Oktober Continues!

Hello friends and family!  It's been nearly two weeks since I've posted, and the coolest thing to happen in that time is the Halloween party at school.  I helped my friend and former flat mate Suzanne, our school's Spanish teacher, with the Dia de Los Muertos celebration.  We made pan de muerto and bright paper flowers.  She painted us both as sugar skulls, and as my friend said, very calavera (referring to artistic representation of skulls).  The students all dressed up, as did the teachers.  It was very fun!  Then we have been on break for the past week.

Dress rehearsal - Suzanne is SO Talented!

2nd Grade All dressed up for Halloween

Preperamos pan de muerto.

Serious about bread making!

The Skeletons of 2nd Grade!

Unfortunately, due to limited funds and large quantities of planning, I have not gone on any adventures, other than a trip to Ikea and a night on the town in Mannheim!  Next week I will be conducting a 'Duct Tape Construction Camp' at school.  That should prove interesting!  I will keep you posted!

Oktoberfest and Other Awesome Adventures!

Well, loved ones, I made it to Oktoberfest.  I didn't think I would this year...  I wasn't sure if I would have the time or the funds, but the opportunity presented itself and I went.  It was wicked fun!  We didn't have reservations, as it was sort of a last minute decision, but thanks to my charm we still managed to participate.

 We were allowed to sit on the porch of a 'beer tent', but were told it was impossible for us to sit inside without reservations, as it was the last week of the year.  So we sat at the wooden bench and table, ordered beer and chicken, and watched the craziness around us.  The chicken, kraut, and potato dumplings were delicious, and the beer was epic. I do not believe I have EVER consumed a beer quite as large as this one, but my goal was to finish it, and I succeeded.  It was as big as my face!

While we were enjoying our food and beverage, a couple sat down at our table.  We started speaking in German, but quickly realized we were all from the USA, and quickly switched to English!  The husband had recently retired from the army and was teaching at a military school near Stuttgart.  They had lived in Germany for several years and gave us many great suggestions of places to go and things to do!  By the time I finally finished my beer, I decided to visit the toiltte, so I wandered nonchalantly into the beer garden.  When I came back out, Israel had gone in to do the same, so when he returned, we just decided to join the party inside!

I may have consumed another beer while inside the tent...  And made quite a few friends!  Since we didn't have reservations, we did not have seats at tables. However, lots of people mill about, and we just wandered up to a table at a corner near the music.  Me, being the outgoing person that I am, introduced myself and met a group that were there for a work function - how cool is that?! They were all IT types, so much of what they did was difficult for me to understand, but we all enjoyed singing 'Sweet Caroline' at the top of our lungs, and the language barrier was only a minor inconvenience!

But Oktoberfest hasn't been my only adventure this month!  Last weekend I traveled with my flat-mates Suzanne & Greg, along with their two children to Speyer, where our colleague Catherine lives.  She plays professional basketball and is one of the star players for the Speyer Towers.  She was fantastic!  She made a three point shot in the last 13 seconds of the game to make the score 100 to 58!  Before her game, she 

showed us around her town and took us to a super cool museum of automotive history and technology! There were submarines, motorcycles, a space shuttle, helicopters, and jets - even a nifty lego StarWars model. Several of the airplanes were suspended in the air with giant tubes to slide down.  So fun!

Oh and a park, where the jungle gym was a spider, so children can climb up and wander through, learning about what happens on the inside - so neat!!!  The buildings in the town were beautiful, too!  I am excited to visit Speyer again!  Well, I need to get back to lesson planning.  Stay in touch - I miss you!

Welcome Oktober!

Hello Friends & Family!  Herbst (Autumn) has arrived in Germany!  The days are getting shorter, gusty and occasionally rainy weather, and the need for lots of layers, scarves, and a desire to wear bold colors (as well as caramel apple ciders & pumpkiny baked goods)!  Yesterday we celebrated our first German holiday Tag der Deutschen Einheit, or The Day of German Unity, commemorating the anniversary of German's reunification in 1990.  On Wednesday my house, recently dubbed 'The Hacienda', hosted a BBQ to which we invited our colleagues.  We ate, we imbibed, we talked, we danced.  It was wonderful! Then I went with Israel to visit Heidelberg.  It was beautiful!  We went on a tour of the castle and saw the Apothecary museum which was fascinating.  Next time we visit Heidelberg I hope to catch up with my cousins, but they were at a birthday party this time around.

Beautiful facades inside the castle.

The biggest wine barrel in the world!

Overlooking Old Heidelberg from the castle.

Looking out on the old bridge in Heidelberg.

   

One reason I have fallen in love with teaching in Germany is I am finally popular for my singing!  Believe it or not, I was actually asked to do a solo in front of the whole school!!! True story - here's how it came about: Our school has a very strong foundation in music, as one of the school's founders, Bernhardt Bentgens is a musician.  I was walking down the stairs when he was working with the Gynasium (or middle school/high school) students on three part harmony with the song 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' in our school's foyer.  I stopped to watch, and when he asked for the 4th part, or the solo, no one volunteered.  Well, you know me - I volunteer for EVERYTHING, and this was no exception!  Besides, I felt that if the students saw me put it out there, they might not be so nervous. So, when the time for the 4th part came, I belted it out.  It was awesome!  Not my singing, just getting to sing a solo!  The kids LOVED it.  I received so many compliments, and when someone suggested the Gynasium students sing the song for the whole school, I was invited to do the solo part again.  Not only that, but I got to sing the Eye of the Tiger while leading my 2nd graders in the dance.  I learned quite quickly, however, that it is very challenging to sing the song AND dance to it.  But we still had fun! Well, that's all the news I have for now.  Stay tuned!

One Month!

Hello family and friends!  I have officially been here for one month and, although I have been less than punctual with my posts, I HAVE been having a great time!  I am finally feeling like I have a handle on my curriculum, I'm working out a way to facilitate two different grades of math & science at one time in a single classroom.  My students are pretty special.  In 2nd grade, we are currently working on plants, and exercising our grammar skills as well as learning a rad dance to 'Eye of the Tiger' (thanks, Wii dance) that we'll preform for the whole school on Thursday!  We are also embarking on our first field trip this Friday 'Into the Wild'! My 5th & 6th graders are reviewing place value and gearing up for problem solving and algebra; we just finished practicing scientific enquiry (British spelling), Lab Procedures, Record Keeping, & Conversions.  We'll work more on conversions later, but for now we're moving onto life sciences - we're exploring organs next week.  I have big plans!  So, although I still have a LOT of work ahead of me, I have a lot to look forward to, as well!

With the heavy load of learning and incorporating two different curriculum, as well as the policies and procedures of a new school in a foreign country, I have definitely felt some stress since my arrival.  I have high standards and expectations for myself, and I want to help our students excel!  I have managed to avoid burnout, though, as I am not allowing myself to work on Saturdays. Instead I have been venturing out and about in Kaiserslaughtern!  I've explored a bazaar, a museum and the Japanese Garden, as well as shopped for some back to school and winter essentials!

I am enjoying my experience in Germany so far, and I feel exceptionally blessed to be here.  My co-workers and flat mates are pretty great and I have some amazing friends here as well (not to mention my awesome cousins - I am so lucky)!  I'm looking forward to more adventures, including dancing at a 'local' country bar, attending the legendary Oktoberfest, hiking in the local forest, and exploring some of the nearby historical sites!  I will keep you posted.  Maybe not EVERY week, but regularly!  As always, I miss you.  Please come visit.  Tschuss!

Better Late Than Never...

I had intended to post weekly to my blog.  Reality had different plans.  I am in full lesson-planning mode, and spending most of my spare time figuring out what I will be teaching in my classes this year, and how to implement the cool techniques I have in my toolbox!  Already many of my tricks have come in handy.  Thank-you to all my awesome instructors and core teachers, as well as my colleagues in HU105 - working with you has helped me become a better teacher, and I am endeavoring to make you proud by providing a top-notch and fully engaging learning experience for my students!

Our first week of school went by so fast!  It started on Tuesday, September 3rd.  We had a school wide assembly and my friend and flatmate Alicia sang a beautiful song for everyone.  She teaches Drama, Social Studies, and English, as well as being an amazing singer!

Our second week of school is now almost over, and I adore my students.  I am teaching Science and Math to five 6th graders, five 5th graders, and 14 2nd graders.  The 2nd graders also learn English from me, and the 5th/6th graders have me for homeroom.  I share subjects with several other teachers; and consequently am able to co-teach!  My 2nd graders learn math in English and German; their homeroom teacher is also one of the German teachers and we teach together.  I am picking up some German in this class - I can now count to 100!  However, my general German language studies have stalled in deference to my lesson planning. As I get more organized and pick up steam, though, I will be able to work on it again!  There is a bit of a language barrier, but the students are pretty great about helping each other figure out the correct English word. I have such smart and resourceful students!

I spend most of my week working, but try to relax and have fun when and where I can. I have amazing flatmates who enjoy playing boardgames (what luck!), and I try to explore new places on the weekends.

This past weekend I experienced a Saturday Fruit & Vegetable Market, an awesome underground humidor, the swing festival in Kaiserslautern, and a Ramstein cover band in Landsthul.  Good times!  I fully expect to lesson plan this weekend, but if I am able to take some time out for fun, rest assured I'll share it with you!  I miss you very much, but am grateful for the opportunity to be here in Germany.  Tschuss!

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?!

I've Arrived!

                 I am writing this post in Viernheim, Germany!  I have made it to my house, met my flat mates, and am ready to start teacher orientation!  It was quite a wonderful trip getting here, and many thanks goes to my Aunt Machushla, Uncle Paul, cousins Ian & Arras, and my friend Eric Geary whom I graduated from high school with and now lives in Germany quite the happy coincidence!

                I left Washington State on Tuesday, August 20^th after my awesome cousin Kristina woke up at the crack of dawn to buy me tea and doughnuts on the way to SeaTac airport.  She wished me farewell, and I checked into my flight.  I landed at Reagan in Washington DC where my cousin Arras collected me from the airport and drove me to Severna Park and I had a lovely dinner with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins.  Aunt Cush, Uncle Paul, and Ian had just returned from Ireland, and Ian was eager to tell me all about my Irish heritage with the help of 6 beautifully wrought pewter cups depicting several of Ireland's famous legends and lore.  Aunt Cush and I also took Angus the Westie for a walk and met a few of the neighbors. 

On Wednesday my cousin Arras and I took the subway into the city to visit the National Mall.  I am delighted that our nation’s capitol is so accessible!  We first visited the Freer Art Gallery before wandering to the visitor center in the Castle where I understand the Smithsonian collection was initially displayed.  I purchased a lovely charm bracelet which I intend to add to throughout my travels here in Europe!  We were hungry, and found some delicious and interesting fare at the Native American Museum, before boarding the hop-on/hop-off buss to take us around the capital.  We visited Madame Tesaud’s wax museum and poked around in the gift shop of Ford’s Theater before meeting a dear friend at the Navy Memorial.  We visited over tea, and then Arras and I saw the Air and Space Museum.  We boarded the subway and I fell asleep on the way back to Severna Park. 

Aunt Cush and Ian accompanied me into the city on Thursday morning.  They got a head start at the Natural History Museum while I took the opportunity to visit the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.  I joined Ian and Aunt Cush at the museum in time for lunch, and then Ian was my tour guide through the geology, insect, mammal, fossil, and ocean exhibits.  The photo gallery was spectacular!  I now have three new dream destinations based upon the breath taking photos I observed.  Sadly, we had to head back to Severna Park as my flight was that evening.  I wish I had more time – there is SO much to see and do in DC!  It was Uncle Paul’s birthday, so after a delicious meal of Chinese take-out, Arras presented the lovely cake she had baked for her father completely from scratch.  My cousin is a very talented woman!  Then Uncle Paul drove me to the airport in plenty of time for the next leg of my journey.

I landed at Frankfurt International around 10am Friday morning, cleared customs, collected my baggage, visited the USO, and made my way to the train station.  It is awkward taking trains with large and bulky luggage – I will be traveling much lighter for the rest of my stay, but considering I was packing for a year, I can’t really complain.  I made it to Stuttgart around 2pm and managed to find a Starbucks with free wifi (one of my favorite things about starbucks!), ordered a Chai Latte, then worked on my German flashcards while people watching until my friend Eric arrived.  It is truly excellent that I have friends and family here already! We took the train to a parking lot where he drove the rest of the way to his place – a 3 story town house just outside the city.  We walked to dinner and had a grand time catching up.  The next day we went shopping in Stuttgart, where I purchased a cardigan (I may need to purchase more cold weather clothes sooner than I planned!) and two books in German to help facilitate my learning.  Luckily, there was an Irish festival in another suburb of Stuttgart, and after a hearty lunch of spatzle, we watched an Irish band rock out while drinking a few pints of ale and cider.  I met some of Eric’s co-workers and then called it a night.  After a quick and much appreciated breakfast of waffles and sausage (I find that jet-lag is most profound for my appetite – I wake up ravenous!), Eric drove me to Viernheim.  Sadly, I slept almost the entire way, so I didn’t see much of the country side, but we found my house and my flat mates are wonderful.  They like playing board games as much as I do, and even have Settlers of Catan!  We had a lovely evening with their German friends, discussing different pronunciations and differences between phonetics of the English and German languages.  All in all, it has been an excellent adventure getting here.  Next up: Teacher Orientation starts this week.  Wish me luck!