Germany: Week 1!

My first week in Germany went relatively smoothly!  I have a LOT of work ahead of me though...  and as such, this post will be relatively short.  Teacher prep and orientation started bright and early on Monday morning.  I met my colleagues at Metropolitan International School (MIS).  I am impressed at the caliber of people I am working with!  We lost two instructors over the summer, so there was a bit of rearranging to ensure there was coverage for all classes.  Instead of being the homeroom teacher for the preschool students, I am now the home room/science/math teacher for 5th and 6th grade (combined into one class) as well as the English/science/math teacher for 2nd grade.  I'm so excited to use a lot of the techniques and tools I gained over the last two years!  Over the course of the week, we received our planning books, discussed the teacher handbook, went over procedures & polices, discussed combining the Hessen(German) and Cambridge(English) curriculum, and co-planned lesson topics and long range timelines, as well as planned school trips and set up our classrooms.  There is a lot of sharing that occurs on our campus, which I am in complete support of!  On Friday we gathered for a potluck, at which our school's directors provided many of the beverages.  We toasted the new school year with pink bubbly champagne, shared a delicious cooperative meal, and had a wonderful afternoon!

I am truly grateful to be sharing a flat with the other new teachers from the states.  We help each other out a lot!  Alicia and I went to get photos together for our visas, and had a very cool experience - we watched an impromptu choir performance in a pharmacy.  Sort of like a flashmob of music.  They sang 'Hallelujah' as well as other traditional and not so traditional church songs.  It was totally unexpected and very cool!

One thing I find very interesting is that there is a lot of 'do it yourself' here in Germany, where you can rent out tools and space and take care of things on your own.  From garages to shops to changing watch batteries.  I think it's very cool!

I have visited several towns in Germany in the week or so that I have been here: Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Viernheim, Mannheim, and Kaiserslautern.  It's been a lot colder here than I anticipated, and I seem to have dropped a little weight during my travels, so I decided to purchase a few new articles for this school year.  I adore H&M, and bought most of my purchases from them, but tried to spread it around the economy.  I'm sure you will see some of my new items in future posts, but for now I must sign off.  I will write again soon!  Tschuss!  

PS Today I bought Boots with the Fur! NOT made in China.  Yay!

PPS I also participated in an impromptu Zumba session in the middle of the street while shopping yesterday.  How awesome is that?!