next train following around 20 minutes behind. Not amused.
By this point I had pretty much given up all hope of making my flight and was resigned to spending a night in Düsseldorf airport. That was until this next train announced that we were going to skip all local stops between Nuess and Duesseldorf Hbf. Suddenly once more there was a slim slim chance that I could make this flight after all (I am very thankful for check-in only closing 40 minutes before a flight!).
I arrived at the airport around 3 hours later than planned, and after ,dodging an ambulance and fire engine raced to the check-in desk with only 5-10 minutes to spare... only to be told something along the lines of 'well we don't know where the plane is, so I suggest you wait a bit longer before you check-in". Great.
I was eventually allowed to check-in, passed through (the most rigorous European) security and found some other assistants / Erasmus students also attempting to fly home. Delays and cancellations are so much easier to cope with when you have company :) We waited for a long time at the gate before our flight changed to saying "boarding". If only. Turns out the incoming flight had unaccompanied minors and a wheelchair user on board, all of whom needed assistance to get off the plane, only this assistance didn't turn up for ages - add in another hour's delay to our flight.
Eventually just over 2 hours after our flight was meant to leave, we were allowed to get the bus to the plane. However, the faces of the cabin crew on board didn't fill us with confidence that the flight was actually going to go. We already knew that the airport had technically closed but had been extended to 23:30 for us and the Manchester flight, but now there was freezing rain to contend with too, and unless it decided to stop in the next 20 minutes, we weren't going anywhere. And that is exactly what happened. At half past 11, they declared the flight cancelled and we were all bussed back to the airport to pass through passport control and re-collect our baggage.
We were told that they would run a flight for us in the morning and that they would pay for us to be checked into the (really quite nice!) hotel just on the airport site for the night. If only we had a little more than about 5 hours to appreciate the niceness of this hotel, but a free breakfast had to be got up for, before returning back to the airport in the hope of getting a flight.
45 minutes earlier than they told us to arrive we joined an already existing queue, at which point a reporter from N24 (the German version of BBC News 24) asked if he could ask some of us a few quick questions. Not gonna deny that I left that one to other people in our little group ... sleep deprivation and stress is not something I've found helps my German! When we eventually got to the front of the queue we were just told that they didn't know any more information yet and that we'd just have to wait. So much for a flight being put on for us. Eventually, after everyone on that morning's flight had been checked in, our names slowly started to trickle through onto their system, meaning we had been transferred onto that flight. Definitely nervous moments though to keep showing your passport only to be told your name wasn't there yet.
Anyway, luck decided to be on our side this time around, and everyone from our evening flight was successfully transferred onto the morning one, and after only a (comparatively) short delay we were allowed to board. This time around we actually had the safety talks and were even taxied out to be de-iced (a 15 minute process or so where the plane is sprayed with lots of pink stuff...) No sighs of relief were breathed until we actually took off though, but after quite a bumpy / wobbly landing, touching down on British soil was a good moment.
A mere 15 hours later than planned I safely arrived back in England (for the first time in 107 days / 15+ weeks!) in time for Christmas. Christmas eve out with friends, and Christmas day with the family - perfect :)
But for now, 'Frohe Weihnachten und ein gutes neues Jahr' to all.
Monday, 27 December 2010
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Frohe Weihnachten!
So, 105 days since I arrived it is now 'nur noch 1 mal schlafen'* until I finally go home for the first time since early September - hopefully. I would feel a lot happier if there wasn't so much snow, and if all the news headlines weren't about cancelled / delayed flights etc. However, many flights are still leaving, so all being well I should be flying back to the UK tomorrow night - how exciting!!
This last week I had two separate visitors, which was all very lovely :) and involved many a trip to the Christmas markets in the snow. However, in these 7 days I also ... made 4 trips to Cologne airport ... caught 24 trains ... around 10 buses ... and got stranded at Koeln Hbf for 2 hours because of a snow storm.
Said snow doesn't seem keen to go away. In the last week there have been more days with fresh snowfall, than those without, and consequently we now have about a foot of the stuff. Pretty? Yes. Practical? No.
This morning my first two lessons were cancelled yet again, only this time it wasn't just my class. For some (still unknown to me) reason, Klasse 5 & 6 were given the first 2 lessons off, only some of them didn't even know that (namely the class meant to be going swimming) and nor did half the staff. Cue many annoyed people. I was also caught out again later when asked to give a spontaneous talk to Klasse 5 about Christmas in England... not too difficult at face value, until after saying only about 2 sentences and being greeted with the blankest of blank faces, I realised there was no way in hell that these kids were going to understand me if I carried on in English. Time to whip out some dodgy German and attempt to explain mince pies / Christmas pudding / crackers etc.
Anyway, my suitcase sadly won't pack itself so I'd better go give it some help. As for tomorrow - Daumen drücken / fingers crossed!
* one more sleep
(Dienstag 21. Dezember 2010)
This last week I had two separate visitors, which was all very lovely :) and involved many a trip to the Christmas markets in the snow. However, in these 7 days I also ... made 4 trips to Cologne airport ... caught 24 trains ... around 10 buses ... and got stranded at Koeln Hbf for 2 hours because of a snow storm.
 |
| Schneesturm |
Said snow doesn't seem keen to go away. In the last week there have been more days with fresh snowfall, than those without, and consequently we now have about a foot of the stuff. Pretty? Yes. Practical? No.
 |
| Unecessary amounts of snow |
This morning my first two lessons were cancelled yet again, only this time it wasn't just my class. For some (still unknown to me) reason, Klasse 5 & 6 were given the first 2 lessons off, only some of them didn't even know that (namely the class meant to be going swimming) and nor did half the staff. Cue many annoyed people. I was also caught out again later when asked to give a spontaneous talk to Klasse 5 about Christmas in England... not too difficult at face value, until after saying only about 2 sentences and being greeted with the blankest of blank faces, I realised there was no way in hell that these kids were going to understand me if I carried on in English. Time to whip out some dodgy German and attempt to explain mince pies / Christmas pudding / crackers etc.
Anyway, my suitcase sadly won't pack itself so I'd better go give it some help. As for tomorrow - Daumen drücken / fingers crossed!
* one more sleep
(Dienstag 21. Dezember 2010)
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Ice age: the melt down
I genuinely didn't think Bergisch Gladbach was going to be snow-free again this side of Christmas, but lo and behold miracles happen and the temperatures actually rose above zero (even up to a mighty 6°C one day - positively tropical!) and green grass and trees can now be seen again :) One problem with this "Tauwetter"* though, was not only having to duck under tree branches keen to deposit a load of snow on your head, but also getting a fright every time some snow fell off the main roof of my landlord's house and landed with a bang onto the patio roof. Yes, I jumped every time. Sadly tomorrow looks set to return to toasty sub zero highs, but at least Friday's ice slide of death down to school has been melted away.
This week sees the end of my current timetable as my last couple of days the week after are apparently going to be spent visiting as many of the younger classes as possible, in order to share the good news of Christmas with them... That or to become a broken record stuck on repeat, track number: Christmas in the UK (dinner / cake / pudding / crackers / stockings etc etc.).
The other bit of riveting news from life in Bergisch, is that my bus to town now runs on a Sunday! Ignoring the fact that all the shops are still closed so you'd only be using it to get to the bus/train station, could this be Germany starting to join the 21st century?!
On an even more exciting note, this week also means visitor time! :) With 2 separate visitors, many a festive lesson, and only 10 days until I fly home for Christmas, (goodbye sleep), the big day itself will be here quicker than you can say 'Frohe Weihnacht'*! (NB. prayers / offerings / sacrifices to any weather gods you may know, in return for no snow will be very welcome - I refuse to spend Christmas in an airport!)
* Tauwetter = thawing
Frohe Weihnacht = Merry Christmas
(Sonntag 12. Dezember 2010)
The height of the snow as the Tauwetter began.
This week sees the end of my current timetable as my last couple of days the week after are apparently going to be spent visiting as many of the younger classes as possible, in order to share the good news of Christmas with them... That or to become a broken record stuck on repeat, track number: Christmas in the UK (dinner / cake / pudding / crackers / stockings etc etc.).
The other bit of riveting news from life in Bergisch, is that my bus to town now runs on a Sunday! Ignoring the fact that all the shops are still closed so you'd only be using it to get to the bus/train station, could this be Germany starting to join the 21st century?!
On an even more exciting note, this week also means visitor time! :) With 2 separate visitors, many a festive lesson, and only 10 days until I fly home for Christmas, (goodbye sleep), the big day itself will be here quicker than you can say 'Frohe Weihnacht'*! (NB. prayers / offerings / sacrifices to any weather gods you may know, in return for no snow will be very welcome - I refuse to spend Christmas in an airport!)
* Tauwetter = thawing
Frohe Weihnacht = Merry Christmas
(Sonntag 12. Dezember 2010)
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
If I ruled the world...
...well maybe not the world, but if I ever were to become a German teacher, there are two things I would do:
1. Import 'Nikolaustag' to the UK - you can't go wrong giving out chocolates to help brighten a wintery 6th December.
2. Have the courtesy to tell any language assistants if i'm not going to be in school, so that their time is not wasted turning up for a non-existent lesson.
1. Import 'Nikolaustag' to the UK - you can't go wrong giving out chocolates to help brighten a wintery 6th December.
2. Have the courtesy to tell any language assistants if i'm not going to be in school, so that their time is not wasted turning up for a non-existent lesson.
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Weihnachtsmärkte, Glühwein, Kälte und Schnee
After being impressed at working all my hours on Tuesday, Wednesday turned into a complete day off! Shame I can't find these things out before I arrive at school, it gets somewhat frustrating. However, note to self - don't complain about lessons unexpectedly being cancelled, you never know when karma will come around! >> On Thursday I was given the grand total of about 60 seconds notice that I had to take my Klasse 6's Förderunterricht* alone as their teacher was stuck on a train in the snow somewhere... As two other teachers looked at me and informed me that apparently I was the only one who knew what this class was meant to do (news to me!), I was suddenly very glad to be carrying around a list of 'no-prep-required' speaking games!
Aside from teaching, this week has involved many trips to various Christmas markets and naturally lots of Glühwein* to go with! Leverkusen was by far the coldest, but after taste testing there (and at Begisch Gladbach and Cologne!) I can safely say that my new favourite Christmas market food is definitely Reibekuchen*. I hadn't realised just how busy the Christmas markets in Köln are on a Saturday, but Glühwein in the snow and a catch-up with other assistants / Leeds people, makes for a good evening :) Also a walk back from the train station in the early hours through fresh snow proved to actually be quite fun.
As for the weather this week? Freeezing. I can confirm that -10°C is not very warm, at all, and that it can still snow at -7° even though it's below freezing. Thankfully it's warmed up a lot over the weekend, (although it is a little worrying that 0° now makes me think 'ooh how warm'!) and the arctic temperatures have turned into fresh snow, and inches of the stuff at that. A sehr schön* walk through the forests, and perfect for snowman building, even if my landlord did look somewhat amused when he discovered said snowman!
And that all still leaves time for a trip to the Märchenweihnachtsmarkt* at Rudolphplatz* tomorrow :)
* Förderunterricht = remedial class
Reibekuchen = potato waffles
Glühwein = mulled wine
sehr schön = very pretty
Märchenweihnachtsmarkt= fairytale Christmas market
Rudolphplatz = Rudolph Square
(Sonntag 5. Dezember 2010)
Aside from teaching, this week has involved many trips to various Christmas markets and naturally lots of Glühwein* to go with! Leverkusen was by far the coldest, but after taste testing there (and at Begisch Gladbach and Cologne!) I can safely say that my new favourite Christmas market food is definitely Reibekuchen*. I hadn't realised just how busy the Christmas markets in Köln are on a Saturday, but Glühwein in the snow and a catch-up with other assistants / Leeds people, makes for a good evening :) Also a walk back from the train station in the early hours through fresh snow proved to actually be quite fun.
As for the weather this week? Freeezing. I can confirm that -10°C is not very warm, at all, and that it can still snow at -7° even though it's below freezing. Thankfully it's warmed up a lot over the weekend, (although it is a little worrying that 0° now makes me think 'ooh how warm'!) and the arctic temperatures have turned into fresh snow, and inches of the stuff at that. A sehr schön* walk through the forests, and perfect for snowman building, even if my landlord did look somewhat amused when he discovered said snowman!
And that all still leaves time for a trip to the Märchenweihnachtsmarkt* at Rudolphplatz* tomorrow :)
* Förderunterricht = remedial class
Reibekuchen = potato waffles
Glühwein = mulled wine
sehr schön = very pretty
Märchenweihnachtsmarkt= fairytale Christmas market
Rudolphplatz = Rudolph Square
(Sonntag 5. Dezember 2010)
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Advent
Today I worked all 4 timetabled lessons - miracle! This involved:
> A double lesson with Klasse 6, sweet and funny as they are, I never want to hear this mistake again: "she didn't ate" ... "we didn't went" ... "he didn't sold" ... and so on!
> Half of Klasse 5's lesson turning into a talk about being more accepting towards one of the lads who was currently in the 'Trainingsraum' crying after more or less being bullied.
> Klasse 8's teacher bringing in a set of advent candles.
Aside from that, yesterday's snow is really pretty, and being in Germany means that life carries on as normal - no hope for a snow day here! However, purchasing some wellies might be a wise idea...
Tomorrow is a "lie in" day normally, but it's been extended by another 2 hours, seeing as for once I have actually found out about Klasse 10's double lesson being cancelled (again) before arriving at school unecessarily. Result. This means tomorrow I am working a grand total of 45 minutes. The rest of the day may well be spent hiding under my duvet away from the cold!
Advent calendars at the ready?
> A double lesson with Klasse 6, sweet and funny as they are, I never want to hear this mistake again: "she didn't ate" ... "we didn't went" ... "he didn't sold" ... and so on!
> Half of Klasse 5's lesson turning into a talk about being more accepting towards one of the lads who was currently in the 'Trainingsraum' crying after more or less being bullied.
> Klasse 8's teacher bringing in a set of advent candles.
Aside from that, yesterday's snow is really pretty, and being in Germany means that life carries on as normal - no hope for a snow day here! However, purchasing some wellies might be a wise idea...
Tomorrow is a "lie in" day normally, but it's been extended by another 2 hours, seeing as for once I have actually found out about Klasse 10's double lesson being cancelled (again) before arriving at school unecessarily. Result. This means tomorrow I am working a grand total of 45 minutes. The rest of the day may well be spent hiding under my duvet away from the cold!
Advent calendars at the ready?
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Winter
There's no denying winter is definitely here now - we've had the first dusting of snow, with maximum temperatures of around -5° predicted for mid next week; all the Christmas markets are open with their very festive atmosphere; and by Monday it is law for all cars to have their winter tyres fitted. Jack Frost is on his way.
In other news of the season, I am really quite tempted to write to the Christkind. Apparently whoever does so, not only gets a letter back by Christmas eve, but also gets a little toy included in the reply! The little kid in me is calling out...
Also, word of the week: wichteln = to do a secret Santa
In other news of the season, I am really quite tempted to write to the Christkind. Apparently whoever does so, not only gets a letter back by Christmas eve, but also gets a little toy included in the reply! The little kid in me is calling out...
Also, word of the week: wichteln = to do a secret Santa
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
A visitor, coincidences, and winter cold
As I said last week went well - lessons went without mishap, I was finally being given more to do, and even located the photocopier, not to mention watching Harry Potter. However, winner of the most entertaining moment of the week has to go to Klasse 10 and their teacher. Their lesson was to have a debate about how to cope with teenage pregnancy, so everyone had been given a different role in society to play. After 3 of them had introduced themselves as two girls pregnant by the same guy, their teacher turned to me and said "Let's hope it wasn't a threesome!" Not the words I had expected to hear from her mouth!
Anyway, this weekend Claire came to visit :) and it proved to be a weekend of coincidences. Firstly when at the airport waiting to pick her up I bumped into Marina, and then when on the train we bumped into Ally, another assistant, also headed for Bonn - talk about chance! Anyway, after a trip to the chocolate museum, the Haribo outlet shop, and Bonn's Christmas market, I can safely say that I am more than excited for the next 4 weeks of Christmas and Glühwein not to mention flying home for the holidays, and the actual day itself!
As far as today goes, I discovered that a) Klasse 8's lesson which I had actually had to do planning for was cancelled, and b) that the prep I had done in readiness for tomorrow's Klasse 10 isn't needed until next week. Another half 9 finish for me then. However, on the plus side, my landlord has just popped round (again) with another piece of cake for me - I'm convinced he is trying to fatten me up!
However, I have to say that I find Saturday's weather forecast a little alarming...
Needless to say I won't be complaining if they've got the forecast wrong!
* gefühlt wie = feels like
Glühwein = mulled wine
(Tuesday 23. November 2010)
Anyway, this weekend Claire came to visit :) and it proved to be a weekend of coincidences. Firstly when at the airport waiting to pick her up I bumped into Marina, and then when on the train we bumped into Ally, another assistant, also headed for Bonn - talk about chance! Anyway, after a trip to the chocolate museum, the Haribo outlet shop, and Bonn's Christmas market, I can safely say that I am more than excited for the next 4 weeks of Christmas and Glühwein not to mention flying home for the holidays, and the actual day itself!
As far as today goes, I discovered that a) Klasse 8's lesson which I had actually had to do planning for was cancelled, and b) that the prep I had done in readiness for tomorrow's Klasse 10 isn't needed until next week. Another half 9 finish for me then. However, on the plus side, my landlord has just popped round (again) with another piece of cake for me - I'm convinced he is trying to fatten me up!
However, I have to say that I find Saturday's weather forecast a little alarming...
Temperatur °C : 0° -4°
(gefühlt wie)* : -3° -8°
Needless to say I won't be complaining if they've got the forecast wrong!
* gefühlt wie = feels like
Glühwein = mulled wine
(Tuesday 23. November 2010)
Friday, 19 November 2010
Ich wünsche euch ein schönes Wochnende
It's just gone eleven (in the morning), and my weekend started over an hour and a half ago. Every week finishing at 9.25 still manages to come as a bit of a shock to me - it's just not healthy! Not that I am complaining you must understand.
Today needs to be noted in my diary.... This morning I nearly got knocked over by a cyclist. That in itself is nothing new, the news-worthy part of the tale is that said cyclist actually apologised! Given the whole affair was entirely her fault, in England I would expect nothing less than an apology. Here, however, to have the angry ringing of the bell and deathly stare replaced with an "Entschuldigung" was a nigh-on miracle!
I'm sure I'll waffle on about life this week at some other point, but for now let's just say it's been a good one. Terror alert aside, I can safely say I have really enjoyed my week and am muchly looking forward to having a visitor this weekend :)
Also, paw prints please: http://www.petitiononline.com/BCLA2010/petition.html as at the moment this scheme won't be going ahead again next year. You don't need to be a student / language assistant to sign it.
Today needs to be noted in my diary.... This morning I nearly got knocked over by a cyclist. That in itself is nothing new, the news-worthy part of the tale is that said cyclist actually apologised! Given the whole affair was entirely her fault, in England I would expect nothing less than an apology. Here, however, to have the angry ringing of the bell and deathly stare replaced with an "Entschuldigung" was a nigh-on miracle!
I'm sure I'll waffle on about life this week at some other point, but for now let's just say it's been a good one. Terror alert aside, I can safely say I have really enjoyed my week and am muchly looking forward to having a visitor this weekend :)
Also, paw prints please: http://www.petitiononline.com/BCLA2010/petition.html as at the moment this scheme won't be going ahead again next year. You don't need to be a student / language assistant to sign it.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
What else to do but chuckle?
Prince William announced his engagement today. Naturally it's all over the British media with David Cameron even calling it "a great day for our country". So on bumping into my landlord I attempted to make small-talk about it. The conversation (auf Deutsch) went along the lines of:
Me: "The big news in England today is that Prince William is engaged"
I dutifully put him right only to be asked "So is this a big thing then?" ..."Yes" ... "Oh, that I will never understand". Ohh Germany, you know you're jealous of our monarchy really!
In other chuckle-worthy news of the day... Klasse 6 were learning school subjects and how English schools are different to German ones. Now obviously I'm not going to nit-pick every mistake and demoralise them, but some I can't bear to ignore. Today's highlight? 'Language' spelt "langwich', like a sandwich. Legend.
Next? One of my year 5 classes. Last lesson they learned the alphabet (with the help of a 'rap') so we took half the class each to practise spelling. Fine, as long as the words you want don't contain the letters 'A E I R W'! Not so great idea number one - asking the kids to spell their names... would have been a lot easier if I knew what they were in the first place. Dread to think how many of them can now 'spell' their names incorrectly in English! Second mistake - asking "what other English words can you spell?" Cue one cheeky sod to suggest "f*ck you". Ahh, kids eh?
Somewhat worryingly I have been promoted within Klasse 8 once more, no longer just native speaker who teaches occasional grammar points / exercises, but I have now been given the task of planning their whole lesson next week, on anything :/ uh oh. Suggestions welcome!
Completely unrelated, I have also survived a trip to a German hairdressers! Can't say I'll be rushing back to the same one, but the international language of gesticulation supplemented by some dodgy German seemed to do the trick!
Me: "The big news in England today is that Prince William is engaged"
..momentary pause & slightly blank expression..
Landlord: "Prince William? Is he the younger one? Son of Philip? No?"I dutifully put him right only to be asked "So is this a big thing then?" ..."Yes" ... "Oh, that I will never understand". Ohh Germany, you know you're jealous of our monarchy really!
In other chuckle-worthy news of the day... Klasse 6 were learning school subjects and how English schools are different to German ones. Now obviously I'm not going to nit-pick every mistake and demoralise them, but some I can't bear to ignore. Today's highlight? 'Language' spelt "langwich', like a sandwich. Legend.
Next? One of my year 5 classes. Last lesson they learned the alphabet (with the help of a 'rap') so we took half the class each to practise spelling. Fine, as long as the words you want don't contain the letters 'A E I R W'! Not so great idea number one - asking the kids to spell their names... would have been a lot easier if I knew what they were in the first place. Dread to think how many of them can now 'spell' their names incorrectly in English! Second mistake - asking "what other English words can you spell?" Cue one cheeky sod to suggest "f*ck you". Ahh, kids eh?
Somewhat worryingly I have been promoted within Klasse 8 once more, no longer just native speaker who teaches occasional grammar points / exercises, but I have now been given the task of planning their whole lesson next week, on anything :/ uh oh. Suggestions welcome!
Completely unrelated, I have also survived a trip to a German hairdressers! Can't say I'll be rushing back to the same one, but the international language of gesticulation supplemented by some dodgy German seemed to do the trick!
Friday, 12 November 2010
A collection of musings from the week
Well, today began with not being allowed to touch anything in the staffroom as last night it was broken into for the second time since I've been here. Nothing much ever seems to be taken though, so no-one really knows why... Cue another visit from the police forensics.
Anyway, because of this I was asked to start off Klasse 5's lesson with a game or 2 of hangman whilst their teacher sorted break-in related things. 'Kein Problem' I say smiling until setting off down the wrong corridor, remembering I don't have a key to unlock their classroom, and then pondering how you get 29 excitable ten year olds to shut up and listen to you.
Still, for the rest of lesson I was sent to a different room to work with groups of about 8 students (finally!) on some worksheet that had already been prepped and photocopied for me. Rooms and furniture around the house - deceivingly not as easy as you might think! Turns out I didn't know / couldn't remember the words for 'flower pot' 'stove' or 'wash basin' and much mystery still surrounds 'tub'. Time for charade style gesticulations and dodgy German!
They were my only two lessons of the day so I popped into town before going home - you know it's a bad sign when you find you've finished work so early that some of the shops aren't open yet!
Other 'achievements' of the week:
- getting ill, and then getting better again
- telling the deputy head and his Klasse 8 the wrong word order rule...
- spending over 6 hours in school one day of which only 45 minutes was a timetabled lesson...
- being told a game of 'dominoes' I had prepared for my other Klasse 5 was "witzig" aka. funny (?!) ...
- popping round to pay rent and coming back 2 and a half hours later with a basket of food / drink...
- experiencing the madness of the start of Karneval in the rain, with thousands of people in fancy dress on Remembrance day (the official start is 11:11 on 11th Nov)...
- noticing that Bergisch Gladbach already has it's Christmas tree up and has had for a couple of days...
Also after a day and a half of staring wishfully at my laptop mentally willing the internet to work again, I realised that a) it sadly wasn't going to fix itself without another visit to my landlord, and b) that as a generation we are far too dependant on it (or I am in any case!).
(Friday 12th November 2010)
Anyway, because of this I was asked to start off Klasse 5's lesson with a game or 2 of hangman whilst their teacher sorted break-in related things. 'Kein Problem' I say smiling until setting off down the wrong corridor, remembering I don't have a key to unlock their classroom, and then pondering how you get 29 excitable ten year olds to shut up and listen to you.
Still, for the rest of lesson I was sent to a different room to work with groups of about 8 students (finally!) on some worksheet that had already been prepped and photocopied for me. Rooms and furniture around the house - deceivingly not as easy as you might think! Turns out I didn't know / couldn't remember the words for 'flower pot' 'stove' or 'wash basin' and much mystery still surrounds 'tub'. Time for charade style gesticulations and dodgy German!
They were my only two lessons of the day so I popped into town before going home - you know it's a bad sign when you find you've finished work so early that some of the shops aren't open yet!
Other 'achievements' of the week:
- getting ill, and then getting better again
- telling the deputy head and his Klasse 8 the wrong word order rule...
- spending over 6 hours in school one day of which only 45 minutes was a timetabled lesson...
- being told a game of 'dominoes' I had prepared for my other Klasse 5 was "witzig" aka. funny (?!) ...
- popping round to pay rent and coming back 2 and a half hours later with a basket of food / drink...
- experiencing the madness of the start of Karneval in the rain, with thousands of people in fancy dress on Remembrance day (the official start is 11:11 on 11th Nov)...
- noticing that Bergisch Gladbach already has it's Christmas tree up and has had for a couple of days...
 |
| Karneval - it's far from the best photo, but you can see how far away the stage was / how many people were in this bit alone. |
(Friday 12th November 2010)
Saturday, 6 November 2010
... and a 3-day trip to Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Wednesday to Friday was time for a trip to Düsseldorf for a 'Studienkompaktkurs' with all the other assistants from the Köln area. Stupidly I hadn't clocked that 'all' would mean all, ie. also the assistants from France, Italy, Russia etc. - people with whom the only language I have in common with is German. Just as well I've spent the last couple of months practising then! Thankfully the course seemed to have less course like things, and more sight-seeing type activities.
I should add in here the real-life drama that I witnessed whilst on my way. Whilst waiting at Köln-Mülheim station there was a couple just down the platform from me having an full-on argument. Suddenly the guy hit his (now ex?) girlfriend, and just as quickly two people from the opposite platform, jumped up, shouted across at him to stop, before jumping down off their platform, across the tracks, and back up onto my platform. At this point one of them then whipped out his police ID card and proceeded to caution and then report the guy. By the time the Deutsche Bahn security turned up, it had nearly all been dealt with. After much more shouting he was escorted out of the station, and that was that.
Compared to Altenberg, the youth hostel was luxury accommodation and spag bol for lunch on arrival certainly boded well. First stop was 'Landtag NRW' - the home of the state's parliament. After going through security we were then treated to a long talk... what he had to say was probably quite interesting but most of my concentration was on trying to not to fall asleep. It was nap time after all. We also witnessed a bit of parliament in action, although 'action' is a bit of an overstatement! It is quite a nice building though, especially with the view out over the Rhein. For the rest of the evening we were free to explore the town, go for food, go out etc. All good by me!
Thursday started with a coach trip to the Ruhrmuseum in Essen (the theme of the few days being the structural change of industry in the area). Again, this would probably have been much more interesting if we had been left to look around ourselves rather than having a somewhat dull guided tour.
Back on the coach, next stop - Oberhausen. After a break for lunch / shopping (where the Christmas market stalls were already starting to be set up!) we went to the Gasometer. Now this was amazing. The gasometer has been turned into a planetarium which houses "the biggest moon on earth". No photos can do this justice. As well as models of the sun, earth and other planets, there is a 25m diameter model of the moon. You can also get a lift up the gasometer and climb the last steps up to the top of the roof.
Next up, a 'Nachtlichtführung' of the Landschaftspark (Zeche / Hüttenwerk) in Duisburg. Or in other words, a tour of an old colliery / steel smelter, after dark, when parts of it are lit up. Somehow we managed to get some of the windiest days ever when we visited, and if we were in England health and safety would probably have stopped what we did next. Let's just say, when they said "bring a torch" they meant it. If only we had listened. As part of our tour we climbed up lots of metal steps and through the works of an old blast furnace to reach a height of 80m. In England we would probably have been required to wear hard hats with lights on them and harnesses, and even then the weather conditions probably would have cancelled it. But this is Germany, so up we went! It was fairly interesting, probably because our guide was quite funny, not that I can remember much of what he said now! After getting back to Düsseldorf the evening was one more ours to do as we wished.
Finally, Friday morning was a 'Stadtführung' (town tour) round the Altstadt and Medienhafen in Düsseldorf. Our guide was lovely and despite the wind, it was quite interesting couple of hours... Düsseldorf's 'media harbour' has some somewhat different buildings!
If we gloss over the somewhat pointless session that followed and wrapped up the 'course', then there you have it. All in all, a good few days and much better than expected :)
(Saturday 6th November 2010 ... day 60!)
Wednesday to Friday was time for a trip to Düsseldorf for a 'Studienkompaktkurs' with all the other assistants from the Köln area. Stupidly I hadn't clocked that 'all' would mean all, ie. also the assistants from France, Italy, Russia etc. - people with whom the only language I have in common with is German. Just as well I've spent the last couple of months practising then! Thankfully the course seemed to have less course like things, and more sight-seeing type activities.
I should add in here the real-life drama that I witnessed whilst on my way. Whilst waiting at Köln-Mülheim station there was a couple just down the platform from me having an full-on argument. Suddenly the guy hit his (now ex?) girlfriend, and just as quickly two people from the opposite platform, jumped up, shouted across at him to stop, before jumping down off their platform, across the tracks, and back up onto my platform. At this point one of them then whipped out his police ID card and proceeded to caution and then report the guy. By the time the Deutsche Bahn security turned up, it had nearly all been dealt with. After much more shouting he was escorted out of the station, and that was that.
Compared to Altenberg, the youth hostel was luxury accommodation and spag bol for lunch on arrival certainly boded well. First stop was 'Landtag NRW' - the home of the state's parliament. After going through security we were then treated to a long talk... what he had to say was probably quite interesting but most of my concentration was on trying to not to fall asleep. It was nap time after all. We also witnessed a bit of parliament in action, although 'action' is a bit of an overstatement! It is quite a nice building though, especially with the view out over the Rhein. For the rest of the evening we were free to explore the town, go for food, go out etc. All good by me!
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| Düsseldorf by twilight |
Back on the coach, next stop - Oberhausen. After a break for lunch / shopping (where the Christmas market stalls were already starting to be set up!) we went to the Gasometer. Now this was amazing. The gasometer has been turned into a planetarium which houses "the biggest moon on earth". No photos can do this justice. As well as models of the sun, earth and other planets, there is a 25m diameter model of the moon. You can also get a lift up the gasometer and climb the last steps up to the top of the roof.
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| The moon was much much bigger! |
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| View over Oberhausen |
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| The Landschaftspark |
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| View over Duisburg |
Finally, Friday morning was a 'Stadtführung' (town tour) round the Altstadt and Medienhafen in Düsseldorf. Our guide was lovely and despite the wind, it was quite interesting couple of hours... Düsseldorf's 'media harbour' has some somewhat different buildings!
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| See the 'people' on the building? |
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| Designed by the US architect: Gehry |
(Saturday 6th November 2010 ... day 60!)
A 21st like no other ...
Turning 21...
Well it was never going to be a normal birthday, but I hadn't expected to celebrate it with a group of people all at least 40-50+ years older than me!
Obviously I had school in the morning which was a slightly weird affair as some people knew it was my birthday, but most didn't. Still in-keeping with staffroom tradition I took in a cake which resulted in lots of hand shaking and many wishes of 'Alles Gute' or 'Herzlichen Glückwunsch'. A sign of how friendly my school is though, is that the headmistress had found out when my birthday was, and made a trip to the staffroom first thing, solely to come and wish me happy birthday.
My landlord had also found out when my birthday was, so not only did he pop round with a bottle of pink champagne for me, but he also mentioned it to some of my pensioner posse... Needless to say within minutes I had an un-turn-downable invite to dinner! Long story short, after champagne and a rendition of happy birthday (piano accompaniment and everything!) we sat down to dinner... Mushroom salad with some veal dish, then a cheese course, before a Käsekuchen as 'Geburtstagkuchen' (a birthday cake in the form of a cheese cake). Can't say any of these things are my favourite foods, and the cheese cake was nothing like cheesecake as we know it in England, but it was a really lovely gesture!
And to finish off the evening? Eiswein. I should explain what this is. 'Eiswein' means ice wine, a sweet wine made from grapes that are frozen whilst still on the vine. Eiswein is a high quality wine, and needless to say usually quite expensive. These people are far too generous towards me!
For those of you who are curious, here is a picture of me with some of my pensioner posse! Sadly Wilfried isn't in it as he was the one taking the photo.
Well it was never going to be a normal birthday, but I hadn't expected to celebrate it with a group of people all at least 40-50+ years older than me!
Obviously I had school in the morning which was a slightly weird affair as some people knew it was my birthday, but most didn't. Still in-keeping with staffroom tradition I took in a cake which resulted in lots of hand shaking and many wishes of 'Alles Gute' or 'Herzlichen Glückwunsch'. A sign of how friendly my school is though, is that the headmistress had found out when my birthday was, and made a trip to the staffroom first thing, solely to come and wish me happy birthday.
My landlord had also found out when my birthday was, so not only did he pop round with a bottle of pink champagne for me, but he also mentioned it to some of my pensioner posse... Needless to say within minutes I had an un-turn-downable invite to dinner! Long story short, after champagne and a rendition of happy birthday (piano accompaniment and everything!) we sat down to dinner... Mushroom salad with some veal dish, then a cheese course, before a Käsekuchen as 'Geburtstagkuchen' (a birthday cake in the form of a cheese cake). Can't say any of these things are my favourite foods, and the cheese cake was nothing like cheesecake as we know it in England, but it was a really lovely gesture!
And to finish off the evening? Eiswein. I should explain what this is. 'Eiswein' means ice wine, a sweet wine made from grapes that are frozen whilst still on the vine. Eiswein is a high quality wine, and needless to say usually quite expensive. These people are far too generous towards me!
For those of you who are curious, here is a picture of me with some of my pensioner posse! Sadly Wilfried isn't in it as he was the one taking the photo.
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| My landlord is the one on the left... |
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Herbst
I don't really feel that I have much of interest to share from this week, but for those of you who keep checking here's a couple of pictures of the setting sun lighting up the trees in all their prettiful autumnal colours :)
Just a quick synopsis of my week then.
School passed fairly averagely, no problems, but equally nothing that exciting to report... Friday I finished teaching at half 9, so with effectively a 4-day weekend I went off to explore a town called Königswinter, which is home to Drachenfels, one of the Siebengebirge ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siebengebirge ... Apparently it's quite a popular tourist town in the summer, but needless to say it was somewhat quieter at the end of October. The little train up Drachenfels still runs though, and the view from the top is stunning. Add in a couple of trips to Köln, and there you have it, the end of October. (Also totally didn't realise that being paid in advance meant that Friday was once again pay day - bonus!)
November 1st is a bank holiday here thanks to the Catholics celebrating Allerheiligen (all saints day), meaning tomorrow is 'unterrichtsfrei'. Not such a big deal for me seeing as I have Mondays off anyway, but I still appreciate the notion.
Just a quick synopsis of my week then.
School passed fairly averagely, no problems, but equally nothing that exciting to report... Friday I finished teaching at half 9, so with effectively a 4-day weekend I went off to explore a town called Königswinter, which is home to Drachenfels, one of the Siebengebirge ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siebengebirge ... Apparently it's quite a popular tourist town in the summer, but needless to say it was somewhat quieter at the end of October. The little train up Drachenfels still runs though, and the view from the top is stunning. Add in a couple of trips to Köln, and there you have it, the end of October. (Also totally didn't realise that being paid in advance meant that Friday was once again pay day - bonus!)
November 1st is a bank holiday here thanks to the Catholics celebrating Allerheiligen (all saints day), meaning tomorrow is 'unterrichtsfrei'. Not such a big deal for me seeing as I have Mondays off anyway, but I still appreciate the notion.
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Hat es schon geklingelt?
Well, I wasn't planning on updating this so soon, but my first day back in school proved a touch more interesting than an average day.
Firstly, it was still properly dark when I walked to school, and the with clear skies you could still perfectly see the moon and stars. I would probably have appreciated this much more however, if it wasn't so freezing cold, and I hadn't had to drag myself out of bed.
Secondly, I somehow managed to miss going to my first lesson today, despite being in the school and only about 30 seconds walk from the classroom - fail. But the teacher didn't know I was meant to be there either, so all's okay.
Thirdly, I have now been assigned the role of sitting with the kid in 'Klasse 5' who is somehwhat slow at understanding even really basic English, and starts to cry if she gets asked a question too many times. Challenge set.
Fourthly, I have already been picked up on having a Kölsch accent! I guess that's a good thing really, as it must mean that I am picking up some German, but I didn't feel it was necessary for it to be pointed out to anyone else who was around at the time.
And fifthly, I actually did some proper teaching today. Not just helping out, or going through exercises etc., but actually teaching a grammar point - 'The Present Perfect Progessive' to Klasse 8. No I wasn't entirely sure what it was either, and even nearly wrote the wrong title on the board, but a hiccup or two aside, it all seemed to go quite well. Must practise writing with chalk though.
Anyway, now to find something beginning with a vowel to have in my bag ready for tomorrow's 'a' / 'an' lesson...
Firstly, it was still properly dark when I walked to school, and the with clear skies you could still perfectly see the moon and stars. I would probably have appreciated this much more however, if it wasn't so freezing cold, and I hadn't had to drag myself out of bed.
Secondly, I somehow managed to miss going to my first lesson today, despite being in the school and only about 30 seconds walk from the classroom - fail. But the teacher didn't know I was meant to be there either, so all's okay.
Thirdly, I have now been assigned the role of sitting with the kid in 'Klasse 5' who is somehwhat slow at understanding even really basic English, and starts to cry if she gets asked a question too many times. Challenge set.
Fourthly, I have already been picked up on having a Kölsch accent! I guess that's a good thing really, as it must mean that I am picking up some German, but I didn't feel it was necessary for it to be pointed out to anyone else who was around at the time.
And fifthly, I actually did some proper teaching today. Not just helping out, or going through exercises etc., but actually teaching a grammar point - 'The Present Perfect Progessive' to Klasse 8. No I wasn't entirely sure what it was either, and even nearly wrote the wrong title on the board, but a hiccup or two aside, it all seemed to go quite well. Must practise writing with chalk though.
Anyway, now to find something beginning with a vowel to have in my bag ready for tomorrow's 'a' / 'an' lesson...
Monday, 25 October 2010
So long Herbstferien, so long future assistants...
So firstly, having Mondays off means I have prolonged the reality of term re-starting for as long as possible. Had a good last few days of the holidays though, with a couple of trips to Cologne as well as to Bensberg, but procrastination only works so far! Time to dig out the textbooks and remind myself what I'm meant to be doing tomorrow. The dark and cold early start could prove painful!
Secondly, thanks to the government's spending review, it looks like the year below won't get to have the same amazing opportunity we have:
Unless you are in studying on Scotland of course, which *touch wood* has yet to have its recruitment cut...
What a joke. Don't get me wrong, I study Economics, I know we need to make cuts and drastically reduce our deficit if we're to have a sustainable economy in the long run, but surely this would be one of the things that's worthwhile protecting? Plus, it's not even as if we, as assistants, are paid by the UK, it's the host country local authority who foots that cost. And they wonder why there is a decline in people learning languages. Let's scrap incentives for language learning and opportunities for cultural understanding, and instead reinforce the image of ignorant Britain's belief that 'everyone speaks English'. It's not like languages might acutally be useful in aiding the economic recovery anyway...
Sigh. Rant over.
Let's hope students and schools can make private arrangements without the British Council / Department for Education.
On a plus point, however, it has been gloriously sunny today - all helping to take the edge of the winter chill :)
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
A trip to the East - Leipzig & Berlin
Next stop on my Germany travels / Herbstferien adventures was a 5-day trip to Leipzig, staying with Kristina who was in Leeds last year for her Auslandssemester - Morten would be proud of his little 'make friends with the Erasmus students scheme' working out! After a 6+ hour train from Köln it was time to experience the East, and once again take too many photos...
Leipzig
There's many many tales to be told of my time in Leipzig, but I'll try to keep this (relatively!) short and sweet!
Friday: most of the day was spent sitting on a train, but after a pizza tea with a couple of Kristina's friends, many more rocked up for a party / gathering in her flat. It was at this moment that I realised not being a smoker was automatically going to put me in the minority of people there. In fact after 2 people had left relatively early I was the only one left who didn't smoke, fantastic.
Saturday: after a lie in and late German-stylee breakfast, it was time for a grand tour of Leipzig ... Problem 1 - it was pouring down with rain. Problem 2 - the neo-nazis were protesting that day :/ talk about timing. 1500 of them had registered to hold a protest at the train station, but apparently only a couple of hundred actually turned up. To be fair all we saw of it were lots and lots of police people/vans stationed through all the city centre, and a group of anti-nazi demonstrators letting of some kind of fireworks in a park (or some kind of thing that went *bang* - can't say firearms are my are of expertise!). Anyway, Leipzig is quite an impressive city with lots of big, old, typically German buildings, and of course the Ampelmännchen. Saturday evening was a burger pub tea, sadly another opportunity for much smoking as apparently "ein Pub ohne rauchen ist kein Pub". I miss England's smoking ban! :(
Sunday: another lie in, and long German breakfast with Kristina and a couple of her friends ... we finished at about half 2!! It was still absolutely freezing but today the sun was shining so we went up the MDR tower to their viewing platform and saw Leipzig from above with perfectly clear blue skies. Afterwards it was time for coffee with another girl who had been in Leeds last year, before a trip to the cinema to see 'Goethe'. Germany readers - definitely worth a watch, it was a really good film, and I understood it without knowing anything about him / his work!
Berlin
With Berlin being (comparatively) soo close, I could hardly not go and visit, especially as I've always wanted to go, so on Monday whilst Kristina was in uni I went off on a jolly to Germany's capital city. It sounds stupid, but it's a lot bigger than I had expected! 6 hours is definitely not enough to see the whole city, but I did manage to visit many of the tourist sights - Reichstag, Brandenburg Tor, Unter den Linden, Checkpoint Charlie, Friedrichstraße, East Side Gallery... A longer visit is definitely required at some point in life.
Tuesday: there isn't much to report other than a snotty woman on train snapping at me auf Deutsch for saying 'Entschuldigen Sie bitte', and having not such an enjoyable journey back. However, once I was back in Köln Hbf, this was when my day was made. Feeling a touch grumpy and massively fed up of public transport (or more the people on it!), as I was walking through the station to get my next train a piece of chocolate cake was calling to me from one of the bakeries... Well I could hardly ignore it's pleas now could I? Anyway, long story short, the guy thought I had asked for 2 pieces not one (I'm not that greedy!) and said I could take the second piece for free! :)
All in a good weekend filled with many more things to go in my 'experience box' and not to mention lots of German spoken! Back in Bergisch Gladbach now, but a compulsory trip to Düsseldorf and a teacher training / bonding day in Hattingen await in just under a fortnight.
Finally, I have now been paid - woop! If only I had a working bank card to actually access it though...
(Wednesday 20th October 2010)
East German Ampelmännchen
Leipzig
There's many many tales to be told of my time in Leipzig, but I'll try to keep this (relatively!) short and sweet!
Friday: most of the day was spent sitting on a train, but after a pizza tea with a couple of Kristina's friends, many more rocked up for a party / gathering in her flat. It was at this moment that I realised not being a smoker was automatically going to put me in the minority of people there. In fact after 2 people had left relatively early I was the only one left who didn't smoke, fantastic.
Saturday: after a lie in and late German-stylee breakfast, it was time for a grand tour of Leipzig ... Problem 1 - it was pouring down with rain. Problem 2 - the neo-nazis were protesting that day :/ talk about timing. 1500 of them had registered to hold a protest at the train station, but apparently only a couple of hundred actually turned up. To be fair all we saw of it were lots and lots of police people/vans stationed through all the city centre, and a group of anti-nazi demonstrators letting of some kind of fireworks in a park (or some kind of thing that went *bang* - can't say firearms are my are of expertise!). Anyway, Leipzig is quite an impressive city with lots of big, old, typically German buildings, and of course the Ampelmännchen. Saturday evening was a burger pub tea, sadly another opportunity for much smoking as apparently "ein Pub ohne rauchen ist kein Pub". I miss England's smoking ban! :(
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| Leipzig, the next day when the sun decided to shine! |
Sunday: another lie in, and long German breakfast with Kristina and a couple of her friends ... we finished at about half 2!! It was still absolutely freezing but today the sun was shining so we went up the MDR tower to their viewing platform and saw Leipzig from above with perfectly clear blue skies. Afterwards it was time for coffee with another girl who had been in Leeds last year, before a trip to the cinema to see 'Goethe'. Germany readers - definitely worth a watch, it was a really good film, and I understood it without knowing anything about him / his work!
Berlin
With Berlin being (comparatively) soo close, I could hardly not go and visit, especially as I've always wanted to go, so on Monday whilst Kristina was in uni I went off on a jolly to Germany's capital city. It sounds stupid, but it's a lot bigger than I had expected! 6 hours is definitely not enough to see the whole city, but I did manage to visit many of the tourist sights - Reichstag, Brandenburg Tor, Unter den Linden, Checkpoint Charlie, Friedrichstraße, East Side Gallery... A longer visit is definitely required at some point in life.
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| Berlin Wall |
All in a good weekend filled with many more things to go in my 'experience box' and not to mention lots of German spoken! Back in Bergisch Gladbach now, but a compulsory trip to Düsseldorf and a teacher training / bonding day in Hattingen await in just under a fortnight.
Finally, I have now been paid - woop! If only I had a working bank card to actually access it though...
(Wednesday 20th October 2010)
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Autumn - blink and you miss it
Don't be fooled by the autumnal colours and rustly leaves, Germany seemed to skip autumn. A couple of days ago, it was hot and sunny, perfect ice cream weather, in fact it was the summer we didn't get in England. Now it's freezing, still sunny (temporarily!) but really quite cold. Here comes the German winter.
Anyway, just a quick update on the Herbstferien. The weekend stayed gloriously sunny with clear skies and prettiful starry nights for my parents' visit, some near miracle! Twas a good few days involving over 500 steps up the south tower of the Kölner Dom, a lift to the 28th floor of the KölnTriangle, another dinner party with my pensioner possy, a trip to Beethoven's birthplace and much more...
Now for a day or two's rest before jetting (ha, chugging on a 6 hour train!) off to Leipzig for a long weekend :)
Anyway, just a quick update on the Herbstferien. The weekend stayed gloriously sunny with clear skies and prettiful starry nights for my parents' visit, some near miracle! Twas a good few days involving over 500 steps up the south tower of the Kölner Dom, a lift to the 28th floor of the KölnTriangle, another dinner party with my pensioner possy, a trip to Beethoven's birthplace and much more...
Now for a day or two's rest before jetting (ha, chugging on a 6 hour train!) off to Leipzig for a long weekend :)
Friday, 8 October 2010
Happy Herbstferien!
It may have been on the last day before the holidays but today I had proof I have officially made it in the staffroom, and have my own designated place! Well... I still have to share chairs with the Referendare but today I arrived to find some lesson prep left ready for me on "my" seat - impressive.
I have also found my two favourite classes. There's Klasse 6's Förderunterricht where the class is split between 2 teachers for writing and speaking development lessons. I help with the speaking half, which basically entails spending 45 minutes talking and playing games with about fifteen 10/11 year olds. This group also has the sweetest ever little lad, definitely my favourite pupil of the moment. (Nb. their teacher is also reallyyy camp, and went to Leeds uni for a year!) My second favourite class is my Friday morning double lesson with Klasse 5. They have only just started learning English (today involved performing an alphabet rap and learning objects in a classroom) and worksheets involving colouring in are still exciting. Also Frau Neumann always makes sure I'm properly involved and have things to do which is lovely :) The only slight problem is they need a lot of basic vocabulary, and I am fast dicovering that my basic vocabulary is somewhat lacking. Ah, maybe I should take up reading a dictionary....
Anyhow, holidays are here, and I now have 2 weeks where I don't have to beat the sun getting up every morning. Nice as it is have seen the starts of many sunrises on my way to school (Yf readers take note!) I wouldn't mind sleeping through a few! Muchly looking forward to having visitors as well as being a visitor :)
Also, Leeds Uni 'desktop anywhere', I ♥ you. You may crash sometimes, and your sound and video may be out of sync and a little poor in quality, but you let me watch iplayer, and for that I am greatful.
I have also found my two favourite classes. There's Klasse 6's Förderunterricht where the class is split between 2 teachers for writing and speaking development lessons. I help with the speaking half, which basically entails spending 45 minutes talking and playing games with about fifteen 10/11 year olds. This group also has the sweetest ever little lad, definitely my favourite pupil of the moment. (Nb. their teacher is also reallyyy camp, and went to Leeds uni for a year!) My second favourite class is my Friday morning double lesson with Klasse 5. They have only just started learning English (today involved performing an alphabet rap and learning objects in a classroom) and worksheets involving colouring in are still exciting. Also Frau Neumann always makes sure I'm properly involved and have things to do which is lovely :) The only slight problem is they need a lot of basic vocabulary, and I am fast dicovering that my basic vocabulary is somewhat lacking. Ah, maybe I should take up reading a dictionary....
Anyhow, holidays are here, and I now have 2 weeks where I don't have to beat the sun getting up every morning. Nice as it is have seen the starts of many sunrises on my way to school (Yf readers take note!) I wouldn't mind sleeping through a few! Muchly looking forward to having visitors as well as being a visitor :)
Also, Leeds Uni 'desktop anywhere', I ♥ you. You may crash sometimes, and your sound and video may be out of sync and a little poor in quality, but you let me watch iplayer, and for that I am greatful.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
"Do you have cheese in England?"
Today I was back in school, only 3 of my 4 lessons turned out to be either cancelled or 'Vertretung' (cover lessons) - grr. It would be nice to be told some of this information rather than solving the mysteries myself!
For one of the cover lessons I was spontaneously landed with about ten 10/11 year olds who had already finished their work. Apparently I was to go to the library and talk with them for the entire lesson. Don't you love teachers who solve their problems by just handing them over to you? Challenge one - I had no idea where the libary was. That hurdle overcome I was then greeted by the librarian who had no idea who I was and proceeded to babble at me auf Deutsch. Sadly I didn't catch most of what she said, but was surrounded by kids who had understood every word and probably thought I was completely stupid. Ah well. Once I had finally comprehended what she was saying, and most of my group had started to run off, it was time for challenge two - what on earth to talk to them about. I had no planning, no textbook, and no idea what they had already learnt in English. Also turned out that they don't know the future or past tenses yet... half an hour just using the simple present then?!
Anyway, a couple of highlights of our 'conversation':
Boy 1: "Do you have cheese in England?"
Boy 2: "He asks because he had nice cheese in France."
The inevitable "Do you have a boyfriend?" question.
I'm not sure if he was trying to console me, but one of the kids then proceeded to say auf Deutsch: 'No that's okay because my aunt is 30 and doesn't have a boyfriend, but I also know some people who got married and they were 20'. So I asked him how old he wanted to be when he got married. Answer: "Never!"
Me: 'Would you like to have a King or Queen in Germany?'
Answer: 'No! We have a democracy.'
So that's Geography and Politics that need addressing then! Apparently when they returned to the classroom they were very enthusiastic, if only it were for the right reasons... Kids, eh?
For one of the cover lessons I was spontaneously landed with about ten 10/11 year olds who had already finished their work. Apparently I was to go to the library and talk with them for the entire lesson. Don't you love teachers who solve their problems by just handing them over to you? Challenge one - I had no idea where the libary was. That hurdle overcome I was then greeted by the librarian who had no idea who I was and proceeded to babble at me auf Deutsch. Sadly I didn't catch most of what she said, but was surrounded by kids who had understood every word and probably thought I was completely stupid. Ah well. Once I had finally comprehended what she was saying, and most of my group had started to run off, it was time for challenge two - what on earth to talk to them about. I had no planning, no textbook, and no idea what they had already learnt in English. Also turned out that they don't know the future or past tenses yet... half an hour just using the simple present then?!
Anyway, a couple of highlights of our 'conversation':
Boy 1: "Do you have cheese in England?"
Boy 2: "He asks because he had nice cheese in France."
The inevitable "Do you have a boyfriend?" question.
I'm not sure if he was trying to console me, but one of the kids then proceeded to say auf Deutsch: 'No that's okay because my aunt is 30 and doesn't have a boyfriend, but I also know some people who got married and they were 20'. So I asked him how old he wanted to be when he got married. Answer: "Never!"
Me: 'Would you like to have a King or Queen in Germany?'
Answer: 'No! We have a democracy.'
So that's Geography and Politics that need addressing then! Apparently when they returned to the classroom they were very enthusiastic, if only it were for the right reasons... Kids, eh?
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Ein schönes Wochenende :)
Summer sunshine and a 4 day weekend - I like this Auslandsjahr business! So, quick catch up of my weekend thus far...
Friday began with receiving 6 pieces of post (!) including train tickets for Leipzig and my semester ticket - woop! It'd be rude not to take advantage of the free travel so off I went on a day trip to Bonn, but not before I could bump into some pupils also on the train ... and so it begins, the problem of living in the same town as you teach! Still, the sunshine came out in Bonn and it's a really pretty town especially by the Rhine. Also my sense of direction is dramatically improving and I can sniff out tourist information centres without batting an eyelid. I only once walked the best part of a kilometer in the opposite way to where I wanted to be - cue about turn and cyclist dodging in the reverse direction.
Yesterday entailed a lovely day out in Köln with Marina and Heidi. So good to have a day with Englisch people, not to mention that we went to the zoo!! I don't think I've been to a zoo in years, and we even got to stroke a giraffe! It was all very exciting. Happy un-birthday Marina :)
Today was going to be a quiet domesticated day in, until my landlord called round inviting me for 'a little aperitif' in his garden. Well I wasn't going to say no to the offer of free food, champagne and a sit in the 23° sunshine! Gotta love my pensioner possy...
And I still have another day of weekend to go! Sunday evenings are much nicer without that back to school feeling.
Finally, happy 'Tag der Deutschen Einheit' ... It's been 20 years to the day since East and West Germany reunified as a single nation. Today is also the day that the last £60m payment of WW1 reparations debt is being paid back. Just a bit of culture / history for you all there!
(Sunday 3rd October 2010)
Friday began with receiving 6 pieces of post (!) including train tickets for Leipzig and my semester ticket - woop! It'd be rude not to take advantage of the free travel so off I went on a day trip to Bonn, but not before I could bump into some pupils also on the train ... and so it begins, the problem of living in the same town as you teach! Still, the sunshine came out in Bonn and it's a really pretty town especially by the Rhine. Also my sense of direction is dramatically improving and I can sniff out tourist information centres without batting an eyelid. I only once walked the best part of a kilometer in the opposite way to where I wanted to be - cue about turn and cyclist dodging in the reverse direction.
Yesterday entailed a lovely day out in Köln with Marina and Heidi. So good to have a day with Englisch people, not to mention that we went to the zoo!! I don't think I've been to a zoo in years, and we even got to stroke a giraffe! It was all very exciting. Happy un-birthday Marina :)
Today was going to be a quiet domesticated day in, until my landlord called round inviting me for 'a little aperitif' in his garden. Well I wasn't going to say no to the offer of free food, champagne and a sit in the 23° sunshine! Gotta love my pensioner possy...
And I still have another day of weekend to go! Sunday evenings are much nicer without that back to school feeling.
Finally, happy 'Tag der Deutschen Einheit' ... It's been 20 years to the day since East and West Germany reunified as a single nation. Today is also the day that the last £60m payment of WW1 reparations debt is being paid back. Just a bit of culture / history for you all there!
(Sunday 3rd October 2010)
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Word of the day: Schatz
Health warning: if you suffer from narcolepsy / have a life, stop reading now. This is a long and waffley entry!
Having complained on Tuesday that I was bored, Wednesday turned out to be a 14-hour day. Let's start at the very beginning... I was timetabled to follow 5 lessons that day, some of which I just watched, others of which I was able to help out a bit in. The most interesting lesson of the day by far was Klasse 10, the first year of the Oberstufe. Not only did I venture into their 'Neubau' (new building - ooh the excitement!) but I walked in to discover their current topic was about teenage pregnancy, and that in that day's lesson they were going to be looking at the poem "But bases and sex" by Ron Koertge... Not quite what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that! Still, in what became a bit of a Biology / English lesson combination, I did establish that my German was just about still better than their English - only just mind you!
Anyway, after lesson 5 I had to wait around to have a meeting about sorting my timetable, or so I thought. One of the Referendare asked me if I wanted to go out to lunch with a group of them, so I explained about this meeting. Her answer was, okay, I'll invite him too then you can both come. Okay! So instead of a meeting, we had a quick conversation whilst in the pub - not gonna complain about that! Whilst there various people also offered to show me bits of Cologne / German culture etc, but more importantly I found 2 people who will more than happily eat any left over food from a meal that I can't finish. And they aren't backwards in coming forwards either, something that's actually very helpful!
Anyway, after lunch that only finished about 4pm ish, it was time to do battle with the buses and attempt to mission it to Bensberg (the other part of Bergisch Gladbach) in order to go to the cinema with Emily. Now Germany may have lots of buses, but they don't have many idiot-proof signs to explain to ignorant English people what to do! I managed to ask for help and then buy a ticket ready at the travel info centre. However, something must have got lost in translation because I then spent about 25 minutes waiting at the wrong bus stop! Just as well I asked someone about to get on a bus whether it went to Bensberg seeing as her answer was "nein". Oops. I then got directed to a different bus stop (I would like to point out, both stops had the same bus number listed on them, so I'm not a complete fool, just partially) where I had another quarter of an hour wait before finally getting on a bus. Just as well I though I was going to be early, 'cause I wasn't by the time I arrived!
My arrival in Bensberg would have been a prouder moment if I hadn't promptly got lost. But then again, when the cinema looks more as if a tiny shopping centre had cinema 'screens' thrust into it by mistake, what can you expect. And that was only the beginning of one of my most bizarre cinema experiences. The cinema screen itself (1 of just 4) was really quite small, and was decorated more like a theatre / puppet stage. You then get allocated set seats, and someone had to shut the door themselves. After the commercial adverts, but before the trailers, the lights then came back up again so that someone could come in and sell the ice cream that had just been advertised. Bizarre.
Time for another bus trip back again, but not before we discovered escalators that could change direction, and not before I could see my favourite German road sign so far!
Still, at least the bus is another form of German transport that I can now add to my repertoire. I also quite like the fact that they announce what the next stop is, and offer the option that after 8 o'clock you can ask the driver to stop inbetween 2 stops - how ingenious.
After a busy day Thursday's alarm clock once again came round too soon. School passed fairly averagely, but did involve having to stay on for a couple of extra lessons just waiting in the staff room for a meeting to actually sort out said timetable. Anyways, it's hopefully now been sorted for the next 6 weeks / couple of months and I have Mondays off, one 'late' start and a very early finish on a Friday - result/ With this week's day off being Friday, as of about half 1 this afternoon, my 4 and a half day weekend began - can't complain about that!
Also, as of tomorrow - hello semester ticket!
NB. Schatz = darling / chuck (term of endeament)
(Thursday 30th September 2010)
Having complained on Tuesday that I was bored, Wednesday turned out to be a 14-hour day. Let's start at the very beginning... I was timetabled to follow 5 lessons that day, some of which I just watched, others of which I was able to help out a bit in. The most interesting lesson of the day by far was Klasse 10, the first year of the Oberstufe. Not only did I venture into their 'Neubau' (new building - ooh the excitement!) but I walked in to discover their current topic was about teenage pregnancy, and that in that day's lesson they were going to be looking at the poem "But bases and sex" by Ron Koertge... Not quite what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that! Still, in what became a bit of a Biology / English lesson combination, I did establish that my German was just about still better than their English - only just mind you!
Anyway, after lesson 5 I had to wait around to have a meeting about sorting my timetable, or so I thought. One of the Referendare asked me if I wanted to go out to lunch with a group of them, so I explained about this meeting. Her answer was, okay, I'll invite him too then you can both come. Okay! So instead of a meeting, we had a quick conversation whilst in the pub - not gonna complain about that! Whilst there various people also offered to show me bits of Cologne / German culture etc, but more importantly I found 2 people who will more than happily eat any left over food from a meal that I can't finish. And they aren't backwards in coming forwards either, something that's actually very helpful!
Anyway, after lunch that only finished about 4pm ish, it was time to do battle with the buses and attempt to mission it to Bensberg (the other part of Bergisch Gladbach) in order to go to the cinema with Emily. Now Germany may have lots of buses, but they don't have many idiot-proof signs to explain to ignorant English people what to do! I managed to ask for help and then buy a ticket ready at the travel info centre. However, something must have got lost in translation because I then spent about 25 minutes waiting at the wrong bus stop! Just as well I asked someone about to get on a bus whether it went to Bensberg seeing as her answer was "nein". Oops. I then got directed to a different bus stop (I would like to point out, both stops had the same bus number listed on them, so I'm not a complete fool, just partially) where I had another quarter of an hour wait before finally getting on a bus. Just as well I though I was going to be early, 'cause I wasn't by the time I arrived!
My arrival in Bensberg would have been a prouder moment if I hadn't promptly got lost. But then again, when the cinema looks more as if a tiny shopping centre had cinema 'screens' thrust into it by mistake, what can you expect. And that was only the beginning of one of my most bizarre cinema experiences. The cinema screen itself (1 of just 4) was really quite small, and was decorated more like a theatre / puppet stage. You then get allocated set seats, and someone had to shut the door themselves. After the commercial adverts, but before the trailers, the lights then came back up again so that someone could come in and sell the ice cream that had just been advertised. Bizarre.
Time for another bus trip back again, but not before we discovered escalators that could change direction, and not before I could see my favourite German road sign so far!
 | |
| Approx meaning: "Only board and alight" Found just below a taxi rank sign, seemingly implying: just get in/out the car, no kissing! (Apologies it's a little blurred, I felt a tad stupid taking a photo of a signpost with everyone at the bus stop watching...!) |
After a busy day Thursday's alarm clock once again came round too soon. School passed fairly averagely, but did involve having to stay on for a couple of extra lessons just waiting in the staff room for a meeting to actually sort out said timetable. Anyways, it's hopefully now been sorted for the next 6 weeks / couple of months and I have Mondays off, one 'late' start and a very early finish on a Friday - result/ With this week's day off being Friday, as of about half 1 this afternoon, my 4 and a half day weekend began - can't complain about that!
Also, as of tomorrow - hello semester ticket!
NB. Schatz = darling / chuck (term of endeament)
(Thursday 30th September 2010)
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
A 'my life is average' entry
I would love to say that the reason I haven't updated this is because I've been stupendously busy, but that would be lying. I've worked much fewer hours at school this week, so of course on cue the weather has turned cold and drizzly - typical. Also, I have been assured on more than one occasion that there really isn't that much to do Bergisch Gladbach... but as of Friday Semester tickets come into play and free travel across NRW is to be enjoyed!
School so far this week has involved...
...answering the same 3 questions about 25 times as each child in a class of 9/10 year olds played detective with me.
...a listening exercise with hilariously dodgy English/American/Australian accents!
...annoyingly having first lesson cancelled today - that could have been at least another crucial 45 minutes in bed.
...a 10.25 finish this morning.
Oh, and the school staffroom got broken into over the weekend!
Also, flights home for Christmas and train tickets to Leipzig during Herbstferien have been booked :) And plans are in place for the next couple of days. Now to apologise to my various bank accounts... Stipendium* - we need you!
(Tuesday 28th September)
* Stipendium = grant, our pay basically!
School so far this week has involved...
...answering the same 3 questions about 25 times as each child in a class of 9/10 year olds played detective with me.
...a listening exercise with hilariously dodgy English/American/Australian accents!
...annoyingly having first lesson cancelled today - that could have been at least another crucial 45 minutes in bed.
...a 10.25 finish this morning.
Oh, and the school staffroom got broken into over the weekend!
Also, flights home for Christmas and train tickets to Leipzig during Herbstferien have been booked :) And plans are in place for the next couple of days. Now to apologise to my various bank accounts... Stipendium* - we need you!
(Tuesday 28th September)
* Stipendium = grant, our pay basically!
Sunday, 26 September 2010
Happy hours vs. smoking ban
Friday night was my first taster of Köln night life - a cocktail bar with a group of the younger members of staff. A couple of observations:
1. They still have happy 'hours', meaning drinks were nicely quite cheap.
2. You don't have to order at the bar, when they clear your empty glasses they ask if you'd like another drink, and then you pay for all your drinks together when you leave.
3. They don't have the smoking ban here, meaning that once more going out equals coming home with clothes smelling of smoke.
It was a good night all in all though :) with a lift all the way back home being an added bonus. Going out with all teachers though definitely made me feel as if I had rapidly aged a few years!
1. They still have happy 'hours', meaning drinks were nicely quite cheap.
2. You don't have to order at the bar, when they clear your empty glasses they ask if you'd like another drink, and then you pay for all your drinks together when you leave.
3. They don't have the smoking ban here, meaning that once more going out equals coming home with clothes smelling of smoke.
It was a good night all in all though :) with a lift all the way back home being an added bonus. Going out with all teachers though definitely made me feel as if I had rapidly aged a few years!
Friday, 24 September 2010
Kannst du auch Deutsch sprechen?
I should also probably add, that I think my German is already improving. A couple of people at the school have told me that I speak good German - ha! I think I am being helped out by the last English assistant they had a few years ago not being able to speak much German. Also given the shocked / impressed look I was given when I managed to rattle out 4 numbers on the trot auf Deutsch, I think I arrived at a fairly lowly level!
Speaking yesterday to the teachers here on the Australian exchange was, however, a very welcome break :)
And yes I might just have accidentally had a nap inbetween these posts...
(Friday 24th September 2010)
Speaking yesterday to the teachers here on the Australian exchange was, however, a very welcome break :)
And yes I might just have accidentally had a nap inbetween these posts...
(Friday 24th September 2010)
First week survived!
Well, about 24 hours worth of lessons later (so much for 12 a week) I've finally finished my first full week in my school. I've spent the last 2 / 3 days with English teachers so have actually been able to help out a bit, and dare I say it, almost got close to teaching! Despite how 7 years at QM should have trained me well for early mornings, 2 years of uni was enough for that to be stamped out, and after 5 days of dragging myself out of bed before sunrise, I can safely say - I'm shattered. Hello weekend!
I have been invited out in Köln tonight with some of the younger members of staff and the referendare, not that I can remember the majority of their names! I don't really have a clue where I'm meant to be going, but thankfully my favourite English teacher eventually suggested meeting me at the train station so we can work it out together. Now to figure out what ticket I need and to decide what an appropriate outfit is.... :/
For next week I have been handed over to my second Betreuungslehrer, who has sorted me my timetable for the next few days. Just 15 hours, Friday off, and no day finishing later than 12.20! It's a week to try and meet all the English staff and see as many students of different ages as possible, and will probably be a mixture of sitting and watching / team teaching.
Klasse 5 might become one of my favourite year groups, they're so sweet! Today one class cheered when I walked in, and yesterday I had to answer about 50,000 questions, most of which began with "what's your favourite...?". One of the girls in that lesson made me what is apparently a crossword, though I had to ask and still have no idea how you would solve it, but she seemed very keen. Also in the break today, a different girl came over to offer me a piece of her carrot sticks - somehow I resisted!
Definitely a TGI Friday feeling today as yesterday required a few problems to be overcome first! I have now managed to acquire and send off a biometric passport photo on order to gain some freedom of movement certification, despite being an EU citizen anyway. Confused? I was. I've also received a phone bill with a fairly impressive extra set up charge that I had no idea I agreed to :( and slightly odd charges for texts and the like. If you ever thought a bill was difficult to understand in your mother tongue, try one all in foreign! Anyway this bill is due to be taken from a bank account which had no money in it, a closed local branch, and the online version not working, fantastic. Still hurdles have been overcome, bank account now has a teeny amount of money in it, reduced by some charge for something else, and my online version appears to be working. I wish I had understood what was going on at the time, Wilfried insisting on doing things for me hasn't entirely worked out! I have new found respect for immigrants.
Sadly the glorious sunshine has morphed back into downpouring rain, and even a spot of thunder (thanks for sharing your weather England!) - the super sexy cagoul look has now been embraced...
Also, important point of note - I am now listed as Frau, and not Herr, Groves on the website :) My gender reversal is complete. Even if no-one here can spell Eleanor correctly.
I have been invited out in Köln tonight with some of the younger members of staff and the referendare, not that I can remember the majority of their names! I don't really have a clue where I'm meant to be going, but thankfully my favourite English teacher eventually suggested meeting me at the train station so we can work it out together. Now to figure out what ticket I need and to decide what an appropriate outfit is.... :/
For next week I have been handed over to my second Betreuungslehrer, who has sorted me my timetable for the next few days. Just 15 hours, Friday off, and no day finishing later than 12.20! It's a week to try and meet all the English staff and see as many students of different ages as possible, and will probably be a mixture of sitting and watching / team teaching.
Klasse 5 might become one of my favourite year groups, they're so sweet! Today one class cheered when I walked in, and yesterday I had to answer about 50,000 questions, most of which began with "what's your favourite...?". One of the girls in that lesson made me what is apparently a crossword, though I had to ask and still have no idea how you would solve it, but she seemed very keen. Also in the break today, a different girl came over to offer me a piece of her carrot sticks - somehow I resisted!
Definitely a TGI Friday feeling today as yesterday required a few problems to be overcome first! I have now managed to acquire and send off a biometric passport photo on order to gain some freedom of movement certification, despite being an EU citizen anyway. Confused? I was. I've also received a phone bill with a fairly impressive extra set up charge that I had no idea I agreed to :( and slightly odd charges for texts and the like. If you ever thought a bill was difficult to understand in your mother tongue, try one all in foreign! Anyway this bill is due to be taken from a bank account which had no money in it, a closed local branch, and the online version not working, fantastic. Still hurdles have been overcome, bank account now has a teeny amount of money in it, reduced by some charge for something else, and my online version appears to be working. I wish I had understood what was going on at the time, Wilfried insisting on doing things for me hasn't entirely worked out! I have new found respect for immigrants.
Sadly the glorious sunshine has morphed back into downpouring rain, and even a spot of thunder (thanks for sharing your weather England!) - the super sexy cagoul look has now been embraced...
Also, important point of note - I am now listed as Frau, and not Herr, Groves on the website :) My gender reversal is complete. Even if no-one here can spell Eleanor correctly.
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
A couple of musings
Today two teachers in two separate conversations both told me that they had had a bad night's sleep because it was a full moon - 'Schlaflosigkeit bei Vollmond' apparently... Perhaps I am just an ignorant being, but I have never heard of this phenonemon before. Personally, I can't even remember how I slept last night, let alone what size the moon was! All I know is that once more my 6am alarm came too soon.
Also, after one of my lessons today (where I actually did something useful - yey!) one of the Klasse 8 girls came up to me and said "Do you have facebook?". Well flattering as it is that she at least doesn't hate me, I'm definitely not opening up that slippery slope! A polite reminder that I was her teacher was required. That class could go one of 2 ways, either completely play me up, or actually be vaguely respectful, here's hoping for the latter.
I have also received a letter from some form of German authority asking for a biometric passport photograph - eh?! Definitely gonna have to ask someone about that one....
Lastly, it's officially been 2 weeks since I moved out here, and thanks to the school secretary I have been moved up in the world as my birthday is now on the staff list.
Oh, and seeing as I complained about the rain, I should really acknowledge just how amazingly gloriously sunny it's been today. After my landlord caught me sitting in the window to catch some sun, he then twice, no 3 times, told me I could have sat in his garden, and that if it was sunny again tomorrow I was to let myself through his gate the cheat way. Bless.
(Wednesday 22nd Sep. 10)
Also, after one of my lessons today (where I actually did something useful - yey!) one of the Klasse 8 girls came up to me and said "Do you have facebook?". Well flattering as it is that she at least doesn't hate me, I'm definitely not opening up that slippery slope! A polite reminder that I was her teacher was required. That class could go one of 2 ways, either completely play me up, or actually be vaguely respectful, here's hoping for the latter.
I have also received a letter from some form of German authority asking for a biometric passport photograph - eh?! Definitely gonna have to ask someone about that one....
Lastly, it's officially been 2 weeks since I moved out here, and thanks to the school secretary I have been moved up in the world as my birthday is now on the staff list.
Oh, and seeing as I complained about the rain, I should really acknowledge just how amazingly gloriously sunny it's been today. After my landlord caught me sitting in the window to catch some sun, he then twice, no 3 times, told me I could have sat in his garden, and that if it was sunny again tomorrow I was to let myself through his gate the cheat way. Bless.
(Wednesday 22nd Sep. 10)
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Much sleep and another day in school
So last night I slept for the best part of 9-10 hours. Having napped all afternoon I caved in and went to bed about half 8!! I can't even remember the last time I did that. More worryingly I slept all the way through to morning and could have quite contentedly carried on if it wasn't for my alarm beeping at me. Damn feeling ill. Bye bye tonight's social life :(
Today I was meant to be following a biology teacher, potentially challenging seeing as I dropped it as soon as I good. He had mostly Klasse 10 who were studying plant cells - time to dig out my science GCSE! It's amazing what your brain can remember when necessary. His middle two lessons were doing a 'Klausur' (class test / exam type thing for the Abitur) so I picked a friendly English teacher and went with her instead. She would love to speak English with me but having done a placement in England for only 4-5 months she wishes she had practised a little more, so is insisting on speaking German. However, there may be an option for future half English half German coffee meet-ups.
After only a few days in school so far I have learnt that each year group has a very different personality / attitude...
Klasse 5 - are very slow to do anything, literally. Even copying off the board takes an age. Except for the keeno girl. I didn't realise it was possibly to lean that far our of your chair, or wave your hand that enthusiastically whilst in a grammar lesson. Personally i've never found the negation of 'to be' that exciting... However, when faced with a real life English person the most important questions have to be sorted first - how old are you? do you come from England? do you have any pets?
Klasse 6 - are quite sweet. They've settled into secondary school, and are fairly enthusiastic, but still young and innocent. It was obviously also important to them to let me know if they knew anyone who lived in England... think they have been misled on just how small England is!
Klasse 8 - start every lesson with numerous excuses for why homework hasn't been done or certain books have been forgotten. They are also at the age where it is hilarious to add "Sexualunterricht - praktische Übung" to the version of their timetable displayed on the board. That and their inclination to play up aside, they are actually an alright bunch.
Klasse 10 - have done a lot of growing up. They are generally there just to get on with their work and don't need to be told so often to be quiet. Some of the lads on the other hand, do need a bit of an eye kept on them. They'll be the ones trying to wind me up.
The Oberstufe I am yet to meet, but being not that much younger than me, I fear they could easily out-smart me!
Tomorrow entails a day of Deutsch-lesson watching, followed by a day with the deputy head himself.
Today I was meant to be following a biology teacher, potentially challenging seeing as I dropped it as soon as I good. He had mostly Klasse 10 who were studying plant cells - time to dig out my science GCSE! It's amazing what your brain can remember when necessary. His middle two lessons were doing a 'Klausur' (class test / exam type thing for the Abitur) so I picked a friendly English teacher and went with her instead. She would love to speak English with me but having done a placement in England for only 4-5 months she wishes she had practised a little more, so is insisting on speaking German. However, there may be an option for future half English half German coffee meet-ups.
After only a few days in school so far I have learnt that each year group has a very different personality / attitude...
Klasse 5 - are very slow to do anything, literally. Even copying off the board takes an age. Except for the keeno girl. I didn't realise it was possibly to lean that far our of your chair, or wave your hand that enthusiastically whilst in a grammar lesson. Personally i've never found the negation of 'to be' that exciting... However, when faced with a real life English person the most important questions have to be sorted first - how old are you? do you come from England? do you have any pets?
Klasse 6 - are quite sweet. They've settled into secondary school, and are fairly enthusiastic, but still young and innocent. It was obviously also important to them to let me know if they knew anyone who lived in England... think they have been misled on just how small England is!
Klasse 8 - start every lesson with numerous excuses for why homework hasn't been done or certain books have been forgotten. They are also at the age where it is hilarious to add "Sexualunterricht - praktische Übung" to the version of their timetable displayed on the board. That and their inclination to play up aside, they are actually an alright bunch.
Klasse 10 - have done a lot of growing up. They are generally there just to get on with their work and don't need to be told so often to be quiet. Some of the lads on the other hand, do need a bit of an eye kept on them. They'll be the ones trying to wind me up.
The Oberstufe I am yet to meet, but being not that much younger than me, I fear they could easily out-smart me!
Tomorrow entails a day of Deutsch-lesson watching, followed by a day with the deputy head himself.
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