Week 4, in which Amy actually has a social life.

Hi everyone,

on Monday I woke up, got ready for school, and headed out only to be stopped by my landlord having breakfast on the front porch.  He insisted I sit down with him, eat a brotchen, and have a glass of champagne.  As it turned out, it was his 70th birthday.  Before I ran off to school, he invited me to his birthday party later that evening.

Frühstück!

The party ended up being a lot of fun.  I sat by a couple who were from Prenzlau, and they invited me to come visit them sometime.  I also had some amazing food (two plates, since everyone insisted I go back for more).  They joked that at Germany birthday parties you have to have at least three plates of food.  Near the end of the party, we all went outside to watch some fireworks being lit off in honor of Herr Dreblow.

On Thursday Frau Gaertner, one of the teachers at my school, picked me up and we headed to a Greek restaurant in Pasewalk for dinner with a group of women teachers.  It was, apparently, a belated celebration of Internationaler Frauen Tag (international womens' day).  It was a nice time, but I was pretty tired, so I was also quiet.

Then on Friday I headed to Rostock to hang out with the new friends I met at Fulbright orientation.  When I got there, we walked around, had lunch at an Asian restaurant, and ate ice cream.  Then we went grocery shopping for the potluck we had later that night. 

On Saturday we took a trip to Karls Erdbeerhof, which was kind of similar to a pumpkin patch, in that it had a corn maze, but there was also a huge shopping hall, a food court, a giant slide, little kid rides...  It's hard to explain.  But it was amazing. 

On Sunday we went to Warnemünde, walked along a shopping street, and hung out by the Baltic Sea.  I went home with so many awesome memories, and I can't wait to go back and visit again!

- Amy

P.S. Don't forget about my other blog!  Read all about my experiences in my school as a teaching assistant here: http://teachingloecknitz.blogspot.de/

My First Week at School

Hi everyone,
This week I officially started my position as a teaching assistant at the Deutsch-Polnishces Gymnasium in Löcknitz.  Here is how my week went:

Monday: I arrived at school, ready to get to work.  My Betreuungslehrerin, Frau Krümruck, greeted me, we chatted, and then she sent me away to enjoy the day.  First day: check.

Tuesday: I introduced myself to Frau Krümruck's 11th grade class and answered a few questions from the students.  I then listened to the students give their summaries of a story they had read, "Walk Proud, Be Proud" about a young African American girl experiencing a woman feeling sorry for her for racial/class reasons, and I talked a bit about my views on the story.

Wednesday: I taught a history lesson (in English) about the North and South colonies (which I had to do a bunch of research for... I don't know that much about American history, aber ich hab's geschafft!) in Herr Hettig's 9th grade history class.  I also introduced myself and answered questions in his 11th grade English class.  These questions lasted the whole period and included "You can't drink until you're 21...  So do teenagers not drink at all?" and "Wait, the highest speed limit you've ever seen is 75 mph/120 kmp?!"

Thursday: I listened to a couple students from Frau Krümruck's 11th grade English class give presentations about their exchange experiences in the U.K. and Thailand.

Friday: First, I introduced myself and answered questions in Frau Krümruck's 8th grade English class.  This took up the whole period, but it was nice, because the 8th graders' questions were a lot less pressure and more fun than the 11th graders' questions!  We talked a lot about food and music, for example.  I then went into Frau Wollenberg's 7th grade class to help with a Station Activity the students were doing.  I sat in the back and students came to me to correct worksheets as they finished each one.  (The 7th graders were also so much fun!  Their eyes shined when I told them they did a good job.)  Finally, I introduced myself and answered questions in Herr Hettig's other 11th grade English class.  This was a tough class, since most were reluctant to ask questions, and the hour just seemed to drag.

Well, that was my week.  I leave you now with a few pictures of my town:

Until later,
Amy

Fulbright Orientation

Guten Morgen oder Tag (depending on where you are located!),

I had a great time at my Fulbright orientation last week.  I met so many new people, and every single person I met was so friendly.  I had no problem sitting myself down at any random table and jumping into the converstaion.  I have heard many Fulbrighters say this in the past couple days, and I completely agree.

Before I even got to orientation, I spent a couple days with Cornelia, my friend Ursula's sister, in Düsseldorf.  She showed me the city, made me delicious meals, and was generally a super friendly and helpful host.  She even helped me fix my lack-of-internet problem!  It was an awesome time, and I loved the city itself.  I hope to go back again in the next couple of months with Jesse.

Cornelia at the Schiffahrtsmuseum

Before orientation, all of the Fulbrighters met at the Köln Hauptbahnhof.  All 140 of us.  We took up the entire entryway.  We then took a bus to a hotel called Maria in der Aue in Wermelskirchen.  Well, we took the bus as far as it could go before the street became too narrow.  Then we walked the rest of the way.  The hotel and the scenery were amazing.  It was easy to forget we were in the middle of Germany, especially since everyone was speaking English.

Walking past some angry cows

On the first day, we simply got our room keys and roommates, ate dinner, had a quick meeting with our section leaders, and then hung out on the patio.  The second day was a little more intensive, with classes and meetings from 9:00 until 9:00 or so, with breaks for lunch, coffee, and dinner in between.  We also started preparing lessons to show the next day.  On the third day, we did our lessons and participated in our group member's lessons and then had a couple more meetings about Fulbright, bureaucracy, etc.  We also had a talent show.  Which was amazing.  I Irish danced.

New friends and beautiful scenery.  My roommate, Holly, is in the middle.

Too soon it was time to head back to Löcknitz.  I already miss all of my new friends (and all of the amazing buffets at the hotel...) but I am excited to start at my school.  Wish me luck!

- Amy

The Beginning

Guten Abend allerseits!

Last Monday, the 26th, Jesse drove me to the Omaha airport.  Three planes, three buses, one train, and a car ride later, I arrived at my room in Löcknitz, Germany.  Löcknitz is located in northern Germany, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 12 kilometers west of the German-Polish border, and this Dorf (translation = village) is my home for the next 10 months.  How did I end up in this town of 3200 residents?  First, I applied for a Fulbright teaching assistantship grant.  Then later, when asked for my top three Bundesland preferences, I indicated that it did not matter to me where I was placed.  And... here I am.

http://www.kirschbaum-online.de/WarenMueritz/Vorpommern-Sued/Loecknitz.htm

My flights (and other forms of travel) all went pretty smoothly.  The worst parts were the 3 hour layover in Detroit (even though Detroit, surprisingly, has a fairly nice airport) and all the tossing and turning I did while trying to sleep on the long flight from Detroit to Amsterdam.  I met a man from Haiti on my first flight and one from Spain who lives in Amsterdam on my second, so that was fun.  I also watched Silver Linings Playbook auf Deutsch before enjoying my nice airplane dinner.

I also missed the train I was planing to take from Berlin to Pasewalk, a city near Löcknitz, so I was delayed about an hour.  Even so, an English teacher from the school I am working at, Frau Krümruck, met me at the train station and drove me the rest of the way to my room.  She also took me grocery shopping, which was really nice of her.

I keep saying "room" instead of "apartment" because I am technically living in a hotel that also allows long term stays.  I have a nice, big bed, a kitchen area with a sink, stove, and fridge, a closet, a bathroom, etc.  It's nice for now, but I am going to look at a bigger place next week for when Jesse moves in (only 29 days to go!).  My room is about a 15-20 minute walk from the school, stores, and train station.  I also eventually found a bus station that is even closer.

For clarification, no, Jesse is not here yet.  He is sticking around the Grand Island area for his sister's wedding on the 28th of September, so he won't be flying out until September 30.  I can't wait, and I think he is pretty excited, too.

My school seems like a good fit.  The Deutsch-PolnischesGymnasium is a school for 7-12th graders from both Germany and Poland.  The Gymnasium part means that students at this school are preparing to go to University.  All of the teachers seem really friendly and helpful.  It looks as though I am going to helping several teachers during my time here, not just Frau Krümruck.  Even the geography teacher said that he would like my help talking about the United States in his class.

http://www.dpg-loecknitz.de/

The day I arrived, I just unpacked and fell asleep.  The next day, Wednesday, I went to the school to meet my new colleagues, and I was given a tour of the city by a couple of students.  Thursday I did a lot of walking, trying to figure out what all I needed to do to register with the city, get a bank account, and find a new apartment.  I also took the bus into Pasewalk and bought a cheap cell phone and an internet stick, which, after some finagling and help from a couple amazing German friends, I finally got working.  Yesterday I took the train to Düsseldorf to visit my former-colleague Ursula's sister, Cornelia, on my way to Fulbright orientation, which starts tomorrow...!  We have had a wonderful time together, and it was nice to spend some time in a bigger city. 

I feel like I am starting to get to know my town pretty well.  I am so much more comfortable (and confident!) this time around in Germany, and even though I miss everyone, I am much less homesick.  I am really looking forward to seeing what this year brings.

Until later,

Amy

P.S. I am also planning on keeping a blog specifically about my experience in the Deutsch-Polnisches Gymnasium.  You can check it out here!