Wednesday, September 25, 2013

How to survive a day as Paul, American English speaking assistant in Schleswig, Germany.

(This post attempts to give you a glance into what's becoming my everyday life in Germany. I hope you enjoy it and appreciate how stealth I was in taking all these pictures with my phone.) 

Before School 
The devil takes digital form.
When the alarm goes off at 5:50 a.m., it's time for you to get up and get ready for school. One of the very nice teachers at your school will be picking you up at 6:30, so you must hurry. Give yourself a 5-minute maximum on social media. It's not quite 10 o'clock p.m. in Montana, so all your friends are still awake and active. Sadly, you don't have time to SnapChat out any "selfies" and responding to Facebook messages will take up too much time (you do have time for approx. 2-3 Facebook pokes, however). Don't be too sadened by this whole waking up early ordeal, however, because you only have to do this three days a week. Because the Fulbright program only allows you to work 12 hours a week and your teachers at your school are awesome, you work only Tuesday-Thursday. 

Rigorous schedule
Don't forget to have your raincoat and umbrella with you when you head out the door. This September has been rainier than it has been drier. After a teacher from your school picks you up, you have about a 45-minute drive ahead you from Kiel to Schleswig, where your school is located. Because the teacher you ride with is an accomplished, high-ranking school official/teacher, be prepared to expand your German capabilities by talking about subjects such as election campaign strategies in Germany and the environmental dilemma behind oil drilling in the US. 

Dr. H's ride > Deutsche Bahn
At School 

One part of my school. Parking garage meets skate park.
Outdoor ping pong table at the school. Um, okay...
Your school is called "Berufsbildungszentrum Schleswig," which is a vocational school that offers a variety of programs, including preparation for studying at a university. Most of your students are between the ages 15 and 20 and love trying to add you on Facebook. You also get a couple "non-trads" who are pushing 30. You work with a handful of teachers at the school, and, depending with whom you end up working, you will do different tasks. Sometimes you will prepare an entire lesson about the use of active vs. passive voice, while other times you will be asked to choose an American song and present it to the class (TIP: go for something obnoxiously patriotic like that country gem "Only in America"). Still other times, you will sit at the front of the room and sporadically be asked questions about American English. If you get bored, run to the bathroom. You get to use the "teacher restroom" now!

"WC Teachers" This is worth a teacher's license.
Try not to get lost on campus. There are multiple buildings and everything looks the same after a while. If you stand there for several seconds yanking on a door that is clearly marked "push," play the "I'm-American-and-I-don't-know-German-card." 

"Push"
Don't be alarmed when you have a flashback to the nineties and every room is equipped with a blackboard and box of rainbow colored chalk. 

#throwback 
Doesn't compare to a set of Expos.
Between every 90-minute class (class schedules are more university-style and don't meet every day) you have a 15 minutes break where all the teachers head to one of the teachers' lounges and chill. Contrary to the stereotype that Germans are always obsessively punctual, you'll be surprised to find out that most teachers stay in lounge until the bell rings and then they head to class. Sometimes they will wait to finish their conversations and end up staying a good five minutes into the class period! (To demonstrate, here is a photo taken about 30 seconds following the bell).)

No rush to get to class.
You'll spend a lot of time in the teacher's lounge, since teachers don't have their own classrooms. Sometimes you will be mistaken for a student and asked, "Na, was gibt's?" said in the tone of "What the hell do you think you're doing in the teacher's lounge?" But other times, teachers will be very friendly and thrilled that you're American. But most the time, actually, no small talk takes place, and you can work on your computer in peace. You're more than welcome to write a blog entry during this time, as well. 
Selfie in the lounge.

Pigeon hole
Once you arrange which teacher can drive you back to Kiel (that can range from 1 to 5 p.m.), be sure to use the bathroom first. It's a long drive, remember?

After School 

The ride home takes a little longer because traffic on the autobahn gets backed up. But after you get dropped off, take advantage of all that's near you! IKEA is within walking distance, and as any good German will confirm, this mega affordable furniture outlet also serves cheap--yet delicious--cuisine. The food opportunities on your street are multiple, however. Two grocery stores (Lidl and Sky) are literally one minute and three seconds away from your front door. Please pretend that the author of this did not actually time that. The street is also equipped with several bakeries, cafés, restaurants and the best Döner shop in Kiel. (If you don't know what a Döner is, I feel sad for you.) You can also find an Apotheke, bike shop and even a clockmaker's shop within steps of your apartment. 

IKEA's just around the corner.
Supermarket Central
Haus 69 (my apartment building)
Forgot to pack a key chain.
Now that Cathi, one of your roommates, is back from doing her practicum, you might go shopping together or spend the evening chatting about America with her and her friends in the kitchen (while stuffing your face with something sweet). 

"Here lives . . ."
Although some accuse you of having it too easy, don't listen to them. You know in your heart that you put your sweat and tears into working the past eight months as a substitute teacher and Boys & Girls Club coordinator. And next year you'll be teaching in inner-city Chicago, so don't feel bad at all.  


Have fun and eat a marzipan croissant for me. 

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Deutsch-Sein [being German]

I've actually been pleasantly surprised by how easy it's been to readjust to "being German." Even though my semester in Potsdam was incredibly fun, when I think back to those first few weeks, I distinctly remember how stressed out I was--like when I accidentally had the wrong ticket on the Berlin  city train and had to pay a 40 Euro fine? (#throwbackthursday: http://paulgoestogermany.blogspot.de/2011/03/schwarzfahrer-free-rider.html)

This time around, however, it's been quite pleasant. Aside from a stressful series of train rides across the country, I've been settling in just fine. Having a full week with Andreas and Evelin in Alzey made for a relaxing, stress-free start to this adventure.

Having a fine time on the Rhine.
After our time on the Rhine came to a close, Alice and I journeyed to Cologne for the introductory orientation for all the Fulbright English Teaching Assistants in Germany.
Fellow Fulbright friends Amanda (left) and Valeria (right). Note: not a real photograph. 
After orientation I moved into my apartment in Kiel and started work in Schleswig. I'll plan on posting pictures and writing more about both of these places in my next blog post. But I did want to post something to keep up the regularity of this blog. So what I did do was come up with a top five list of "German things" that I've had to readjust to. Obviously, I'm doing some generalizing, but these are observations on life here in Germany that I had forgotten about until I came back.

5. Weather

It's rainy and cold in Germany... a lot. Even though I'd take this rainy mess going on here over baking in a non-air conditioned classroom in Billings, it's still crazy to me to be leaving the house everyday in September with an umbrella and coat. 

4. Paying with cash 
I'm relearning how important it is to have cash on you--and specifically coins. You need cash for a lot things, and often credit cards are a no-go. I've been forced to use cash to buy a 20 Euro train ticket and also to use a shopping cart. 

You want to use a shopping cart? Insert a coin. When you bring it back, you get the coin back. 
This doesn't happen here.
3. Bread

Germans are serious about their bread, and they eat so much of it for breakfast, and it's overwhelming, and there are too many different kinds of Brötchen. 

Brötchen: this much is probably like 2 German breakfasts (Note: dramatization)

2. Vulgarity 

So this has two parts to it: As far as foul language goes, it's amazing how many English swear words Germans know and crazier how often I hear them in class, among teachers, etc.

Also, the topics that teachers discuss with students don't seem to have many boundaries. Granted I work with students over the age of 16, but certain words, terms and concepts that are brought up casually I don't think I ever heard in an academic setting--even at the collegiate level. 

1. Shutting down the small talk:

Add caption
I've known forever--even before visiting Germany the first two times--that Germans don't do "small talk." I distinctly remember learning freshman year in German class that you don't just ask strangers in Germany, "How are you?" like we often include in our simple greetings. It's not that Germans aren't nice people... they just see no need to force conversation.

That being said, I have had a hand full of situations where I've been fighting my inner American, who keeps telling me talk! For example: I was sitting on the train and this lady ran in, sat down, sighed in relief that she made the train, (she even smiled at me!), asked me what the next stop was and then sat right across from me, stared at me and was silent for 40 minutes. I had to fight every instinct in me to continue the conversation. 


I just need to think more like this guy: 

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Die erste Woche [the first week]


 One week has passed since I boarded a plane in Bozeman, Montana, and took off for Frankfurt, Germany (with one stop in Atlanta on the way over, which was phenomenally relaxing).

I'm still working out exactly how I want this blog to serve my (and your!) needs and how often I'll log in to post something. I'm hoping that over the course of the next ten months I can collect a series of funny stories, comparisons, contrasts and other observations to share with you, but sometimes this blog is just going to be a travel blog. And for today, I'm just going to post a little bit about my past week in the Rhine-Main region of Germany.

So, here's the set-up: my fiancée Alice was a exchange student seven years ago in this region, and she's stayed super close with her host family. Her host sister Evelin, in fact, came to visit us last summer with her boyfriend Andreas, and so this week they returned the favor by hosting us at there apartment in Alzey, Germany (Alzey lies just south of Mainz in the Frankfurt metropolitan area in the southwest part of the country).
Andreas and Evelin discovering American portion control at the movie theater last year in Bozeman.

Alice reunited this week with her sister Evelin.
Andreas providing me with a much needed Döner--more on this shortly!
To give you a taste of what Alice and I were up to this week, I'll provide one highlight for each day of the week (And I'll go ahead and rule out German sweets now, so that you don't have to read a blog about what Paul had for dessert all week).

Montag [Monday]

I had three very German meals. 

1. Frühstück [breakfast]: in true German style, we pigged out on bread, salami, cheese, Nutella, jelly, honey, smoothies, orange juice and coffee. 
2. Mittagessen [lunch]: Döner--as pictured above. This piece of German-Turkish amazingness deserves its own post.
3. Abendessen [dinner]: Onion schnitzel with fries. It was der Hammer [the bomb].

Tuesday [Dienstag]

I checked another state capital off the list. 
The ritzy part of Wiesbaden, the capital of the state of Hesse.
Germany has 16 federal states, and I've been to 14 of them so far (soon to be 15 after orientation in Cologne). It shouldn't be a problem for me to make it to that 16th state of Saarland this year, so I'm upping the ante and trying to make it to every state capital in Germany. We spent Monday exploring the state capital of Wiesbaden, and  then  Friday in its twin city (and another capital) Mainz, which means I have six more capitals to go! (Düsseldorf, Erfurt, Hannover, Magdeburg, Saarbrücken & Schwerin await.)

Mittwoch [Wednesday]

I met another Fulbright scholar/Chicago Teach for America corp member.
Enjoying lunch in downtown Frankfurt with Whitney.

Next summer after Fulbright, I'm moving to Chicago to begin my two-year commitment with Teach for America. It just so happens that Whitney has the same three years ahead of her. Alice and I headed into Frankfurt to meet her in the flesh. We had a blast, and Whitney was awesome, of course. 

Donnerstag [Thursday]


I met another Paul with German-Russian heritage.
Paul, Paul and Andreas.

Evelin and Andreas took us out to burger restaurant with their friends Jenny and Paul. Paul was born in Russia, and Jessie also comes from a German-Russian family. What was really cool was to find out that all of our families were part of the Volga Russians that left Germany to farm the plains of Russia hundreds of year ago. Obviously, my relatives ended up in America, and theirs eventually came back to Germany. 

Freitag [Friday]

I hung out with little German kids. 
Eating Nachtisch [dessert] with the girls

After a summer of working with younger kids at the Boys and Girls Club, I, crazily enough, have been missing the company of children. Evelin's sister and her two little daughters came over and we made pizzas together. I've never spoken German with kids this young before (ages 5 and 2), but I got such a kick out of it. After lots of asking, the shyer, older daughter finally told me the one word she knew in English: "no."

Samstag [Saturday]

I visited a castle on the Rhine.
Just hanging out at a castle.
No need for further explanation. 

Sonntag [Sonntag]

I had a nice last evening in Alzey. 
Last night with Andreas and Evelin. Photo credit: Alice
We had such great hosts in Andreas and Evelin, and it was a very relaxing way to transition to Germany. Tomorrow the adventure continues as we take of for Cologne for orientation!