The weeks are getting busier and busier but anyone who knows me, knows that I am happiest when I am busiest. At least that is the theory...
I started my German lessons this week at the Open University. It's quite the experience actually. There are about 20 of us in the class and I think I'm the youngest. We all speak different languages and the instructor only speaks German. It's all a bit confusing but laughable. I communicate with my classmates using lots of eye contact and sighs and shrugs. It's fun learning another language though. We have cute little textbooks and we get handouts with pictures of people doing various things and we have to label their actions. I love worksheets! (and I usually finish mine first!) Fortunately my class in only an hour and a half on Tuesdays and Thursdays because my brain konks out after about an hour. I don't know how my students do it!
On Wednesday night my fellow A1 teacher and I took our Grade 12 English classes to see Hamlet performed in a castle. It was incredible. The show was an open air performance so we sat on plastic chairs in a courtyard of a castle that's been around since 1663 or something like that. I find that I am much more in awe of old buildings than my British colleagues. Anyway there were 7 players and they were phenomenal. They used the second version of Hamlet, which is considered the "bad" version as it's a tad more accessible. It was very entertaining and the Hamlet character was intense!
My students adored it and it was great hearing them compare this performance with the movie versions and discussing which Hamlet was more effective and which Ophelia was more tragic. It was really a very invigorating experience.
It was a late night and we had a double of English first thing the next morning. So I brought in freshly baked goods (local bakery opens at 6:30am!) and one of the boys brought in coffee and all was well.
I am now onto building some routines into my life because I do find comfort in routines. My Germany routines are all quite nice really. I've also started attending a local church. Well local is a bit relative. I have to take a tram downtown for about 20 minutes.. meet up with my friend at the coffee shop... caffeinate.. then take the street tram about 16 stops north east. That's not the best part though. When we get off the tram we go on a bit of a nature hike through the woods. It's about 800m and it is in the woods! At the end though we come out and there is the church! They may need to rethink their location but at the same time.. a little hike before church is always nice. I say this pre-winter of course! But yes.. it's a friendly place and really quite comfortable. People are nice and it's very International. (although a large percentage are American.. I'm dealing with it! haha) The music is great and the pastor is bright. There are lots of areas to get involved in too..I think it will suit me just fine for now.
The other English church is across a massive parkland area.. I don't know what's with these churches in woodlands!
Well I should sign off now. I have my neighbour's daughter coming over for an English lesson in about half an hour. Must clean up!
I'm doing all I can to hold myself back from hiring a Polish cleaning lady...
Happy Saturday Everyone!
3 comments:
Don't we just love Septembers!
Sounds like you are having a blast! Glad you are "soaking" it all in. Don't be too hard on us Americans, you know. :)
I *heart* worksheets too! I often look with great envy upon my childrens' new school books. And when the fill in the blanks messy, or cut and paste crooked, I want to take over and fix it. (this is likely not healthy!)
I'm imagining you walking 8oom in to the woods for church in the winter and quoting "Stopping by woods on a snowy evening". Or perhaps you'll be muttering under your breath at how stinkin' wet your feet are...either way, it sounds idyllic.
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