November 2009
1 post
My Triumphant Return...
To those of you who still read this, I have decided to revive my blog for my upcoming two week jaunt to Germany. Be prepared to read of debauchery, multiple job offers and binges.
Or of course the more likely scenario of my ranting about how unjust the European Union’s policies towards foreign workers are. Either way, it should be fun.
June 2009
1 post
May 2009
2 posts
90 people get the swine flu and everybody wants to...
(via jessicachu)
Thanks to rob for pointing this out to me.
Interesting Discussion
The theme for the 12th and 13th grade English courses this semester is “The American South”. I couldn’t tell you how many times the teachers have asked me specific questions about the South “because you’re from the South”. Last time I checked, Saint Louis is not considered to be the South. Oh well. On Thursday I was working with a 12th grade Leistungskurs...
April 2009
8 posts
Welcome Mat?
Hannover is known for having large trade shows. Every year Hannover hosts CeBit which is the largest technology conference in the world. There are trade shows about 3 times a month during Spring and Summer. Now, when there are trade shows, the trams that take you throughout the city will announce the stop, which side the doors open on as well as whether or not you can transfer to other trains...
Back To School
Today was my first day back at school after a little over 2 weeks off. I only had 3 lessons today, and they went swimmingly (see mom, I can be positive). The first lesson I worked with a 10th grade class. I had to do a worksheet with them about adjectives. There were about 40 adjectives on the page, and then they had to sort them into two groups “positive and negative” as well as...
Commentary on German Culture →
An Update On Things
School has been about the same as always. I am making my way through the days, but it is not something that I want to do for a very long time. It is just that I feel as though I am not being used anywhere near the way I should be. I am frustrated because the school thinks that things are not as smooth as they should be, and I really feel that is their fault, not mine. I’m not too sure about...
March 2009
1 post
February 2009
6 posts
Since I was sick all last week, this has been my first week with my new Stundenplan (timetable). Upon receiving it, I wasn’t incredibly excited. I still had two periods with the 10K class, but beyond that it looked pretty good. Well done, Björn. Anyways, this week there is the “Kompetenztagen” from Wednesday-Friday, so there aren’t any classes for me to teach Basically...
A few significant things have happened since the last time I posted. First and foremost, I took the FSOT (Foreign Service Officer Test) in Frankfurt a week ago. The test was at 1:30, so I had to leave my apartment in Hannover at 8:30 in order to get to the train station and then take a train to Frankfurt. Rather than pay €4 to reserve a seat on the train, I figured that I would take my chances....
Sweet Dreams
goshdarnitpeoplelikeme:
I think I may have visited Heaven last night, and here’s why… In my dream last night I walked down Manchester with Scotty Motown, Joe Motown, Deelo and Ian O’Leary, and we entered this church (I have no idea why.) Once inside we saw that it had stadium seating and we sat in the nosebleed section. This place was packed. So we were listening to the preacher and people started...
“Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of the...”
– Teddy Kennedy (from Bobby Kennedy’s Funeral)
January 2009
27 posts
Maybe This Is Me? →
An Insight Into Germany
As some of you may know, Carlos and I have had quite an experience here in Germany so far. Rather than bore you with all the details, I will just tell you a joke that Carlos made up.
Why is it that it is easier for Germans who move to the US to adapt than Americans who move to Germany?
Answer: Because it is easier to pull a stick out of your ass than to stick one in.
We have all been there. →
“There is no such thing as perpetual tranquility of mind while we live here;...”
– Thomas Hobbes
1865
I was working with my least favorite class today (by far), and we read a story about a Texan who was African American. He learned to read at the age of 98 and wrote his first book at the age of 101. The short story of his was about the lingering feelings of racism in the USA. We were talking about the history and roots of said racism, and of course we got on to the topic of slavery.
We asked...
Awkward Adjectives
I’ll start this off with a great story from class today. I was working with a 6th grade class, and we were going over comparative adjectives. They were split into groups of 3, and they had to pick 5 adjectives and then did the following: ”Sara is funny, Martha is funnier, but Alexandra is the funniest”. Pretty simple. The first group to tell the class their 5 adjectives was...
Ha! →
Updates
The last week or so has been relatively uneventful. Things are about the same at school in that I don’t really feel like I do much. At first that was fun, but now it’s getting old. Hopefully things pick up when I start my after school conversation club, as well as working with the “American South” themed classes. We’ll see.
A few funny stories from school,...
“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as...”
– Abraham Lincoln. Inaugural Address—March 4th, 1865
This is daunting →
We all need one of these... →
Why would a native speaker be correct??
I figure that I am going to write this while it is fresh in my mind, because this has happened a few times during the previous 4 months in Germany. It is time to give everyone some laughs. So my job here is to obviously help out in all facets in regards to teaching English (as well as being a “cultural representative”). I work with about 6 different classes, and most of what I am...
German Schools
I figure that since I am spending a decent amount of my time here at school, I should tell you about some of the huge differences between the schools here and the ones in the USA.
1. Teachers don’t have their own rooms. Rather, students stay in the same rooms and teachers move from room to room (and building to building).
To me this is a bad idea on a few levels. First, the obvious one...
Time To Kill
I have one lesson (45 minutes) between my last lesson today and my tutoring session. Thank goodness for the tumblr application for the iPhone. Today was pretty normal actually. The one that was entertaining was my 11th grade class. I had them read and listen to George W. Bush’s inauguration speech from 2001. They definitely got a kick out of listening to it. I had one student ask me if there...
First Day Back...
Today was my first day at school after the Winter Break. I was somewhat apprehensive due what happened before I came home (if you don’t know the whole story just ask me), but it turned out fine. I had to teach 4 hours this morning: 2 with my least favorite class and 2 with a class that is pretty cool. The first 2 hours were spent talking about colonization in the USA, so that was a...
It only took 8 years... →
Looks like we should have asked Santa for savings... →
NYE
It’s that time of the year again when people make brazen “resolutions” and do their best to follow through with them. I have discussed this phenomenon with a few of my friends, and we have talked about what our resolutions are for 2009. Sure, go with the typical “learn a new language” or “lose 50 lbs.” After a conversation with one of my more astute friends (Rob), he told me his resolution is...
Test.
December 2008
1 post
Watch