In the two weeks I have been in Weil and at the school, I have noticed a few things. I am sitting in my half assembled classroom at the school. It's half assembled because I have started to move things around to where I actually want them to be versus where they were put and I haven't had time to finish because the daily duties of teaching take first priority. Just a side note, I think I pulled my back a bit trying to move things around. I have never actually done that before and it doesn't feel good. I will definitely be more careful next time!!
I love the windows in Germany. You have three options: closed, open, and what I call "the V." You can put the window in these three position by moving the handle to various degrees: 6 o'clock, 3 o'clock, or 12 o'clock (respectively).
They also have these great systems for blinds, that not only block out the sun, but also act as security. That way you can have your window open, but feel secure that no one will just climb in. I've seen these types before, but just can't get over how cool they are.
If I could, these would be two things I would import to the US!! Money maker?;)
The slugs here are way different than those in Oregon. I'll take pictures as soon as possible. Some are bright orange and you can find them everywhere. I've only seen two earthworms.
Blackberry grows here, but I have seen very few ripe ones and they aren't as big. Sad day because I absolutely love blackberries. (Sandy, have you figured out how to get them and ship them from Oregon. yet?) It's still nice to see familiar shrubbery.
God makes the most beautiful clouds here. I'll try to get as many pictures as possible. Some of the mornings have been absolutely glorious.
The weather is incredibly similar to Oregon (Eugene, specifically). This morning we were in a cloud bubble that was constantly raining and now it id warm an the sun is shining brightly with no rain in sight.
I have more, but I will save them for another time. Know that I am doing well, besides the back. I so appreciate your encouragement and prayers. I feel so blessed by all of you. Thank you for making the last two weeks of transition easier!
-Aubrey
30 August 2007
26 August 2007
Germany Day 1
Was 32 hours long. Immediately after getting off the plane (the airport is actually in France), we drove to the school (which is obviously in Germany, but you have to drive through Switzerland, so I got to be in three countries in a matter of minutes. That’s how close to the border I am.) The staff, parents, and students were at the school for an open house/meet the teacher’s afternoon. It was quite interesting to be the person to talk to at the open house. The staff went out to Nino’s for Italian after the open house and we had a great time. Allison and Anne and I stayed up until 12:30am or so just chatting about random things. So, in all I had a great first day, despite the fact that it was actually longer than a full day and really felt like three days.
Day 2
I woke up at 4:30 in the morning, stayed up for several hours trying to go back to sleep and finally got out of bed at about 11:30. I eventually got to school to try and get some work done, but I got a migraine. So, I went back to the girls’ apartment and shut myself in the dark. The rest of the evening was spent with the girls in the apartment doing as little as possible.
Day 3
Saturday was a day to just hang out and get my bearings, as well as celebrating Josie’s birthday. She is the ESL teacher. We had party at the apartment. Jen was rally funny about the birthday candle’s because she said she couldn’t find “Josie” so she got the next best thing, which was “Dagmar.” If you don’t think that’s funny, I’m sorry. I guess you probably had to be there. It was a nice night, but I wasn’t really looking forward to having to get up for church the next morning.
Day 4
Was able to get up for church, even though I was really half asleep. I went to an Anglican church in Basel. It was good. I really appreciated the way they did communion. It just felt more personal somehow. The wine was great. (I know that statement for various reasons will shock some of you) The people were very nice, but I didn’t really take much away from it because I was still in the throngs of jet lag. There was one point during the sermon where I had to keep looking at different places around the sanctuary just to keep from shutting my eyes. The really cool thing was that on the way to church I actually recognized some places from when I went to Basel last year. The rest of the day was so chill. I took a nap, read, and worked on some lesson plans.
Day 5
The first day of school and can I say, I slept terribly the night before. I think it was because I was excited and because I still hadn’t quite switched to the time zone yet. It took all I had to get out of bed and get to school. The kids were great and we had a very fun and relaxed first day of school. Thankfully it was only a half day and we got some time to work. I stayed at the school until after 7pm getting the weeks lesson plans done and writing my parent letter, etc. When I got home the girls (Anne and Allison) had dinner all ready to eat and we watched little house on the prairie and then I crashed in bed with the help of some melatonin.
Day 6
The day went as usual. I hadn’t planned enough things so the kids got a good portion of free time and I realized that they really aren’t where they should be in reading. We have a lot of work to do this year. We had a staff meeting where we decided who would be organizing which of the yearly events. I will be co-planning the fall fundraiser and the spring concert. I got my room ready for the next day, locked everything up because I was the SMIC (staff member in charge).
I was really frustrated at the end of the day. I think because I have had this issue with being able to operate the various German doors and because I felt like I should know what is going on and yet, I had no clue (partly because I was new and partly because some things have been communicated very sporadically). Thankfully, Michael and Delynn were amazing. They took me to see the apartment I will be moving into once they are able to move into their place. It is really nice. I like it a lot! Then they went with me to the grocery store. I so appreciated Michael’s knowledge of German and that they just let me mosey to figure out what I wanted. When I got home, the girls had dinner ready, again. We ate and watched Gilmore Girls. I went to bed as soon as possible.
I was really frustrated at the end of the day. I think because I have had this issue with being able to operate the various German doors and because I felt like I should know what is going on and yet, I had no clue (partly because I was new and partly because some things have been communicated very sporadically). Thankfully, Michael and Delynn were amazing. They took me to see the apartment I will be moving into once they are able to move into their place. It is really nice. I like it a lot! Then they went with me to the grocery store. I so appreciated Michael’s knowledge of German and that they just let me mosey to figure out what I wanted. When I got home, the girls had dinner ready, again. We ate and watched Gilmore Girls. I went to bed as soon as possible.
Day 7
Wow. I couldn’t believe that I had been in Germany for a whole week and yet, only a week. It felt like three weeks had passed and yet I barely new how to get around or what to do. The day was great with the kids. They got to have their first German lesson, as well as music and PE started. The bummer to the day was that I woke up with painfully swollen sinuses a headache and indigestion. PE consisted of the kindergarteners and first graders playing on the playground, and thankfully other teachers teach German and music, so I could be a little less “on” during those times.
This was also the day that we went to town hall to get my trash card (I’ll explain later) and meet the mayor of Weil. I was thankfully feeling much better at this point because of the two Excedrin I had taken earlier. The mayor told us about the history of Weil, about himself, and about his job. He is a very nice, funny guy. He studied in the US a couple times and has amazing English ability. He is a huge supporter of the school and is so positive about what can be achieved in the future for the school, but also for Weil am Rhein. We were there for about two hours where we got a picture taken for the local paper and were sent home with a ton of information on sites and activities around Weil and Basel. I might try to join one of the clubs a little later in the year when I get more of a handle on things.
While we were in the meeting, I had to use the toilet. I had to ask the mayor’s right hand man for directions and he was kind enough to show me to the staff restroom, which need a key that looks like a miniature head of a crow bar. I stood there looking at the door, which had a normal keyhole, trying to figure out how the two of these worked together. Finally, I decided to try the door without the key, and amazingly, it opened. I then discovered that the key was to open the stall door. Now, in Europe, it is always interesting to flush a toilet because you never know how the flushing mechanism will work. I have had to push, pull, twist, etc. This one was like a knob on a sink and you turned it and water flowed freely. You let it go until everything is gone and then you turn it back off. I have to say, my learning curve was much shorter on this toilet than it has been on others. Anyway, fun story about using the mayor’s bathroom.
By the time we left there, it was after 6pm and we decided it would be easier to go out than to make dinner. We were all tired. So, Anne, Allison, Michael, and Delynn, and I went to Tadim, which is a Turkish restaurant. I had the Turkish pizza, which was a bit spicy (I don’t normally do spicy, that’s my Gramma’s thing), but when you spread the lemon on it, it is amazingly delicious. I had the leftovers for lunch. I was excited that it wasn’t a sandwich.
This was also the day that we went to town hall to get my trash card (I’ll explain later) and meet the mayor of Weil. I was thankfully feeling much better at this point because of the two Excedrin I had taken earlier. The mayor told us about the history of Weil, about himself, and about his job. He is a very nice, funny guy. He studied in the US a couple times and has amazing English ability. He is a huge supporter of the school and is so positive about what can be achieved in the future for the school, but also for Weil am Rhein. We were there for about two hours where we got a picture taken for the local paper and were sent home with a ton of information on sites and activities around Weil and Basel. I might try to join one of the clubs a little later in the year when I get more of a handle on things.
While we were in the meeting, I had to use the toilet. I had to ask the mayor’s right hand man for directions and he was kind enough to show me to the staff restroom, which need a key that looks like a miniature head of a crow bar. I stood there looking at the door, which had a normal keyhole, trying to figure out how the two of these worked together. Finally, I decided to try the door without the key, and amazingly, it opened. I then discovered that the key was to open the stall door. Now, in Europe, it is always interesting to flush a toilet because you never know how the flushing mechanism will work. I have had to push, pull, twist, etc. This one was like a knob on a sink and you turned it and water flowed freely. You let it go until everything is gone and then you turn it back off. I have to say, my learning curve was much shorter on this toilet than it has been on others. Anyway, fun story about using the mayor’s bathroom.
By the time we left there, it was after 6pm and we decided it would be easier to go out than to make dinner. We were all tired. So, Anne, Allison, Michael, and Delynn, and I went to Tadim, which is a Turkish restaurant. I had the Turkish pizza, which was a bit spicy (I don’t normally do spicy, that’s my Gramma’s thing), but when you spread the lemon on it, it is amazingly delicious. I had the leftovers for lunch. I was excited that it wasn’t a sandwich.
Day 8
School was a day full of me trying to figure out what we would do when and how to fill the gaps. I think the kids really enjoyed the lax week and I took the opportunity of some preps to work on the second week’s worth of lesson plans. I got quite a bit done after school, as well. I then, had to meet Diana (my director) and Delice (one-on-one with a special needs student) at the bank to set up my bank account. We were only able to get the paperwork started because we got there right before closing, so I have to go back this Wednesday. Thankfully, though, I got home earlier than the previous days, so I was able to chill a bit more. I think we watched two episodes of Gilmore girls before bed that night.
Day 9
The last day of school for the first week. I survived my first week of my first year teaching! Oh my goodness. I made it through the day, finished my lesson plans, turned them in and got the room ready for Monday. I tutored a student for about a half an hour and then started on my cleaning duties. Because Fridays are cleaning days at RIA. This week it was my turn to clean the multi-purpose room, which is mainly used for the cafeteria. I got to sweep and mop. I also helped vacuum the upstairs hallway. Then, I got home as soon as I could. It was such a good feeling, walking home knowing I was prepared for this coming week and had the weekend free. I was home by myself that night because the girls had choir practice. I made myself dinner and then spent the rest of the night half conscious on the couch watching Gilmore Girls (with the English subtitles because I didn’t know how to get them off).
The weekend
Saturday I slept in to a whopping 8:30 am, but forced myself to stay in bed until 10:30 am. I am told that because of this, I am past the jet lag and I will be fine. I had a leisurely morning of laundry and Gilmore Girls. Until I figured out that we threw a breaker in the kitchen and I had no idea where the breaker box was. So, I found an extension cord in the hall that housed the phone, computer and internet. I found all of those new homes and relocated the extension cord to the kitchen where I fined the load in the washer and then plugged in the fridge. You may be wondering how the extension cord worked in the kitchen when a breaker had been blown, but one wall of outlets still worked for some reason. I know because I made toast to make sure. Since, none of the appliances had long enough cords, I had to use the extension cord. The house was an obstacle course, with the computer across the hall and the extension cord blocking the kitchen entrance. I tried to wash the dishes later, but the light wouldn’t turn on, so I couldn’t. Bummer☺
I went grocery shopping, and to a football (soccer) game. Josie’s husband, Jamath plays for the local team. It was a hoot. The old guys are so cute and there were two fights. One in the crowd and one on the field. The goalie got a red card. It was great! Next time, I will get a bratwurst and beer and let you know what I think. Before the game we were at ice cream and we heard all of this honking on the street ahead of where we were and then all these cars started to pass while honking their horns. It was a wedding party headed to the reception. They were all honking and they all had some sort of ribbon hanging off their antennae and whatnot. Anyway, cool tradition.
Today, I opted out of church just to give myself another day without anything. I finished my laundry this morning, enjoyed mid-morning devotions, and caught up on more Gilmore Girls. I have since spent the afternoon hanging out with Anne and Allison and working on this blog. School starts tomorrow and I am partially excited because my kids are great, but I will also miss the time to just relax and feel settled.
I went grocery shopping, and to a football (soccer) game. Josie’s husband, Jamath plays for the local team. It was a hoot. The old guys are so cute and there were two fights. One in the crowd and one on the field. The goalie got a red card. It was great! Next time, I will get a bratwurst and beer and let you know what I think. Before the game we were at ice cream and we heard all of this honking on the street ahead of where we were and then all these cars started to pass while honking their horns. It was a wedding party headed to the reception. They were all honking and they all had some sort of ribbon hanging off their antennae and whatnot. Anyway, cool tradition.
Today, I opted out of church just to give myself another day without anything. I finished my laundry this morning, enjoyed mid-morning devotions, and caught up on more Gilmore Girls. I have since spent the afternoon hanging out with Anne and Allison and working on this blog. School starts tomorrow and I am partially excited because my kids are great, but I will also miss the time to just relax and feel settled.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)