Remember me?

I’ve been meaning to write for weeks and weeks, but the opportunity to spend time with friends, old and new, kept arising and I opted to live instead of write. I have less than 80 days left to soak up Germany.

The amount of time I’ve spent tutoring or being tutored has certainly increased recently. I meet with 2 (and approaching 4) university students for a language exchange on a loose weekly basis. I’ve also started tutoring for two families at my church here. Before or after our formal tutoring sessions, I’ve enjoyed a bit of family life and playing with the children.

About a month ago, I had a bit of a slumber party with one family. We prepared and ate dinner together and then watch Disney’s Pocahontas in German! It was great. The next morning I made American pancakes and brought maple syrup along to complete the experience. We had to convince to girls to try the maple syrup. They were very skeptical of the foreign substance and preferred to stick to Nutella.

One of my favorite memories, took place over lunch that same day. The mother, who is a native of Brazil but has lived in German for the last 15 years, shared part of her church program for the children that afternoon. Her six-year-old daughter played the audience member. The mother slumped her shoulders, frowned, and began to whimper. 

     "What's the matter?" asked her youngest daughter. Her mother stopped crying and looking up with a  frown.

     "I'm new here. I'm lonely. I don't have any friends here, and I miss my old friends."

     "Oh!" her daughter brightly replied, "All you have to do is go talk to someone!" Her mother immediately broke looked up, shocked by her daughter's reply, and I burst out laughing. 

     "Said just like a German," I commented as all the adults began to laugh. We had to explain to the little girl what was so funny. Her mom (and I) expected her to say "Oh! I'll be your friend." But really, what she said couldn't have been more perfect or more German.

Berlin Conference

The Fulbright Berlin conference took place at the end of March. They wined and dined all of the European Fulbrighters between speeches and workshops and called it networking. It was interesting to compare notes about the experience of my fellow ETAs in Germany and other European countries. The researches and professors also took part in the same conference and a few shared about their work. There is something inspiring and intimidating about being around so many smart people.

Although it would have been easy to stay within the comfort of our Sachsen group, I occasionally took a deep breath and awkwardly introduced myself a few new people. And I do mean awkwardly. At one point in the conference my fellow Sachsens decided to do a little shopping while the coffee and cake was still being served. I stayed behind, and slowly wandered around trying to find a somewhat familiar face. With none to be found, I resolved to walk up to a table and introduce myself as I good German would do. The moment I stepped up to the table, I could no longer form coherent thoughts. All eyes were on me. They were waiting for me to say something. I tried to recall the sentence I’d rehearsed in my head just moments before. Eyebrows were raised and faint smiles could be seen on the faces around the table. I finally managed to clumsily ask to join their table and introduced myself. Of course, they were very nice, and we were soon engulfed in introductions and friendly chatter. My act of everyday bravery was rewarded. I made a few new friends over the course of the conference and may even see some of those faces again this summer as they pass through Oklahoma.

Free Schools

Last Friday I took my suitcase to school and joined one of my teachers on trip to Lower Saxony (Nieder Sachsen) to visit her son, his wife, and their two children (ages 5 and 1) for the weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed playing with the children and talking with their mom (and occasionally father) about Free Schools, or Unschooling. Free Schooling is an approach to education in which children are free to decide if, when, what, how, and with whom they are going to learn. Yes, if.

Their mom was passionate about this approach to education (and parenting). She completely trusts her children to discover who they are and want to become. She is untroubled by fears that they will lack basic skills and contends that their naturally curiosity will propel them to learn what they need to know to fully participate in the world around them. They will learn what is necessary in their own time and have the opportunity to find and invest in their passions.

Talking with her and from my further reading about the approach so far, I’ve also heard attacks on the public school system, which is often acquainted with a prison. Students are forced to go and constantly told what to do. Their individuality is erased. They aren’t even free to go to the bathroom or eat when they are hungry. Their natural curiosity and desire to learn is stamped out. With more schools eliminating recess and forbidding talking in the cafeteria, social skills are unlikely to be learned.

Bautzen from the Bus.

I certainly don’t agree with all of the attacks on the public school system. I have seen some wonderful schools in the last four years but share some of their concerns. I’ve renewed my commitment to helping my students develop and expand their own passions, and finding effective ways to empower my students in their own learning and lives. I’m also learning more about Montessori schools as a possible approach that would fit my philosophy.

On Monday before returning to Saxony, I observed the Free School she intends to send her children to. Since the older students were already on break, I was only able to see the 3-6 year-olds. The kindergarten wasn’t terribly different from what I’d want or expect to see in a kindergarten. However, I have serious doubts about a similar format of freedom through out school.

Class Trip to Bautzen

Don't worry. I escaped.

Last week I accompanied a sixth grade class on their class trip. Their class teacher is also one of the English teachers I work with. Although the weather did not always cooperate, we had a wonderful time.

Bautzen is a beautiful city with a long history. On our first day we took an interesting tour of the town. Hearing about the church impressed me the most. During the Reformation about half of the town suddenly became Lutheran. While the same change led to bloody war in the rest of Germany, the people of Bautzen respected each other and decided to split the Cathedral in half. To this day a wall separates the Lutherans from the Catholics, who both continue to worship in the same building.

Our second day we took a train to the Kulturinsel outside of Görlitz. The Kulturinsel is basically a giant playground full of tree houses, networks of underground tunnels, and a few secret passageways. Can you imagine? It was so much fun! Even the grey skies and occasional light showers couldn’t dampen the excitement.

The Saurier Park was our last adventure. I was very proud to complete the obstacle course without falling. While there were a few more places to climb around, this park was largely dedicated to life-sized reconstructions of dinosaurs.

During the class trip my nose started running. Although I traveled to Arnsdorf by Dresden for a delightful Saturday afternoon, I spent most of Sunday and Monday resting in order to fight off this cold. My immune system has certainly been getting a workout this year. I blame it on the schools. Schools are gyms for the immune system where the weights are thrown at you.

The Tree House Castle

Winter Vacation

The week leading up to Ryan’s arrival should have been quite eventful. In addition to my usual classes and new club, a language competition took place on Wednesday and a school-wide sport marathon was planned for Thursday. However, I ended up spending quite a bit of time in bed drinking tea. The teachers sent me home on Tuesday since I was obviously sick. While I helped supervise during the English competition on Wednesday, I was given a list of four things to cure me and allowed to stay home Thursday.

While Germans are often highly regarded in the sciences, the culture has kept wives tales and home cures alive. Marion, my mentor teacher, gave me a list of four things to do in order to sped on my recovery.

1.     Drink thyme tea.

2.     Cut an onion, cover it with honey, and take a spoonful of the resulting juice three times a day. (It has to sit a while before the juice from the onion is released and mixes with the honey.)

3.     Lay warm mashed potatoes wrapped in a dishcloth on my chest. The potatoes could be reheated in the microwave and therefore used several times. (I had an infrequent, but terrible cough.)

4.     Drink a hot beer just before going to bed. (Yes, that’s right. Heat a delicious German beer until it tastes like medicine.)

Me trying to see things
from Goethe's perspective.

I also made a chicken noodle soup for good measure. I can’t say for sure that any of it sped on my recovery, but it certainly didn’t hurt. I was feeling considerably better by Thursday evening.

Saturday I headed to Frankfurt on my first “car share” with a stranger. I’m using parentheses since I wasn’t actually riding in a car. We all shared a train ticket. On the weekends DeutscheBahn (the German train company) has a deal in which up to five passengers can ride on one 44 Euro ticket. You must use the slower trains, but if you have the time it can save a considerable amount of money. My trip from Zwickau to Frankfurt cost me less than 10 Euros.

Ryan didn’t arrive until Sunday morning so I spent the afternoon leisurely pursuing and photographing Goethe’s childhood home and the attached art gallery. It was one of the more interesting galleries I’ve been to, not because the portraits were so exquisite but because next to most portraits a plaque explained his/her relationship or connection to Goethe. It was like looking through someone’s photo album.

The more time passed, the more anxiously I awaited Ryan’s arrival. When my roommates at the hostel began preparing for their departures at 4 in the morning, I soon relinquished any hope of sleep. Since Ryan’s flight was ahead of schedule, I got ready and slowly walked to the airport where I continued to wait. For an hour and a half after his scheduled arrival time, I waited anxiously to see him walk through the baggage claim doors.

Tired train ride back to Zwickau.

We had a rather long train ride back to Zwickau and Ryan was already tired from his flight, but he managed to stay awake until the evening, and it made all the difference. He had almost no trouble with jet lag while he was here.

We’d planned to go to Berlin with Tina early Tuesday morning, but things didn’t go exactly as planned. Monday night we went over to Tina’s to play a few games and headed home a little after ten. I searched in vain for my keys as Ryan danced around the entrance hall. He really had to go to the bathroom. It soon became apparent that I’d locked myself out of my apartment and we headed back. Tina helped me by calling a few locksmiths, but with no fixed rate and an estimate of more than 200 Euros I decided to wait until the morning. At the very least the locksmith would have been a little cheaper during regular business hours. Tina and Sofia were kind enough to put us up for the night and generously offered us breakfast and coffee in the morning. Fortunately, the lawyer’s office in my building had a spare key, and I was able to reenter my apartment at no cost.

 

Us and the Wall.

My absentmindedness did come at a cost, though. We essentially missed our first day in Berlin. Instead of arriving a little after noon, we didn’t come in until the evening. In the end Ryan is probably rather grateful. He enjoyed seeing Berlin, especially the remains of the Berlin Wall and one of the most delicious chocolate shops we’ve ever been to. Yet, he also realized that lifting weights and running a few miles several times a week does not prepare you for the endless walking involved in European travel, especially with two indecisive girls who enjoy walking around to experience the city.

We spent Friday recuperating, and then headed out for a day of hiking in the Sächsische Schweitz. Tina’s brother came to visit so we all drove over in his car. It was a beautiful day for hiking. We enjoyed ourselves very much, despite getting a bit lost. At one point we were trying to find a trail and followed little black triangles. We gave up in frustration and headed in another direction. It wasn’t until a few hours later that we discovered what they meant: Danger! Not a hiking trail.

 

Ryan and a chocolate replica of the Reichstag, which we also saw in real life.

Showing off GDR technology at the GDR Museum.

Sunday morning we headed to Munich and had a wonderful time. We walked around to see the main sights in town and spent a considerable amount of time at the science museum there. We also ran into a kind older gentleman, who pointed us in the right direction after giving us a short tour of a church along the way. He mostly wanted to show us the bones of a martyr. I know that sounds creepy but he really wasn’t.

 Treadmills were originally used as a power source. I thought I'd solve two of America's problems: obesity and renewable energy by bringing them back...but Ryan tells me science will not cooperate.
We use for too much power these days. 

Little flowers peaking out along the Philosopher's Way.

Heidelberg was my favorite spot. Even the rain shower we arrived in couldn’t hide the charm of this ancient college town. Heidelberg University is the oldest university in Germany founded in 1386. On our second day the weather became more sunny and spring like as the day progressed. After breakfast we took a walk along the Philosopher’s Way before heading up to the castle. We had a wonderful tour guide and only two other Americans on our tour. The remains of the theater in which Shakespeare first premiered The Tempest, written for Elizabeth’s marriage to Frederick, the Elector of the Rhineland Palatinate, can still be seen. 

Fun fact. According to our guide, the book cover seen in the above case has a nail bulging out at each corner in order to protect the book from the copious amounts of beer students like to consume while studying. All of the books in the Heidelberg library had such covers until they were stollen by the Pope hundreds of years ago. They can still be found in the Vatican today.

As far as Frankfurt goes, I can only say we were glad we didn’t spend a lot of time there. Ryan and I parted late Saturday morning. Now (as of March 4) I have to wait 122 days for another hug. At least I can see his face when we talk on Skype.

Unfortunately I caught another cold and felt the symptoms begin almost immediately after we parted ways. I will be very glad to be healthy again.

The view atop the roof of the Heidelberg Castle.

The Top 5 of the Last 2 Weeks

1. English Conversation for 10th Graders

I crossed my fingers that students would come to the first meeting of English Conversation for 10^th Graders, a new afterschool club that I am sponsoring. When twelve bright-eyed students showed up, I was thrilled. After covering the "ground rules" and goals for our club, students wrote down a bit about themselves: their birthday, English goals, reason for joining this club, the three things they most want to learn about America/Americans, and the three things they least want to learn about America/Americans. The list of least interesting things:

•    Geography

•    Politics

•    Government

•    Fat people

My eyes grew wide after the student shared the last point, and then everyone burst out laughing. Americans are generally considered poor eaters and unfit, so I hope she was just trying to express her disinterest in hearing more about the unhealthy food and exercise habits of many Americans. We can work on how to more appropriately express those ideas in the future.

Next week the students decided to learn about American high schools. While I share a short PowerPoint, students will discuss their thoughts about the American education system and compare it to Germany. I also made some brownies for a student’s birthday. I can't wait!

2. Dinner with my Choir

Since everyone is busy during the holiday season, my choir traditionally goes out to dinner after New Years. We ate at "Der Pflaume" a restaurant I pass every Sunday on my way to church. I enjoyed getting to visit with my fellow choir members while eating the delicious food. As I was about to leave in order to finish preparing for school the next day, the guitars came out. I couldn't run away after that so I sang along to a few songs before pulling myself away from the festivities. However, the music stayed with me, and I smiled the whole way home.

3. Ice-skating

I finally made it to the small, outdoor ice-skating rink in Zwickau...twice. The first time a small group of us arrived just as they were finishing smoothing the ice. Once our skates hit the ice, we couldn't help but wonder what it was like before they smoothed it. The ice was still very bumpy. However, after wobbling around a bit, I found my balance and had a wonderful time.

Once the uneven surface ceased to be a problem, the ice posed a new challenge. A forth of the rink was coned off, two small goals were set up at the end of the cones, and hockey pucks and sticks appeared in the hands of ten to fourteen year-old boys. Of course, the puck often slid past the small orange cones into the mass of people constantly circling around the remaining three-fourths of the rink. I caught my breath as I saw a puck glide in front of a middle-aged woman, and then one of the boys extend his stick in front of her legs in a dangerous attempt to retrieve it. I'm still amazed the woman remained vertical.

On my second outing, I went with a fellow soprano, Christina. The rink gradually grew throughout our time there, or rather the space we were allotted to skate. Half of the rink was sectioned off for an ice-skating class when we first arrived. Then, the hockey players reduced the forbidden territory to a fourth. Finally, the whole rink opened up, and we “raced” across the straight stretches.

4. Party all Weekend!

Okay, so I really didn’t party all weekend, but I did have a lot of fun. Saturday night I cooked chicken and dumplings for seven people. Two people asked for the recipe afterwards so I consider my first attempt at this American classic a success. After eating we teamed up to play Settlers of Catan. Settlers is not usually a team game, but we had too many people to play any other way. Chocolate also flooded the tables. I was introduced to a new… and interesting Milka flavor. Imagine gummies and pop rocks surrounded by a creamy milk chocolate. I’m not used to my chocolate exploding in my mouth, but it was really quite good.

On Sunday I went with a few other girls to watch Die Eiskönigen, Disney’s The Ice Queen. All four of us adore the classic Disney movies we grew up on, and found this movie a charming addition. By the way, have I mentioned that you choose your seats in the movie theater like in a theater? The half closest to the screen is a Euro cheaper than the seats towards the back.

5. Guitar Lessons

Tine has generously offered to share her guitar with me so that I can start taking lessons here. A local school offers group beginning guitar lessons in the evening so I attended the first one last night. Although the people were lovely and the teacher was very nice, it quickly became apparent that this class was not for me. We spent an hour talking about time signatures, notes, and clapping out rhythms. I acquired that knowledge in elementary school and four years of playing the clarinet cemented it.

I’m still very glad I went. I learned some German music vocabulary, and meet my soon-to-be private guitar teacher! 

New sights: I saw ducks walking on ice for the first time.