Alles hat ein Ende [All good things must come to an end]

Wow. I can't believe it's time for me to write a final blog post. I obviously didn't utilize this blog as much as I did last time. I think that's partially due to the fact that the longer I'm here, the less I feel I need to write about. But I also think that three years later we're getting even terser with how we share information online. I definitely used Instagram and Facebook a lot this time around, so I hope people were able to follow my adventures. Even my mom got a Facebook to keep up with me, so I don't know if I'll ever resurrect a blog like this again.

I'm not quite finished in Germany yet, but I will be back on American soil in 16 short days, so I figured I should write something now when I am actually able to find a little free time. It's well past 2:00 on a Friday night here, but I find myself wide awake and reflecting on these past 9 months. I've even created a playlist of all the songs that have been popular during this school year to help with my thinking...

Work

I have three days left teaching English at the Berufsbildungszentrum Schleswig in Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. I've already had my last lessons with 2 of the 8 classes I worked with this year, and I'm actually sadder than I anticipated. I connected with some classes more than others, which depended mostly on how much I was able to interact with them, but even my lesser favorites have left an impact on me. In my favorite class, the students shared what they thought of the year with me and they had very nice things to say.

The first half the year I was quite apathetic about my work at school. I enjoyed a lot of it, but the whole school system was a bit too different for me, and I remember thinking I could never work in a school here. I've changed my tune quite a bit. Although I don't ever see myself coming back to Germany to work as a teacher, I've grown to enjoy teaching English. The more I was able to work independently with the students, the more fun I had.

Probably the greatest lesson I learned here that I will take back with me is that I'm so much more conscious of my language. I have gotten quite good at changing my level of speech to best fit different audiences. And in general, I speak a little slower and more clearly. I'm also better at explaining what words or phrases mean. I hope to carry this skill into my next teaching job.

People

I have met some awesome people this year (from Germans to Americans to a collection of other nationalities). I was so lucky to live in two apartments with great roommates. I had the best mentor teacher ever, and the other teachers I worked with were all super flexible, kind, and fun to work with. I even made a few friends here that I know I will be friends with for many years to come. To top all that off, I reconnected with good friends from years past and strengthened those bonds.

The year abroad also allowed me to think about the relationships I have at home. Thanks to the world of technology we live in, it often felt like I hadn't left my friends and family at all. Of course it helps when you have so many friends and family members willing to come to Germany to visit you. And having your soon-to-be wife at your side (or at most 3 hours away) made home feel much closer.

Overall experience

I am so, so grateful for this Fulbright year. It's a dream I have had such a long time, and I honestly thought it was a long shot for a while. I love this country and this culture and these people more and more. Learning German and being in Germany has brought me so much happiness in my life that I can't imagine it that it will ever stop being one of the most important parts of my life. I met my fiancée in a German class and the most fulfilling work experience I've had was student teaching German in 2012. Who knew that signing up for German 1 in 2004 under the German name "Heiko" would lead to all of this?

I am proud of myself and what I've done with my two biggest passions: German and teaching. All throughout school I strived to be the best, and, if I'm being completely honest, I always felt not good enough. Smart enough to be in the company of the smartest, but I never felt the pride of being a valedictorian or getting some great scholarship or getting a super high ACT score. But I look back now and see what I have accomplished. I excelled with German and teaching throughout college, I studied abroad, and now there's this Fulbright grant. It's what I'm really, really good at. And the best part of it all is that it's also what I really, really love.

Moving on

I have a quick turn around now. I have less than two weeks in Montana before I jet off to Chicago for six weeks of training. The wedding bells will be ringing at the end of July and a few days later Alice and I will be residents of Chicago for at least two years. There's so much coming our way in the next few months, but I hope I don't too quickly forget the past nine months. If I do start forget, I can come back to this blog post to remind myself. It's been a blast, and although I'm not ready for it to end, I am ready for what's coming.

Thank you, Germany.

Nachholen [catching up]

It's mid February, and I haven't blogged in two months. Oh well, I can't dwell on what I haven't done; instead let me talk about what I have done and what I will be doing. I have 3.5 months left in Germany, which is insane (one month shorter than Alice and the others Fulbrighters because of my commitment to Teach for America, which starts its training in June). The past two months have had tons of highlights, changes, and opportunities for reflexion. I've assembled a couple lists to best summarize these.

Four fun happenings:

(1) The family came to visit

Rhine time.

My parents never thought they'd make it to Europe once, let alone twice. After visiting me in Potsdam three years ago, my mom, dad, and brother were very excited to come back. I'm not sure if they were more excited to see me or to eat a Döner again. But it was great for me to have some family time right before Christmas. They stayed a satisfactory (by American standards) / insanely short (by German standards) ten days in Germany, in which Alice and I were able to show them both the North of Germany and the Rhine Valley. All that's left for them to see in Germany is the western, industrial Ruhrgebiet and Bavaria, but then again, does Bavaria count as Germany?

(2) Had my first German Christmas. 

Being as happy as kids on Christmas.

I had never spent Christmas time in Germany, so it was wonderful to celebrate all THREE days of Christmas (nicely played, Germans) with Alice's former host family near Mainz. Even though it was more of a green Christmas than a white one, we enjoyed a village Christmas Eve service, endless amounts of breads, cheeses, and potato salad, and, of course, great company.

(3) Toured the country with friends

With "Brenda" in Berlin.

My great friends that I've known since high school, Brent and Amanda, flew over from England to spend a couple weeks with us, and we had a blast. We hit Germany hard and knocked Mainz, Heidelberg, Hamburg, Kiel, Berlin, Bremen, Oldenburg, and some smaller cities off the "to see" list. We ate way too much but laughed even more. Can't wait to visit England in April and make them host us!

(4) Jetted off to Spain 

Fulbright Fam in Barcelona.

I know I have no right to complain about the weather here, considering how much snow the U.S. has been getting (I think it snowed here like twice, barely), BUT in January I was so sick of cloudy, cold, wet, dark days. A trip to Spain was exactly what I needed. Alice and I flew on the first weekend of February with our Fulbright daughters Amanda and Valeria to Barcelona, where we soaked up the sun, ate paella with sangria, and found the perfect balance between exploration and relaxation. It was so rejuvenating, and I didn't want to come back.


Four changes:: 

(1) Finished a huge project

TTYL, Youtube! 

Anyone who really knows me or has known me in the past, well, 12 years has become familiar with my unique hobby of making homemade reality shows and putting them on Youtube. In fact, I discovered last week that one of my classes at school googled me and came across my videos,: "Paul, we have saw your Youtube Kanal. Wery good!" Anyway, I finished editing and posted the last episode of Survivor: All-Stars that had been consuming many hours of my life every week since August. I am going to miss a lot of the fun of these shows, but am already enjoying the free time I have now. I can, for example, update my blog. 

(2) Moved apartments

Auf Wiedersehen, pretty girl's room

Sadly, my subletting came to an end at the end of January, and I had give up my pink room. It was very sad to say goodbye to my roommates, but I was very happy to find a room in an apartment just five minutes away. I'll have to post a picture of my new room soon: it's very rustic, manly, and equipped with a big TV and a leather couch. Needless to say, I felt silly bringing in my flowery pillows I bought at IKEA for my old room...

(3) Found my groove at school

Not a student, but a teacher!

I'll admit that it was hard to go back to work after three weeks off at Christmas. Trying to readjust, I wasn't having fun. I was sick of the hour commute each way, and I wasn't excited about teaching. But in the last few weeks, I've really challenged myself to change my mindset. I'm staying on top of schoolwork, I'm teaching more than ever, and really unitizing my commute home on the train to prepare stuff for school. Oh, and I've made it routine to take a quick nap during my free periods on the leather couches in the back of the teacher's lounge. With working only three days a week combined with several weeks of break coming up, I have only 30 days of school left until I go home. Crazy!

(4) Saying hello and goodbye 

Hade, Thomas! I mean, Moikka! Wait, are you Norwegian or Finnish again? #confused 

I've been allowing myself more time for social engagements, which is always a good thing. Now that Franzi, the girl from whom I was subletting, is back from Scotland, we've made a weekly dinner commitment where we cook something along with my former roommate Cathi. This week, I invited them over to my new place, and my new roommate Kathrin also joined us. We may or may not have also watched episode two of Germany's Next Top Model by Heidi Klum...

On the other side of the coin, I have to say goodbye this week to my friends Jenny and Thomas, who are both moving (to Hamburg and New York City, respectively) for internships. My social life is about to tank without them here, but I'm hoping they'll come see us in Chicago in September. It was really nice to spend last weekend with them in Bremen.



Now, I'm also working on a top four list of goals I made for myself this year. I want to take a look back at them and see how I'm doing. I'll save that for next time, though... Hope I make it back to this blog before June! :)