A New Schedule and My First Meet US Visit

The pace of life has certainly picked up in the last week, and I am grateful for that.

After Christmas break my school schedule changed slightly. While I used to assist in grades six to eight, my duties now extend up to grade ten. Ah, to speak naturally! Speaking with young foreign language students is not the same as speaking to English speaking children. Their vocabulary and knowledge of verb tenses is so limited that I often have to plan out exactly what I want to say because it feels so unnatural. The topics in the higher grades are also more interesting, and I feel more useful. Last week I helped explain the U.S. branches of government to a 10^th grade class and worked a bit with ninth graders on writing formal letters.

My drawing for the Invitation

Since there often isn’t enough time in class for student driven discussions, I spoke with my mentor teaching about starting an afterschool club (AG or Arbeitsgemeinschaft, arbeiten= to work, Gemeinshaft=community). After talking with the principal, they both agreed that I could start ‘English Conversation for 10^th Graders.’ My flyer is hanging up on the bulletin board and the 10^th grade English teachers and I are spreading the word. Our first meeting is in a week, and I hope I’m not the only one there!

Mrs. Runst (6^th grade) also asked me to draw a picture for the cover of the Open House invitations. One Saturday in February parents, grandparents, and prospective students will wander the halls of various Gymnasiums and listen to presentations from different departments in order to decide which school to attend. For example, some students who live in Zwickau travel to Werdau and vise versa.

On Friday evening Kitty and David went for a 10-mile run in Zwickau in preparation for a full marathon in April. Afterwards they came over for dinner and a half a game of Settlers of Catan. (Train schedules can be inconvenient sometimes.) I’m so grateful when anyone will play with me! Kitty was playing for the first time and had a great advantage since David was bent on robbing me of all my wood no matter how far behind I was or ahead Kitty was. Revenge will be mine!

 

Rachel, Chloe, and Zana

Saturday I went with Chloe (Northern Ireland), Zana (Wales), and Rachel (England) to explore Plauen. Plauen was a much larger city than I expected and quite lovely, especially while hearing various lovely accents from the U.K. We visited a museum about e.o.Plauen, the author of the Vater und Sohn (Father and Son) comics, climbed a large tower, and paused for tea and cake before parting ways.

While they left for Chloe’s, I walked towards Cathy’s apartment for a taco night with a group of six Americans. The food was delicious. As we were nearing the end of our meal we discovered the last tram to the train station was leaving in a few minutes so four of us grabbed our things and ran out the door. We managed to get the stop before the tram but not print our tickets in time. Google maps located the train station and gave us an arrival time one minute before our train was scheduled to depart. Challenge accepted. We ran down every hill and walked up them as fast as our legs and lungs would allow. Alex has asthma and knew to let us know if we needed to stop. We slowly knocked off a seconds here and there, were blessed by a three minutes delay (Thank you DeutscheBahn!) and stepped into the train station with eight minutes to buy tickets and head up to the platform.

 

Plauen

David and Alex were using a Sachsen ticket for three from Cathy. When they handed it to the women checking our tickets she pointed out that the date was a day old. It was no longer good. Panic. Riders without tickets usually have to pay a 40 Euro fine each (if you have the cash on you, it’s more if you don’t); however, the woman was very kind and simply sold them a ticket to their respective destinations. Phew.

Before church on Sunday morning I helped Tine go over her English presentation for Monday. Finals start this week at the University so everyone has become increasingly stressed over the last two weeks. I haven’t meet with my language partners in a while for this very reason, but hopefully we’ll see each other again soon. On Sunday evening I went out to dinner with Mrs. Runst at the local Priesterhaus. Afterwards we saw Das Erstuanlich Leben des Walter Mitty (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), which we both enjoyed. Sundays are usually very quite days so it was nice to have so much to do.

Today was my first Meet US visit. Meet US is a voluntary program through the U.S. Embassy in Germany. They send Americans already in the country into German schools to share about American life. Today I went took the train from Zwickau to Rudolstadt where one of the teachers picked me up and drove the 8 km or so to the Realschul Neulitz. A Realschul starts at grade five and goes up to grade 10. Then students usually attend another two-three years of training for a specific position such as a salesperson.

 

A Foggy Overview of Rudolstadt

I presented on teenage life in America, told them a bit about where I lived, and answered their questions. Both were eight grade classes. The students were happy to talk to one another but a little shy once it was time to talk to me.

Sleds at the Castle

I really couldn’t have asked for a more lovely first experience with the Meet US program. The teachers were all very kind, both classes gave me chocolate, and one of the teachers took my on a short tour of Rudolstadt. Museums are always closed on Mondays, but I got to see the local baroque castle with a lovely view of the city, the spot where Schiller and Goethe meet for the first time, and see the quaint market square. I would love to go back to visit the museums and go on hike nearby. The heavy hog can’t disguise the beauty of this land. Thüringen is known as the ‘Green Heart of Germany,’ and the more I see of the state, the more I understand the motto.

Where Schiller meet Goethe 200 years and 9 days before I was born. :)

Advent in Germany and My First Week Back

Although I began writing this post on my flight home for Christmas, I obviously did not manage to finish it. I hope you can still enjoy some of my memories of Advent in Germany. I honestly can’t remember being so happy and excited during the Christmas season since I was a small child.

Pyramide in Dresden

In Saxony there is an area around the Ore Mountains known as the Erzgebirge, where Christmas is a truly special time. Christmas markets account for part of the magic of the season, and I was able to visit a few. At each market people carry around Glühwein (mulled wine), which helps warm the hands in addition to tasting delicious.  Of course, there is always plenty of food to eat: sausages, crepes, soups, Handbrot (bread fresh out of the oven with melted cheese and ham or mushrooms with a sauce on top), a variety of roasted nuts, fruits covered in chocolate, and other snakes. Somewhere over the roofs of the huts selling all different kinds of things you are likely to see a Pyramid poking out, and everywhere you walk Christmas music is playing in the background.

After seeing the Christmas market in Zwickau I headed to Schneeberg, which lies is in the Erzgebirge and has a reputation for fine craftsmanship and an abundance of holiday spirit. Schwibbogen (lighted arches) brightened the windows of almost every home and the market itself was expansive and beautiful. I went with two fellow choir members, Tine and Anna. We happened upon a special event. Citizens of various surrounding towns, including Zwickau, paraded down the street in traditional mining costumes. For each town a banner appeared first, followed by the ‘miners,’ and a marching band. The ‘miners’ had lanterns around their necks and tools that looked more like axes than picks hung over their shoulders.

 

There was a large crowd lining both sides of the path.

The next weekend my good friend Courtney came to visit. We studied Education together at OCU, and she is currently living in Cambridge with her husband while he completes his masters. I was so happy to see her lovely face! After helping me with a few lessons at school on Friday, we hoped on a train in Werdau heading for Dresden. Tine climbed aboard in Zwickau and Hannah in Chemnitz. The train to Dresden is terribly rocky. Even through I usually have no trouble with motion sickness, I often feel less than well by the time I step off the train. Courtney was miserable. Fortunately, she began feeling better as soon as we were on solid ground.

There are three Christmas markets in Dresden, however we only saw the one closest to the main train station.  It was massive and a wonderful time. We snacked on this and that as we looked at all the good for sale and each bought something in turn. I purchased a small Schwibbogen in the traditional design. Two miners stand in the middle and on the side sit a weaver and a carver. On the way home, we also stopped at the much smaller Christmas market in Freiberg, where we all got something for dinner. The prices were more reasonable than in Dresden.

Tine, Courtney, and Hannah in Dresden

On Tuesday night the 10^th of December I visited an English class for adults taught by Ms. Piehler, a teacher at my school. I learned a lot more about the traditions in Saxony while talking with her students. Three resources were pulled out of the mines in Saxony: silver, ore, and coal. In the wintertime the miners would never see the light of day so their wives would do their best to light up the homes with candles when they came home. In the evening the miners often carved to pass the time. And since people have a tendency to make their homes beautiful the Schwibbogen developed. The carvers also made the Räuchermenschen (smoking people) and nutcrackers. All of which are very traditional Advent decorations in Saxony. Buying one of these items in the Erzgebirge is like buying Champaign from Champagne in France. You can only buy an imitation elsewhere.

A few days before returning home for the holidays, I attended a small Christmas celebration at my mentor teacher’s home. We had a simple, but delicious meal, and I shared my mother’s favorite Christmas cookies for dessert. In the background the Christmas tree was lite and a few presents lay under the tree (in addition to the cat).

I got a Saxon recipe book...in German!

That Friday I rode with Tine to her home in Hessen (the state in which Frankfurt in located). I got to meet both of her parents. Her father played the guitar, and we sang and danced along. After a day in the car we were both ready to move around so we went to a nearby swimming pool before dinner. Her parents raise cattle so steaks were naturally on the menu. After dinner we played a few rounds of Rummi and didn’t stop until someone finally beat me (It was beginners luck. I’d never played Rummi with cards before.), and sang a few more songs before falling in bed. After a few hours of sleep I started my two-hour train journey to the Frankfurt Airport. Tine was kind enough to take me to the nearest train station, which was about 20 minutes away, before five in the morning.

In the airport I caught up with another alum of the OCU Education Department, Jennifer. We just happened to be on the same flight back to the States. She’d spend the last year in Frankfurt. If only I’d have known! (We did find out were on the same flight a few days before our departure.)

 

Ryan and I

I had a wonderful time visiting Ryan, both of our families, friends, and even a couple of my old professors over the holidays. However, I was excited to return to Germany… right up until the day of my flight. Homesick doesn’t quite describe what I’m feeling now. I don’t want to go back to Oklahoma just yet; I simply want to bring everyone I love with me on my German adventure.

Tom, Kitty, Chloe, and I at the
Monument to the Battle of the Nations.

Fortunately, David, a fellow-ETA, saved me from spending my first evening back in Zwickau crying in a pillow. He came over from Chemnitz, we ate dinner, and I finally got to play Die Siedler von Catan (The Settles of Catan). The Settlers of Catan is one of my favorite boardgames. I bought a German version (It is originally German.) about a month before I was ever able to play it. David hadn’t played before so I had to teach him. He beat him both times we played. Perhaps I’m a decent teacher after all.

On Saturday I took my first trip to Leipzig with Kitty, Chloe (from Northern Ireland), and Tom who actually lives in the city. We had a nice time seeing the Stasis’s trade secrets and climbing the winding and ever narrowing staircase to the top of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. We also peaked inside St. Nicholas Church. I hope to go back again. There is so much more to see!