I Come from a Land Down Under...

So here are a few more pictures of my apartment. This is my living room. It has a couch, some shelves and drawers, a desk, and coffee table. Today I also got a TV, so that's a new activity for me. I had asked my landlord about it yesterday, and he came down and rang my doorbell this evening. I have to go online and register it still, but it'll be really nice to have.

I've been meaning to post, but unfortunately blogspot and I have been fighting a lot. It doesn't like to always follow through when I post things. I noticed that the picture thing didn't totally work on my previous post, so I'm going to try and fix that.

This week has been going fairly well. On Tuesday I went to Darmstadt and met up with my friend Jessica again. It was really nice to get together. We just walked around, did a little shopping, and grabbed some dinner. Hopefully we will continue to get together regularily. She is also going to try and take a class at the University in Darmstadt.

Yesterday, I observed a 9th grade and a 10th grade English class. They were both taught by Herr Koettl. The 9th graders are reading about an African family that lived in Great Britain for a while and then returned to Africa. The 10th graders are reading the book, Holes. I really liked both of the classes and hope to have the chance to work with them again.

This morning I worked with the same half of the 9th grade Realschule class that I worked with last week. It went pretty well. They are somewhat unruly though. They tend to talk with their neighbors while someone is talking and don't always pay attention.

Tomorrow I will be doing three lessons (normally I will have Fridays off, but this week I said I would come in tomorrow). First I will be working with the 13th grade English class. They are working on Australia, and their teacher Frau Lorenz (Christina), asked me to bring in a modern Australian song. I was kind of lost, so I talked to my friend Scott from ND who studied in Australia. He suggested, along with some others, Down Under by Men at Work. I found some interesting information about the song, and it has some Australian slang in it, so hopefully the students will find it interesting. It is from 1982, but is still popular.

This weekend I am heading to Munich for Oktoberfest. I am really excited. I am meeting up with a number of people including Erin from ND, Emily (but she can't come until Saturday because she is in Cornwall with her school), and Liz (another friend from Waldsee - she is a teaching assistant in Vienna). Some of my other friends I met at orientation are going to be there too, so we are hoping to meet up. We had some trouble finding a place to stay, so it looks like we will be camping, which should be interesting!

Go Irish! Beat Boilermakers!

Tag der Zahngesundheit

Ok, so I've decided to put some pictures of my apartment up. The one on the right is my bedroom. It's very nice. The window looks out into the backyard, which is full of pretty flowers and plants. The one on my left is the kitchen. In the kitchen I have a sink, microwave, fridge, hot pot, small oven, and small stove.

So, for those of you confused about the title, today apparently is Tag der Zahngesundheit (Dental Health Day). It hasn't had much of an impact on my day, other than they have been talking about it on the radio.

Well today I just observed again. I also met with Monika today to discuss my schedule. It looks like I will be working 8-12 hours a week depending on the week and what teachers want me to come. I'm very excited because I will have Fridays off. Most of my other Fulbright friends have Fridays off too, so it should be good for traveling. I will be working with the 9th and 10th grade bilingual History classes, 12th grade English, 13th grade English, 9th grade Realschule English, and 6th grade English. In addition, I will be offering an afterschool activitity/club. In it I will do reading, creative writing, discussion, and watch some films with the students (all in English of course). It will be offered to the 9th and 10th graders.

This afternoon I went to 12th grade English for the first time. They meet every other Monday for 2 periods. They are working with the American Dream and The Challenge of the Individual, so I will be helping with these topics. Today they were reading Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech. It was very interesting to hear what they said about it. I guess, I kind of take for granted that people should understand the Civil Rights Movement, but it really cannot be compared to anything that has happened in another country's history. It is so tied to how the United States was founded and really starts with the first slaves brought over and continues on today. It is also very interesting to hear the words they sometimes use to describe things, since their teachers are not necessarily aware of the current, politically correct way to say things.

I am pretty excited about the classes I will be working with. I'm really ready to just fast forward to where I am settled into a routine, know the students, and know what I'm doing!

Oh the Weekend!

This weekend Emily came from Roedermark to hang out. Friday we took the bus to Darmstadt. There my roommate, Jessica, from orientation met us. Jessica is a teaching assistant at a Berufschule in Darmstad and living with a family in Griesheim, which is just outside of Darmstadt. The three of us got some ice cream and walked around. I really like Darmstadt. There is a lot going on and there are a lot of neat stores and restaurants. Jessica had to head back to Griesheim relatively early, because she was going out with her host family. Fortunately I think Jessica and I are going to get together for dinner sometime this week.

Emily and I decided to take the bus back a little earlier, so we could get to the grocery store before it closed. After running to the grocery store, we walked around town and looked for someplace to grab dinner. We ended up going to the Italian restaurant and both had great meals! Emily thought the restaurant was excellent, and she spent a year studying in Florence. After dinner we walked back to my apartment. We had a somewhat late dinner and were walking back around 10pm and there was no one out and basically no noise in town.

Saturday ran some errands around Gross-Bieberau. While we were at the post office, I ran into one of the 6th graders from Frau Oess's 6th grade class (one of the classes that I think I will be working with semi-regularly). It was exciting to see someone that I recognize and that recognized me as well. That afternoon we took the bus to Brensbach for Apfeltage (Apple Days). There had been a lot of advertisements in the newspapers, so we thought we'd check it out. Brensbach is a little, cute town. The festival was rather small, but was fun to see. There were some live musicians and lots of little booths set up. Emily and I each had some Apfelwein (apple wine) and Apfelkuchen (apple cake). The picture above is of a man making apple cider in Brensbach.

Saturday night was Kneipennacht (bar night) in Gross-Bieberau. We made some dinner for ourselves and then headed down to check it out. I thought it might be a good opportunity to meet some people in town. There were a few people walking around. We went to one bar and had a drink, but no one was really interacting with anyone other than those seated at their table. So we decided to come back to the apartment and watch a movie.

This morning we went to mass at Sankt Andreas here in town. After mass we made a nice breakfast and hung out. Then I road the bus with Emily to Reinheim where she caught a bus back to Roedermark. It was really nice to have her here for the weekend. In addition to having someone to spend time with, it was nice that someone got to see what my life is kind of like here.
This evening I bought my flights home for Christmas. I will be home from December 22 to January 13. I'm really excited. Emily and I were going to try to fly together, but it didn't work out.

Adventures in German Bureaucracy and Teaching

So yesterday I had the day off from going to school in order to take care of some things. First, I took the bus into Darmstadt to try and matriculate in the University there. I took the bus into Darmstadt and then walked to the University. After a long struggle to prove that I had health insurance, I discovered that I also need a copy of my degree and an official transcript. Unfortunately, I do not have either one of those items with me, so it looks like I will be waiting a while to matriculate!

After spending the morning in Darmstadt, I took the train to Dieburg. Emily met me in Dieburg, since it is about halfway between us. In Dieburg is the Landratsamt (the district office) where I had to go to get a residence permit. Although it took a while, and there was some confusion, I was able to get my residence permit.

Emily and I then spent the afternoon in Dieburg. Dieburg has a very nice Altstadt and some fun little shops. We got some gelato at the Eiscafe and just hung out. The picture above is of a fountain in Dieburg. Before leaving we grabbed some dinner, and a retired couple from Maine happened to sit down at the table next to us! It was very random, since Dieburg is relatively small and definitely not on the usual tourist routes. It was really fun to talk to them, but it didn't last long, because we had to head to the train station to catch our rides home.

Today I taught my first class. Last week and this week I went to a double period of 9th grade English. Today during the second period I took have of the class to work on a text. The class is about 35 students, so it is very helpful to be able to split them up. It went relatively well, but I think I'm really going to have to concentrate on speaking slowly and clearly with students. In addition I observed the 9th and 10th grade Spanish classes again.

Tomorrow Emily is going to come to Gross-Bieberau. I have to work in the morning, so she is going to come around noon. I think that tomorrow we are going to go shopping and hang out in Darmstadt. One of my roommates from orientation, Jessica is located in Darmstadt, so we may hang out with her. She also let me know that there is an event in Darmstadt tomorrow - Lange Nacht der Musen - and the museums are open until 3am, so we may check that out. Saturday I think we may go to Mannheim and then there is a Kneipennacht here in Gross-Bieberau that night.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day

So, this picture is of the main street in Gross Bieberau, which, as you can see, is totally under construction. It is supposed to be during October - hopefully this will make downtown a little more active!

As you may have noticed, I figured out how to enter links into my blog, so there are some listed on the sidebar on the right now. Included are the websites for the school I am working at and the town I am living in.

This week I am doing mostly observing again. Yesterday I spent a period with the 10th grade bilingual History class as well as a period with 6th grade English. They are both very nice classes. After History, Monika and I talked a little bit about more specifically what I will be doing with her classes. It looks like I will be teaching a lesson for the 10th graders on the Roaring 20s in the United States soon (definitely will have to think back to what I learned in US History junior year!) Also, the 12th graders are working a lot with the United States in English class, so I'm going to work with the a lot on topics such as the structure of the US government and immigration in the United States.

I really enjoyed being with the 6th graders. We told them that I did not speak any German, so they had to interview me in English to find anything out. They were all very excited. One of the boys at the end of the class even came up and let me know that his father is from the United States. Today I went with the 6th graders again - one period of English and one of German. It's amazing how much the kids know in only their second year of English!

In addition today I spent some time in with 9th and 10th grade Spanish classes. The second foreign language (first is English, which starts in 5th) starts in 9th grade, at my school the students have the choice between Spanish and French. Although I was able to understand everything that was going on I had a lot of trouble communicating. It's really disappointing how much Spanish I lost by not using it for 5 years! I will be going to the Spanish classes again on Thursday, so maybe things will go a little better. Although it was difficult, I still participated in the class activities and the students asked me questions in Spanish about what I am doing in Germany for the year.

On Thursday I will be doing my first teaching. I will be taking half of a 9th grade Realschule English class to work on reading and understanding an English text. I am really excited to get started and see how things go working with the kids on my own!

Weekend in Weil

This weekend, my friend, Emily (on the right in the photo), and I took the train down to visit my friend, Erin, from Notre Dame (on the left). Erin's family is living in Wei am Rhein, Germany, and Erin is doing medical research at the Universit in Basel. We spent most of the weekend just hanging out with Erin's family. Erin is the third of eight children. Her three youngest siblings, Jamie, Emily, and Joey (ages 13, 12, and 11) are living with her parents in Germany and attending an international school there.
Saturday night we got to watch the Notre Dame game against Michigan. Unfortunately the game did not go as we all had hoped, but we still had fun. We cooked up a German tailgate with Wurst and Kartoffelsalat and even played some beer pong, Also, Bryan, a 2000 ND grad living in Basel joined us for the game.
It was really nice to get some time to hang out with people that I know and hang out in a family setting. Coming back to Gross-Bieberau was a bit of an adventure because my train from Frankfurt to Reinheim was delayed, but it all worked out. This week I will be observing again at school and putting together a regular schedule for what classes I will be working with.

Continuing on...

I'm still figuring out the whole posting pictures thing. I haven't figured out how to post them anywhere other than at the beginning of an entry. This is my apartment from the outside though. It is the lower section of the house on the backside(my windows look at the backyard). I have my own entrance (complete with doorbell and outside light). My apartment is very nice. It has 4 rooms - bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. I have pictures of all the rooms, but I'm afraid it will get hard to load this if i post them all at once.

Today has been a pretty good day. I spent quite a bit of time at school, which was nice. I observed four different classes and made a schedule for observing next week. Next week I am going to meet with Herr Boeker, who is like the assistant principal. Herr Boeker is in charge of all the scheduling. Next week I will be observing more English classes include all of the 9th and 10th grade bilingual History classes. Also, I will be going to some of the 6th grade English classes, which will be interesting (students start with English in 5th grade). Additionally, I requested to sit in on some Spanish classes, so I will be observing some 9th and 10th grade Spanish classes. I think it will be interesting to see if the same teaching techniques will be used in Spanish classes as in English classes. I am also interested in comparing it to my own Spanish-learning experience (I took Spanish in school from 5th through 12th grade).

Tomorrow I will once again be with the 9th graders for their bilingual History class. I also will be going to an 11th grade German class. I am most excited about sitting in on two classes of 13th grade English. This will be the oldest and most advanced students in the school. The woman who teaches this class has been really helpful. Also, I think I will be regularily working with this class as well as the bilingual History classes once I get a more permanent schedule.

This weekend I am heading down to Weil am Rhein, where my friend Erin from Notre Dame lives with her family. My friend Emily from Waldsee is coming down as well. I am really excited to have some time with some familiar faces. Plus we are going to watch the Notre Dame game versus Michigan on Saturday, so I am really looking forward to that!

Go Irish! Beat Wolverines!

The Bieber in Bieberau

Ok, so for those of you who did not know Biber means beaver, so that is where the name Gross-Bieberau comes from. Therefore there are of course Beaver statues in the town square.

Well today I observed two more classes. I observed an 11th grade German class as well as going to the 9th grade bilingual history class again. I enjoyed both classes. The German classes was working on a short story, and the 9th graders were learning about the French Revolution. In addition, during one of the breaks today, the principal introduced me to the faculty in the teachers' lounge. It was nice, because now everyone understands who I am and what I'm doing there. A lot of teachers talked to me afterwards. They were all nice, and I hope to get to know them better.

After school, Monika invited me to go to get something to eat. We decided to go to Dieburg, since that is where I needed to go to get a visa. Unfortunately, although I already registered in Gross-Bieberau, I am not in the system yet, so I was unable to apply for a visa. I will have to go try again next week. But the trip to Dieburg was still very worthwhile. Dieburg is larger than Gross-Bieberau and has a lot of nice stores and Cafes. It also has a very cute Altstadt.

Tomorrow I will be spending most of the day at school. I am observing all day except for one class period. I'm very excited to being spending more time at school tomorrow and getting to know so more teachers. The only bad things it that the first period starts at 7.45, which is pretty early for me!

I have not figured out how to put links in the column indicated for links on here, but for reference if anyone is interested, my school's website is: http://www.aesgb.de.

Day 1 of Observing

Well this picture pretty much shows the most exciting happenings of today. I did my first observing today and met some students. In addition I was able to get a bike from my school. This picture shows some of the 10th graders during their gym class. In addition on the far right is my mentor, Monika.

Today I observed three classes - a 9th grade history class taught in English, a 10th grade German class, and a 10th grade theatre class. I was also able to get to know some more teachers. I met three of the English teachers in addition to Monika. I also met some of the younger teachers and one student teacher.

The school also gave me a bike today, and Monika was kind enough to buy me a lock. I'm really excited to have a bike, because it will give me a lot more mobility in gettting around the area. This afternoon I biked to Reinheim, it's only about 3 miles away, to the train station there. So, now I can easily get myself to a train station. There is also a bus I can take to Reinheim or Darmstadt.

The weather has been great since I got here. Yesterday and today it was around 80 degrees. Unfortunately it's going to cool down and get rainy over the weekend, which may interfere with biking around! Tomorrow I think I'm going to try biking to Dieburg, which is a little farther than Reinheim.

One week in to my 10 months

Ok, so I'm really new to blogging. I'm doing this so that anyone who is interested can kind of have an idea of what I'm up to this year. My landlord was nice enough to install internet in my apartment today, so I should be able to do this relatively regularly (I probably will do it regularly, since, at least now, I don't have too much going on).

Well, I arrived in Germany one week ago today. I flew over with my friend Emily who I've been going to Waldsee (German camp) with since we were about 10. Last week we had orientation in the little town of Altenberg outside of Cologne. At orientation there were 140 Americans, about 40 Brits, and then a few people from Canada, Ireland, and Australia. I was able to make some great contacts, and sort of get prepared for this year.

Friday I enjoyed the adventure of taking the bus from Altenberg to Cologne, then a train from Cologne to Mainz, and then a train from Mainz to Darmstadt, where my Betreuungslehrerin (mentor), Monika, picked me up. Monika showed me around a little bit and took me to my apartment. My apartment is below the house of a retired couple, the Holzhaeusers. They are very nice, and I'm hoping to get to know them quite well during my time here.

On Saturday Monika took me to Darmstadt to get a cell phone, so I could have contact with the outside world. She then took me to lunch. I was then somewhat left on my own until this morning. I spent my time taking lots of walks, reading, writing letters, and then walking around some more. Unfortunately my apartment does not have a tv, but that may come yet. Fortunately since I got a cell phone I was able to get in touch with my parents.

Sunday was a partiularly lonely day. I went to mass in the morning, which was very nice. The church, Sankt Andreas (St. Andrews), is a small very nice church. The congregation and priest seem nice. Yesterday, I did not really feel up to introducing myself to anyone, but I think I may go in on Wednesday to the church and introduce myself.

Today I went to my school for the first time. It was nice, but I was only there for about an hour. Tomorrow I will be introduced to most of the teachers and things. But, the big event today was getting internet. I was expecting to get it this week, but not today. Internet also means I can now use Skype, which means I can cheaply (and sometimes for free) talk to people back in the states.

Well I just wanted to write a quick introduction. I'm sure I will write more tomorrow.