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Adventures in the North

Moin moin!

For those of you who do not know me here is some background information: From 2008 until 2013 I had the pleasure of completing an undergraduate degree in Germanic Studies and Political Science at the University of Victoria and was a former President of the Germanic Studies Course Union. Since completing my studies in Victoria, I have moved to Flensburg, Germany in order to pursue a M.A/ M.Sc. European Studies from the Europa-Universität Flensburg and the Syddansk Universitet. I am currently finishing up my third semester and will soon start writing my masters thesis.

Flensburg is a really cute coastal town of about 90,000 inhabitants, located directly on the border to Denmark. The location of my new home is quite cool as I have the opportunity to speak at least four languages a day (German, Danish, English, and Plattdeutsch) and also have the chance to familiarize myself with all the different cultures of this border region. Just like Victoria, the harbour plays a key role in the identity of the city. Boating, swimming, eating seafood, and just chilling down at the “Hafenspitze” are some of the basic characteristics of a life here in Flensburg.
Check out some pictures I took around town:

Nordermarkt
Nordermarkt
Hafen
Hafen

Over the course of my graduate studies here in Germany I have had the amazing opportunity to represent Germany at conferences in Armenia, Portugal, and Georgia – despite the fact that I do not have German citizenship. (Actually, here it is good to mention that my Russian language skills that I learned at UVic back in the day have come in handy when visiting the Caucasus, so I am really thankful for that!) So my current studies have thereby really enabled me to discover my research interest areas and also put them into practical use, which is both really fun and exciting!

Right now I am in that awkward phase where the end of my role as a student is on the horizon and I have to start looking for a future career path. So basically my typical days at this point involve researching and writing for my studies, working, and when I’m not eating or sleeping, looking for internships/ jobs.

Anyway, I better get back to writing an essay!

Bis bald/ Vi ses!

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One month later…!

Hallo liebe Leute!

In 2 days I will have been here for a month!  Times flies!

So, what to say?

Well, work is good.  It’s easy and I enjoy it and the students like me.  I normally work in smaller groups in my own classroom where I go over questions that will be asked in an oral exam and we practice speaking and listening.

As well, my school offered me a chance to join in on an a project called: COMENIUS Multilateral School Partnership:  
“Different Cultures on European Stage” (http://www.differentcultures.eu/).

In short, it’s a project that focuses on theatre work for improving student spirit of participation, socialization, development of tolerance, teamwork, and positive contribution to the development of personality. The students will improve their artistic skills by acting in the theatre plays, their literature & writing skills by writing the scripts, ICT skills by recording & editing videos and language skills by using English both in writing scripts & performing. The scripts will be written by the students and these plays will be recorded to send to other schools in the region, local authorities, and the Directorate of National Education.

I will be the editor of the plays because it’s in English and I need to correct the grammar, and I get to film short clips for the students.  The best part of all of this is that they are paying for me to go to different countries to film and be the English translator. HOW GREAT IS THAT!

My first trip will (hopefully, since they are arranging it last minute) be in October to Poland, where we will be there for about a week, and as I said, everything is paid!  The flight, accommodation, food, etc.  All I have to do is the stuff that I love, which is filming & editing 🙂

In December I believe there will be a trip to Finland and next year I will be traveling solo to Bulgaria and then to Greece in April. I think there are a couple more trips to Italy and Romania as well, but I cannot remember the exact dates.. I am really stoked.  This is an excellent opportunity to add to my portfolio, get paid and travel for free. I am quite happy 🙂

The school I am teaching at is huge!!!  Over 1300 students.  (Picture of the school).

Everyweek the students also go to a church service which I got to sit in on.  It was kind of cool even though I didn’t understand much.

This is the monastery, where the nuns and priests live.  On the right is where the church is, and this is what it actually looks like.  There is only one nun who is currently teaching students and I think she mostly assists in kindergartners.  She was very nice.  One of the teachers told me she was kind of modern in her teaching methods and even has Facebook, and it is really odd sometimes to have her on Facebook because the Newsfeed would read, “Sister Theresa just scored 100 points in Candy Crush!”

So far life is good here.  My WG roommates are all really wonderful and we speak a mix of English, German, French and Spanish so it really is exercising my brain.  I have already made a couple friends from Paderborn University where I am doing tandem lessons every week.  I somehow am registered as a Ph.D student at the university, so that is kind of cool even though I have no thesis or desire (at the moment) to pursue this sort of thing. I think I will stick with just getting my Masters first.

Other than that, things are going smoothly and I am going to Oktoberfest in three weeks and just bought a really beautiful dirndl, so I am excited for that!  Fingers crossed that Scotland will win their referendum this week, as I plan on heading there for fall holidays that start in two weeks.  I have a friend coming to visit from Romania this weekend (actually Ovidiu’s best friend) so that will be exciting!

Alright, that’s enough writing for now.

Bis dann!

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Zweites Halbesjahr

Die Zeit läuft unglaublich schnell. We’ve just entered the second half of the school year, which means changing schedules, a long weekend, and more daylight hours. I’m so grateful that the days of riding my bike to work at 7:30 am in pitch darkness are over and that the sun is poking out regularly. Running around the old city wall is much more appealing in the sunshine, not to mention grabbing groceries or walking to a friend’s house in the city center. I’m so looking forward to biking to the lake or eating lunch in my garden once the weather really perks up.

The last couple of weeks at work have been particularly nice and I’d like to share a couple of favourite stories from my classes.

As the year progresses, I have increasingly frequent opportunities to plan my own lessons and activities for my students, rather than simply work with whatever materials the teachers provide. I was initially uncomfortable making my own lesson plans, but I’m starting to relish the freedom of tailoring lessons any way I like. I also adore most of the students that I work with. I’ve heard some horror stories from other assistants here about their schools and students; thankfully, the stars have aligned for me and I work in a school that is filled to the brim with friendly kids and colleagues. The other day at the beginning of classes with one of my 7th grade groups, I made a point of telling them how much I appreciate it when they wave to me or say hello in the halls. I told them, “You are the friendliest class! I love it when you say hi to me. It’s so nice.” Then they all applauded.

Sometimes, you can’t help but laugh. Once, I was playing a game of 20 Questions with a group of 9th graders, and one bright and bubbly girl wanted to make a guess. “Spongebob Schwammkopf!” she yelled, and began singing the theme song to Spongebob Squarepants. (Schwammkopf means “sponge head.”)
I interrupted gently. “Actually, it’s ‘Squarepants,’ because his pants are square.” She burst into a new rendition. “Squarepants Schwammkopf, Squarepants Schwammkopf…”

Even on days when something I had prepared doesn’t quite go as planned, a student inevitably stays behind after class to talk to me and their interest and enthusiasm restores my self-confidence. Whether I’m working with 12-year-olds and showing them how to make a “th” sound, prodding 16-year-olds to consider the power of the media, staging debates on “skateboards vs. bikes” with 14-year-olds, discussing the characterization of Daisy in The Great Gatsby with 18-year-olds, playing Taboo or Apple to Apples, teaching entire classes of kids about Canadian culture, or sitting with one teenage student and talking about their trials, triumphs, and future plans, I get my energy from the appreciation that I feel from the kids and teachers with whom I work every day. Of course every day isn’t perfect, but focusing on the many positive moments is a good way to remind myself how much I enjoy being here.
Speaking of energy, if I don’t go to bed soon, I won’t have any for class tomorrow! Mach’s gut!

 

Wintery view from my bedroom window.
Wintery view from my bedroom window, taken a few weeks ago. There’s more sun now!