auf deutsch!!

Today I had my first choir rehearsal at OHG, my old school. It was really nice to go back and see some old faces, and be welcomed back. After an entire year of listening to Germans sing songs in English, (just imagine bohemian rhapsody or Michael Jackson with a German accent!) we’re finally singing songs in German!! Only 2 of them, but still, it’s awesome… One of my old students leaned over to me and goes “you should sing this song with the worst American accent you possibly can, just so we know what you go through on a weekly basis!” I was sorely tempted, but it’s hard enough singing in German without intentionally sounding crap, so I stuck with my natural accent. Maybe for the performance next month the strong Ami accent will come out :D happy almost weekend, everyone!!
-s

case of the mondays on a tuesday.

So, I just started my second actual week of teaching, and in true German fashion, half of my classes for the week have been canceled. It’s "klassenfahrt" week, which means that lots of the classes and the teachers are away on school trips, so I’m either teaching alone, or classes have just been canceled. Now, normally, my schedule isn’t that intense: I work 5 hours on Tuesday, 4 hours on weds, and 3 on Friday. This week: 5 today, none tomorrow, and 1 on Friday. Out of a total of 12 hours that I normally work, I’m now working 6. Lots of free time is great, but there’s NOBODY HERE. I’ve been reading a lot, and playing by (not with!) myself outside. So far, I’m really enjoying the new school, and most of the kids and teachers are enthusiastic, but it’s again difficult to break into an already established micro-society, so I’m still very much an outsider… at least my German is much better than last year’s, so at least now I can converse with anyone who chooses to say hi! Nothing else really new to report, except that I made some bomb-ass pasta last night involving lots of veggies and home-made pesto sauce…

oh germany, i love you...

you come up with such interesting activities:

back in germany!

So, I’ve been in Göttingen a week! For those of you unfamiliar with the situation, the short and sweet story is that I suddenly was supposed to be at my school, unbeknownst to me, and so I had to rush the end of my summer, pack hurriedly, and get on a plane over here! I’m at a new Gymnasium now, the Hainberg gymnasium, which is just west of the city center, and a really pretty building. It is only the upper levels of school, so it starts at 9th grade (YAY!!) which means I’m only teaching older kids, which is just fine by me! The English teachers have been really welcoming and nice, and so now I’m juggling attempting to iron out my schedule for the semester. Other than that, I’ve been busy settling back into my apartment, organizing my life, and getting stuff done that needs to get done like: make my bike functional, get my visa(s), get school supplies, etc… It’s been beautiful weather here though, which has really helped/hindered my progress, as all I really want to do is go play in the sun and warmth! Tomorrow it’s supposed to be 91 degrees, so I’m not particularly excited about that, but it is also my second day off this week, so maybe I’ll go for a bike ride to somewhere cooler… we’ll see!
Hope everyone ELSE is having a great summer
-seany