After watching Julie & Julia am feeling incredibly inspired by both characters. They both found something that they truly enjoyed and stuck through it even in the bad times. It is such an admirable quality and I wish I could say the same for myself.
I am such an impatient person and the quicker something is done the better. However doing something quicker isn't always the best way in fact the hare and the tortoise should have taught me that going slow can often make you a winner. Also if something is not worth doing then don't do it or in some cases I find ignore it until it completely goes away.
Today is Mai Feier Tag(May Celebration Day) in Germany and is also a good day for a bit of a political demonstration throughout the country as well as lots of fun for kids...not necessarily though political demonstrations even if the politcal parties do give out free balloons. Kerstin, Michelle and I headed off on our bikes to the Tierpark to see all of the animals. All very sweet indeed (A shame that they are in captivity) but nevertheless they all seemed happy. I saw the tiger who escaped last month and also some amazing baboons. No pandas and no penguins I am afraid.
After curry/bratwurst with pommes for lunch it was time to head to the fire station which had opened its doors. It meant that all of the engines were open to sit in and also lots of fire cadets (?) were around in their uniforms doing lots of different things. One of the things they had to do was a race to unravel the fire hose and blast a target with the water. Very entertaining but unfortunately no fires around which was not really fair considering it was a fire station.
After a long bike ride home - Michelle went back home and Kerstin went into the garden. I tried to catch the frogs but it was no use and I was not in the mood for gardening. With nothing to do - I got into bed for a snooze potentially missing out on the chance to go to the Spa. Maybe we will go tomorrow only time can really tell plus me hiding out in my room will not really help the situation either.
Today I had a very lovely phone call which cheered me up immensly - I went from feeling miserable to feeling extremely happy in the space of 10 minutes.
In two weeks time it is back to Bonn and then on to Hamburg for a few days. Since I am staying longer I will get to see more people and also unfortunately have to work really hard on my essay for University. It is so hard and laborious - I just don't understand how it is supposed to benefit me really. I don't know how I can find enough hours in the day to fit everything in.
Next week is the Cambridge test in Berlin - I am so excited and the kids are probably terrified. I have prepared them all as best as i can in the roughly 7 weeks I have had. This includes talking as much as possible about all of the topics and even in some cases about English history (see previous blogs). We have gone through all of the topics and I have given them a practise paper to do since they have only done one and if you don't feel confident on the exam layout then I think it will effect their performance. Aside from that I have my fingers cross that every one of those kids acheives something. They have truly been inspirational for me and I have loved getting to know all of them, shocking them with my German knowledge and helping them with their English & building their confidence. BRING ON THE TEST!
Saturday, 1 May 2010
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Cause i'm TNT, i'm dynamite
Well have now nearly been living in Stendal for 6 weeks and a few more days which means that 2 weeks time I am already half way through my stay here. Arranging things to go home because I don't think I will be flying this time but rather going with the car and then the boat - awesome because of luggage allowance/no luggage allowance.
School is going ok - am still preparing the year 4 kids for their Cambridge University test. It is proving fun and also means I am getting to know the kids and their personalities very well now. It's also really nice when you turn up in the morning and can say hi to the other kids who are on their bikes too. Some of the things they tell me are most entertaining. One of the lads said today that he knew who Henry VIII was and that he was a very man because he had so many women. So this resulted in a conversation about the royal family and me researching who everyone was. Yesterday was music and the kids get to choose which songs they want to learn. The boys are going to be learning TNT by AC/DC and the girls will be learning Single Ladies by Beyonce. Oh the sheer entertainment i wish I had had a camera.
Today the kids had their bike test which involved the local police and also the German version of the RAC. It was properly like a test - the bikes got checked, they had to do a written test and also do some other quick tests. Then of course the most important was to make sure that they did the course correctly and in a sufficient time! Most proper. One of the girls was quite upset though because I think she either went the wrong way or overtook somebody which she should not have done.
I was at home over Easter which was really nice and weirdly it felt like it was time to go home - oh well this is the last stretch of my journey here in Germany for now. Who knows what the future may hold for me? It was nice to spend time with mum and also get to know the new cat Inga. She was in the RSPCA home for about 6 months and just needed to break free *insert Queen's I want to break free here*. She is such a sweet cat but I think that she will stay indoors most of the time. She is getting to know Stella but I don't think there have been any fights yet - I was there when they first met and Ms Inga was growling a fair bit. Oh well.
Over the weekend am going back to Bonn. Am really looking forward to going back and being able to see everyone again.
Bis spaeter - tschuess!
Steffi x x x
School is going ok - am still preparing the year 4 kids for their Cambridge University test. It is proving fun and also means I am getting to know the kids and their personalities very well now. It's also really nice when you turn up in the morning and can say hi to the other kids who are on their bikes too. Some of the things they tell me are most entertaining. One of the lads said today that he knew who Henry VIII was and that he was a very man because he had so many women. So this resulted in a conversation about the royal family and me researching who everyone was. Yesterday was music and the kids get to choose which songs they want to learn. The boys are going to be learning TNT by AC/DC and the girls will be learning Single Ladies by Beyonce. Oh the sheer entertainment i wish I had had a camera.
Today the kids had their bike test which involved the local police and also the German version of the RAC. It was properly like a test - the bikes got checked, they had to do a written test and also do some other quick tests. Then of course the most important was to make sure that they did the course correctly and in a sufficient time! Most proper. One of the girls was quite upset though because I think she either went the wrong way or overtook somebody which she should not have done.
I was at home over Easter which was really nice and weirdly it felt like it was time to go home - oh well this is the last stretch of my journey here in Germany for now. Who knows what the future may hold for me? It was nice to spend time with mum and also get to know the new cat Inga. She was in the RSPCA home for about 6 months and just needed to break free *insert Queen's I want to break free here*. She is such a sweet cat but I think that she will stay indoors most of the time. She is getting to know Stella but I don't think there have been any fights yet - I was there when they first met and Ms Inga was growling a fair bit. Oh well.
Over the weekend am going back to Bonn. Am really looking forward to going back and being able to see everyone again.
Bis spaeter - tschuess!
Steffi x x x
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Back to school
Well am now into my second week of teaching and to be honest actually loving every minute of it.
Last week was my introduction week and getting to know the layout of the school. It isn't too big and the classes are fairly small. All of the members of staff are really helpful too and very welcoming. I have so far sat in on an Art, Music, English, Maths, HSU(PSE! oh the memories) and of course German lessons. Some of the things they learn in their German lesson's I didn't learn until I was in sixth form taking my AS levels which is pathetic when you think about. Stupid English education system.
I am helping the kids to prepare for the Cambridge University English Language test. They are expected to know ALOT of specific vocabulary. I have to work with 3 different classes. Last Tuesday I was given a group and I was completely unprepared - so Simon Says was a great saver.
This week I was more prepared and have started creating little plans. I even have to keep a register on who has been to see me because sometimes I am alone with the kids or they are in groups. I think the groups are better. My idea for this week is to learn about clothes and also combining that with colours and the weather. 3 topics covered but I have ALOT more to go. I basically took half of my wardrobe into school with me, created some beautiful labels and voila created a clothes shop that need the things labelling. Very entertaining things but I think hands on learning is better and will stick better in their memories.
I have no idea what I will be doing next week because everything will be different. I think I might ask to just do English if I can next week with the year 4's because I need to really get stuck in with helping them out. I realised that there isn't very long until they have their exam which I believe is in May. I am going to have to RUN through some topics and pray the kids soak in the info.....mmmm i think Professor Fluffy maybe making a surprise visit abroad.
This week in German class the year 4's are writing a newspaper so I got to go on a class trip to the local newspaper office which was really interesting because I have never been in one before. There were some great questions and today the kids had their pictures in the paper because it is the newspaper who is organising the scheme about getting children involved in newspapers.
Living in Schloss Steffi is great too - today the weather was finally warm so I went out in the garden with my flip flops on - it's not exactly tropical yet but still it is not freezing or snowing....yet. Yesterday we had a MASSIVE bonfire and were cutting things down/ burning them on the fire from 2pm until 7pm. I was feeling very Jamie Oliver-inspired and so whacked some spuds on the fire also did some bananas with chocolate :-) SO TASTY. As it was St Patrick's Day of course I had a Guinness. Also I was given the last lesson with class 4A so I did a special St Paddy's day themed lesson and made them sing Molly Malone.
YAY tomorrow is Friday and what is even better is since I have done all my hours! I AM OFF! - lie in tomorrow non of this getting up at 6am. Although THANK GOD that it is light outside and I don't have to wake up in the dark
Last week was my introduction week and getting to know the layout of the school. It isn't too big and the classes are fairly small. All of the members of staff are really helpful too and very welcoming. I have so far sat in on an Art, Music, English, Maths, HSU(PSE! oh the memories) and of course German lessons. Some of the things they learn in their German lesson's I didn't learn until I was in sixth form taking my AS levels which is pathetic when you think about. Stupid English education system.
I am helping the kids to prepare for the Cambridge University English Language test. They are expected to know ALOT of specific vocabulary. I have to work with 3 different classes. Last Tuesday I was given a group and I was completely unprepared - so Simon Says was a great saver.
This week I was more prepared and have started creating little plans. I even have to keep a register on who has been to see me because sometimes I am alone with the kids or they are in groups. I think the groups are better. My idea for this week is to learn about clothes and also combining that with colours and the weather. 3 topics covered but I have ALOT more to go. I basically took half of my wardrobe into school with me, created some beautiful labels and voila created a clothes shop that need the things labelling. Very entertaining things but I think hands on learning is better and will stick better in their memories.
I have no idea what I will be doing next week because everything will be different. I think I might ask to just do English if I can next week with the year 4's because I need to really get stuck in with helping them out. I realised that there isn't very long until they have their exam which I believe is in May. I am going to have to RUN through some topics and pray the kids soak in the info.....mmmm i think Professor Fluffy maybe making a surprise visit abroad.
This week in German class the year 4's are writing a newspaper so I got to go on a class trip to the local newspaper office which was really interesting because I have never been in one before. There were some great questions and today the kids had their pictures in the paper because it is the newspaper who is organising the scheme about getting children involved in newspapers.
Living in Schloss Steffi is great too - today the weather was finally warm so I went out in the garden with my flip flops on - it's not exactly tropical yet but still it is not freezing or snowing....yet. Yesterday we had a MASSIVE bonfire and were cutting things down/ burning them on the fire from 2pm until 7pm. I was feeling very Jamie Oliver-inspired and so whacked some spuds on the fire also did some bananas with chocolate :-) SO TASTY. As it was St Patrick's Day of course I had a Guinness. Also I was given the last lesson with class 4A so I did a special St Paddy's day themed lesson and made them sing Molly Malone.
YAY tomorrow is Friday and what is even better is since I have done all my hours! I AM OFF! - lie in tomorrow non of this getting up at 6am. Although THANK GOD that it is light outside and I don't have to wake up in the dark
Sunday, 7 March 2010
A Sunday in Stendal
After finally having a good nights sleep because Dottie flew home last night - so no snoring to accompany me when I sleep - I was awake around 8.30. Sat in bed reading and eventually got up at around 11am.
After breakfast I went with Kerstin to the stables and of course Hamlet came with.
After breakfast I went with Kerstin to the stables and of course Hamlet came with.
We went to see Kerstin's daughters horse who was in the stables. Christiane is home for the weekend so has taken the horse out for some exercise. Meanwhile christiane's boyfriend and Kerstin filled a trailer with muck to use in the garden for the vegetable patch which shall hopefully grow over the next few weeks. I didn't have any wellies with me so I couldn't get properly messy :-( Oh well that is on the shopping list.
Just ate a roast dinner for the first time in months. Am now in bed watching save the last dance.
Will just take it easy today for tomorrow is my first day in work at the school
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Freiburg, Hannover and Frauenstag
ALOT has happened since I last wrote on my blog which I will admit has been a fair while.
Well after being in Bonn Uni I managed to pass all of exams. I still had a problem trying to get everything done but oh well it is too late now because I have moved on to my new humble abode.
2 weeks ago I undertook my first car sharing experience which was great. Unfortunately the snow was still bad and it snowed most of the way down the motorway so we stopped about 6 to 7 times. Got to Freiburg after 6 hours in the car I have never been so glad to be somewhere. I met Babsi and Leon at the train station and Leon was a little bit confused. It was great to be with Leon and Chiara again because both of them have changed so much. Chiara is becoming a GREAT older sister and those sibling fights were something to witness I tell you - yelling at each other over who is the greatest pirate and who should have the pirate sword! OH IT WAS GREAT. Since it was Rosen montag which is a part of the Karneval celebrations I went to see how they celebrate it. We didn't stay too long because it was freezing but after a while it was a little bit samey-same. The parade people throw sweets at everyone and everyone yells to one another. I some how think it was different from the parade up in Cologne which was all over the news reports. Oh well there will be other years where I can go to the Karneval in Cologne.
This time in Freiburg - we drove up into the mountains and did something I have never done before - sledging. It was really hard and to be honest I didn't want to die by going over the edge. So I was being a careful sledder much to the annoyance of Chiara who wanted to go as fast as possible. Leon was a little bit scared and cried for most of the journey. In the end it was me who had the most fun I have never laughed/ screamed so much in my life.
That evening my auntie and uncle came to visit because it had been Leon's 3rd birthday on the Saturday so they had come to see my sister for a bit. They stayed for dinner and my sister cooked the best Lasagne ever....it's massive and is just so delicious.
I car shared back to Bonn on the following Wednesday and this time it only took us 4 hours because there was no snow and the traffic wasn't too bad either.
The weekend after Freiburg I went to Berlin with a rented car. stayed in a lovely Ferienwohnung right next to the Ku'Damm. Did a little sight seeing around Berlin (even though I have done it a million times before) went to Spandau to see where my family orginates from, went to most of the Platz's and also I went to the Russian soldier memorial where I have actually NEVER been before. Have been passed it loads of times but never actually went close up to it.
I had two weeks in Bonn before heading here to Stendal so I tried to abuse it as much as possible. Tried to meet up with people but it didn't always work I just have no idea where the time went. Had a night drinking with Bernie Boy, Ilya, Thomas and BOY SCHMIDT!!!! Was very good fun and lots of beer was drunk.
Packing to leave Bonn was geniuly very sad(can't spell!) because am leaving behind ALOT of good things ;-) We also happened to pick the best day to leave because the Xynthia storm hit Germany. Trees were falling down everywhere and as mum put her foot down in the car on the autobahn you could feel the wind pushing the car over the lanes. There were a few close calls I can tell you that. Also when we got to our guest house we had a power cut :-( eventually the electricity came back on.
SOOOO am now in Stendal - it's not too big probably about the size of childwall and wavertree but there is a macdonalds and burger king so I consider them signs of life. Today is international womans day which was celebrated in the former GDR and is still kind of celebrated in the eastern bundeslands. So my new landlady, Kerstin, took us to the theatre to see a musical comedy which was free but was taking donations for the women's shelter. It was tough for Dottie to understand but I thought that it was HILARIOUS. It was a one-woman show, she had a guitarist and also there were 2 signers on the stage because a group of deaf people had come to see the show. The interaction was great.
Apparently next week 'I love you, you're perfect now change' is on so I think that me and Kerstin will go and see that together. Oh and at some point I have to become a teacher in the school and start to think about my Year Abroad essay.
My how time moves on!
Well after being in Bonn Uni I managed to pass all of exams. I still had a problem trying to get everything done but oh well it is too late now because I have moved on to my new humble abode.
2 weeks ago I undertook my first car sharing experience which was great. Unfortunately the snow was still bad and it snowed most of the way down the motorway so we stopped about 6 to 7 times. Got to Freiburg after 6 hours in the car I have never been so glad to be somewhere. I met Babsi and Leon at the train station and Leon was a little bit confused. It was great to be with Leon and Chiara again because both of them have changed so much. Chiara is becoming a GREAT older sister and those sibling fights were something to witness I tell you - yelling at each other over who is the greatest pirate and who should have the pirate sword! OH IT WAS GREAT. Since it was Rosen montag which is a part of the Karneval celebrations I went to see how they celebrate it. We didn't stay too long because it was freezing but after a while it was a little bit samey-same. The parade people throw sweets at everyone and everyone yells to one another. I some how think it was different from the parade up in Cologne which was all over the news reports. Oh well there will be other years where I can go to the Karneval in Cologne.
This time in Freiburg - we drove up into the mountains and did something I have never done before - sledging. It was really hard and to be honest I didn't want to die by going over the edge. So I was being a careful sledder much to the annoyance of Chiara who wanted to go as fast as possible. Leon was a little bit scared and cried for most of the journey. In the end it was me who had the most fun I have never laughed/ screamed so much in my life.
That evening my auntie and uncle came to visit because it had been Leon's 3rd birthday on the Saturday so they had come to see my sister for a bit. They stayed for dinner and my sister cooked the best Lasagne ever....it's massive and is just so delicious.
I car shared back to Bonn on the following Wednesday and this time it only took us 4 hours because there was no snow and the traffic wasn't too bad either.
The weekend after Freiburg I went to Berlin with a rented car. stayed in a lovely Ferienwohnung right next to the Ku'Damm. Did a little sight seeing around Berlin (even though I have done it a million times before) went to Spandau to see where my family orginates from, went to most of the Platz's and also I went to the Russian soldier memorial where I have actually NEVER been before. Have been passed it loads of times but never actually went close up to it.
I had two weeks in Bonn before heading here to Stendal so I tried to abuse it as much as possible. Tried to meet up with people but it didn't always work I just have no idea where the time went. Had a night drinking with Bernie Boy, Ilya, Thomas and BOY SCHMIDT!!!! Was very good fun and lots of beer was drunk.
Packing to leave Bonn was geniuly very sad(can't spell!) because am leaving behind ALOT of good things ;-) We also happened to pick the best day to leave because the Xynthia storm hit Germany. Trees were falling down everywhere and as mum put her foot down in the car on the autobahn you could feel the wind pushing the car over the lanes. There were a few close calls I can tell you that. Also when we got to our guest house we had a power cut :-( eventually the electricity came back on.
SOOOO am now in Stendal - it's not too big probably about the size of childwall and wavertree but there is a macdonalds and burger king so I consider them signs of life. Today is international womans day which was celebrated in the former GDR and is still kind of celebrated in the eastern bundeslands. So my new landlady, Kerstin, took us to the theatre to see a musical comedy which was free but was taking donations for the women's shelter. It was tough for Dottie to understand but I thought that it was HILARIOUS. It was a one-woman show, she had a guitarist and also there were 2 signers on the stage because a group of deaf people had come to see the show. The interaction was great.
Apparently next week 'I love you, you're perfect now change' is on so I think that me and Kerstin will go and see that together. Oh and at some point I have to become a teacher in the school and start to think about my Year Abroad essay.
My how time moves on!
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Return to the German
Well have been back now for at least 2 weeks and the time has flown. It took me a good while to get back settled in though I will admit - so it has been a crazy two weeks.
University is actually beginning to become challenging because my exams are coming up. Most of them are speaking ones but still makes me pretty nervous because it means I have to speak to teachers. Also am actually trying to revise hard which is very unsual - the German speaking is getting easier. I have noticed I am using it more and more everyday even though I am still majorly speaking in English which well probably isn't very good.
It was Patrick's birthday on Friday so it meant only one thing 'Tabu2 Bar' - not exactly the most raving of places but after a few beers is ok. Met Czilla there and we had a good gab - I know Czilla though my speaking course and I think she is Hungarian(if I remember rightly). Also spoke lots to Ms Christine - AKA lady of Bernie boy, which was nice - as she can't speak English then I have to speak german which is AWESOME!
In a quest to develop further my cultural understanding of the German nation - I yesterday went to a football game. Borussia Dortmund Vs Hamburg SV - even though Hamburg is my old city I was routing for Dortmund to win. It was also an important game as I think it determines 4th place and Dortmund really want to be back in the Champions League again. The fans were very entertaining to watch and it was extremely similar to Liverpool - they sing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' before the game starts and the home stand looked amazing when everyone was jumping up and down. Also got myself a beer and a currywurst - just to be extra German. It was very good fun. Dortmund won in the end so everyone was very happy - I took a couple of videos so I will post them up on Facebook when I get the chance.
For now it's back to the revision board.
Saturday, 9 January 2010
stop the snow! stop the snow! stop the snow!
Well after a few lazy days and a very good night out with Catriona Lewis to celebrate her birthday it was time to think about coming back to Bonn.
Of course with me flying is always something to worry about - especially when you are actually in the air and the plane suddenly starts to go down for no apparent reason. That feeling in you stomach as if you just left it in the terminal building which you just departed from. Oh I'm sorry here I am going on about flying as if it happened a few days ago - well it didn't. Due to the MASSIVe/utterly catastrophic snow across the country, which I will admit for the first few hours was fun.
We stayed over in a hotel near to Manchester hoping that we would avoid the majority of the snow and the ungritted roads. Instead we awoke to find a large pile of fresh snow outside the window and the airport bus struggling to get through the car park. Into the terminal for 8.30am.
Meanwhile it was still snowing and it appeared some flights were going as they were checking in people. Of course we had seen the news which said Manchester airport was closed and flights were suspended until 12pm due to runway clearance. After checking in we were informed the 10.10am flight to Cologne/Bonn would be delayed until 14.55 and we would have to sit and wait. So I went for a wonder around the airport to pass the time and ran into Dave who was likewise flying on the same flight. So we gathered in a small corner to start our little conversations/snoozes/crosswords etc. 14.55 comes - plane delayed further. 16.00 - plane delayed until 18.05. 18.00 comes plane delayed until 19.30. 20.00 nearly 12 hours after we arrived and the flight was cancelled.
Supposed to be flying back tomorrow and hopefully we will get there in one piece from A - B with little or no delay!
Am looking forward to coming back to Bonn - I have to admit I really have missed not being there!
Must try and sleep now
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