When a Cactus Blooms

I feel almost jittery because I want to share so much that I don't know what to write about first. For instance, I'm currently staring out the window at my cactus in awe at this cactus sprout that has grown at least 5 inches this week and turned this beautiful magenta color and I want you to see how beautiful it is so we can marvel at the wonder of life together. And I want to talk about my teacher's calender and show you how organized I got today. I want to talk about teacher rooms, cubby holes, bad coffee and good pens. And I want to talk about good neighbors, living alone and being a foreigner without feeling foreign. And I especially want to say that I am so happy I came to Rimbach and am working at the MLS and sometimes I just want to gush about it because I feel giddy. But then I feel silly for feeling so giddy because giddiness is often equated with naiveté. And everyone knows that 22 year olds have reached the highest achievable level of wisdom....

Naja. Let me tell you about life at school. I teach a 9th grade English class 4 hours a week, an 8th grade class 4 hours a week and an 11th grade class every Monday for a double period. I will also be leading up to two conversation classes for years 8th-13th, but we are still working out when to hold those. And I'll be assisting with the English drama group, but that also hasn't begun yet. It's been nice to only have two classes (the 11th grade remedial English class hasn't started yet either) to worry about the first two weeks. Although, I did arrive at school this Monday at 7:25 am only to learn that the upper grades had some sort of assembly and classes were cancelled. Sometimes I'm the last to hear about things.

My 9th grade class is a dream. There are only 7 students. Which is funny since it is almost parallel to my very first high school German class of 6 people. At first I dreaded going to teach them because they were so quiet, but they've started to feel more comfortable and I think I could even say they're having fun. Its a wonderful environment to help me find my voice in the classroom. As I've learned this week, I have a long way to go before I know myself as a teacher and can apply that in an organized and regular way. But that is why the teacher's room is my new favorite place. I only taught during the first period today, but I hung around to be social and learn how to do things like keep a grade book. And drink bad coffee. And borrow good pens. Some other time I'll elaborate on German's elaborate school supply system.
Yesterday, I had a double period with the 9th graders in the afternoon so I took them outside and sat in this this outdoor, stone courtyard and discussed racism in Australia. It was a rewarding moment because last semester I took a class about how to incorporate multiculturalism (however you define that) into mainstream lessons and 6 months later, I'm doing it myself.

Another reason I hung out so long today, was to get tips on managing my 8th graders. 90% of my classroom experience has been with children under the age of 10. So I really don't know much about middle schoolers. Apart from growing up with many younger cousins (bless your hearts). Additionally, some of the other teacher's have told me the 8b class is particularly difficult haha. But I'm totally up for the challenge. I mean, what else would I be doing? I'm here to teach. My life is quite small. For once (RIP St. Olaf). So what I'm saying is, I have the energy for this. Plus, my friends teaching in the US are teaching 5 or more periods a day. I teach at most 3 a day and only one of those are with 8th graders. I have nothing to complain about.

 The most frustrating thing is that they consistently talk while I am speaking. Everyone keeps blaming it on the age, and I'm no authority to say it isn't, but I've experienced similar problems in my other Germany experiences. Especially at the University I studied at in Konstanz I found it so irritating that people will blatantly talk with their neighbor and hardly try to conceal the conversation to a whisper. The same was true when I went to school in Heidelberg and Hannover. And even in the teacher's conference at MLS. So maybe its a cultural thing? I don't want to generalize. This is the trend I have noticed and perhaps it is particularly striking to me because I went to a private high school and St. Olaf- so perhaps its just a matter of where I've spent my time learning? Anyway, I don't know how much I'm going to get at changing that behavior. But I think I might start with a reward system (gasp!). And just like that, Alfie Kohn flew out the window.

I actually successfully baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies two nights ago to give to my neighbors. Hanna liked them so much she wants to learn how to make them this weekend so she can bring them to her class on Monday to celebrate her birthday. Also, after much "beklagen" on my part that Germany doesn't know how to bake chocolate chip cookies, I found this video from one of my favorite German bands on how to bake chocolate chip cookies.

So definitely not a flop, but not necessarily good enough that I was sad to give them all away. I brought some to the teacher's room, too. 

This is my cubby. Or "Fach" in German. Or Pigeon Hole as the German's translate it into English. I kind of like referring to is at a Pigeon Hole. 

And this is the teacher's room where I spend lots of my time. And maybe its because I can tune out German so easily, but I haven't experienced any of the teacher griping that I was warned takes place in teacher's rooms in the US.

Well, its getting late and I want to go to bed on time today for once. Although, I am enjoying how easy it is to go to bed early when you live by yourself. Before I go, let me tell you about this evening, because I paused this post in the middle of writing it so I could go somewhere.

There are a few things that I find very important to have anywhere that I am living. Among this list are cozy coffee shops, small bookstores and public libraries. While Rimbach is laking in both coffee shops and libraries, they do have something I am always looking for. Adult ballet classes. I either never fulfilled or never outgrew my obsession with being a ballerina and the dream is very much alive today. Unfortunately, you can never find classes for people my age. I am very shocked that there is such a class in this small village that I can even walk to. Life couldn't be better. Oh, but then it did, because Sabine and Hanna Schmitt (downstairs neighbors, mom and youngest daughter) offered to drive me to class today because they wanted to make sure I found everything alright. Then they picked me up. And then we spontaneously went to watch Caroline (older daughter) at track practice. And met some family friends. And there was soccer practice. And some old people were grilling. It made me feel so at home because half my childhood was spent on the sidelines of various cousin sporting events. There is a competition for all the track and field athletes next Sunday that Caroline and Hanna are in. So I'm going to go, too. It's just the best of both worlds because I'm such a family orientated person so I'm getting all the benefits of a home stay, while getting to live independently in my own space. See why I'm so giddy? Seriously, I prepared myself for a sad lonely year living in Germany for over 6 months now. I honestly didn't think I would find this many communities to be a part of. I think it helps that I have a sort of "i've got nothing to lose" spirit about it all. I wouldn't be throwing myself into this many things at home, I don't think. 

This is Bernard. 

The Beginning again

Hello! Guten Tag! Guten Abend!

I am proud to introduce myself as the 31st Rimbach Gastleherin! Actually living in Rimbach and starting school this week has helped me appreciate even more what a unique piece of history I am now apart of. Thank you to everyone who helped keep this program alive and thriving over the past few years. Even at the start of my year, I already feel excited to continue following the future guest teachers.

The past 11 days have been far more enjoyable and far less lonely than I predicted. I pessimistically anticipated that I would be sitting alone in my apartment with nothing to do or no one to see until school started. That was not my experience however. I have met so many generous teachers from MLS who invited me into their homes, took me on outings, and fed me lots of pflaum kuchen. On top of that, the family who I live in the apartment with has been likewise welcoming, leaving me doorstep gifts, inviting me to festivals and helping me settle into the house. In kurz, in Rimbach ich fuehle mich daheim.

Although there are many stories to tell from the past week and a half, I'll just sum it up with a series of pictures I took. There should be one for each day.

August 10th: The day after I arrived, two friends I studied abroad with in Konstanz visited me. It was a wonderful way to explore Rimbach for the first time. Here I am in front of MLS. 

August 10th: On our walk around Rimbach, we found a concert festival taking place in Rimbach that evening. Although my friends had to return to Stuttgart, I decided to go alone and ended up having a lot of fun. You know that person who is literally the first to shamelessly get up and start dancing when ever there is an opportunity? Well, that was the women sitting next to me- so I joined her. Funny that I ended up dancing at a Blues Festival when I was searching for something culturally german to cure my homesickness. 

August 11: On my second day, Romy, Jutta Meyer, her husband Bernt and their two French friends invited me on a trip to see some local sites. We visited the Welde brewery for a tour and sampling, the palace Schwetzinger above, and the town of Weinheim. I was so happy to be included on the outing and it was wonderful getting to know Romy and Jutta better since they are also English teachers at MLS. 

August 12th: This evening I was playing the card game Ligretto with the Schmitt sisters downstairs, Caroline (12) and Hanna (10). It was a really cute evening getting to know the girls and their mom even brought us gelato from the shop down the street. After the summer rain shower, we caught this rainbow bending over Rimbach. 

August 13th: Tuesday. No plans. I woke up, and as soon as I did, I moved to my "living room" and read for most of the day. Apart from when Caroline and Hanna invited me to play with them on their trampoline (which was great), I spent a luxurious day doing nothing. At night, I lit some candles and finished my book.

August 14th: After morning coffee at fellow english teacher and neighbor, David Katzer's house, I took a trip to the nearest biggest city, Mannheim, to get some errands done. Although only 314,931 residents, it felt like NYC compared to Rimbach. Despite the excitement, I was happy to come home and will look forward to going back.

August 15th: Christina Nowak, another English teacher, invited me to her home in Bensheim for lunch. We walked around the old part of the city in the afternoon and got ice cream. It reminded me of being in Konstanz a little bit and also a little jealous of all the things big cities have to offer (i.e. public libraries, frauen tanzen gruppen and international gatherings). Later that evening, Romy, Tilo and I came back to Bensheim for a free outdoor music concert. It was great music and made me feel at home. 

August 16th: One of the things I've enjoyed most about being in Rimbach, is getting to have a space of my own to rearrange and design. Although this photo is already a bit outdated, this day, I swapped the desk and the bed. Maybe you second generations can appreciate the task knowing how heavy the desk was. I was pretty proud of myself. 

August 17th: Fisherfest. I was invited by the Schmitt family to bike to the local Fishing club to celebrate in the annual festival. The fisherfest basically is just a big fish eating party. I even got a fillet even though I am not usually a fish eater. But when in Rimbach... One thing that I loved about this event was that everyone who was there lived in the Odenwald. I liked feeling apart of the local tradition and not engulfed in a touristy ritual. Additionally, it was great to spend time with the Schmitts and meet their relatives who were there too. On the way home, we biked through the village at night and the girls showed me where their grandparents (both sets) and cousins lived and we called up to their open windows to wish them good night. It was adorable. Then they showed me not only where the bakeries were, but also where they eat Doenner during lunch, the banks, the toy store, the shoe store, the florist, the drug store. It was so endearing, I pretended I was seeing it all for the first time. 

August 19th: So I had a cute idea to make back to school rice crispy treats, even though Edeka only offered Special K. Luke left a bag of marshmellows in the pantry, so I thought I was all set. But apparently if marshmellows are too old they don't melt. I tried to redeem the occasion by making chocolate chip cookies, even though my baking record in Germany is really bad. Living in Konstanz for 5 months, and over 6 cookie making failures. I don't know what it is, but I can't bake outside of the US. This day, I was so anxious, I literally sat and watched the cookies in the oven. So then I shamelessly took a picture of myself doing so. I wish I could report that I finally succeeded, but it was another flop. Next time. 

August 19th: First day of school picture taking apparatus. I tried to get the Schmitts excited for this tradition, but they weren't really feeling it, so I finagled this thing to take a picture of myself on my balcony (after school). School the first day was great! Firsts for me are never hard because I feel like I have nothing to lose. Its the second, third, fourth etc times that I get nervous about. On Monday, it was just fun. Good energy. A lot of teachers greeted me and introduced themselves, so I definitely felt welcomed in the teacher's room. The computer, printer and copy machines were less friendly... I taught an 9th grade English class which miraculously only has 7 students in it (long story) and then an 8th grade class. It didn't go horribly, closer to good than bad, but things definitely need to change. There is a lot of energy in that group. In the afternoon, I went to have coffee with Helmut Hartmann (we had dinner together a few nights ago- he is a retired english teacher, teacher trainer, and was very involved in the Olaf/Rimbach program earlier) and he gave me countless things for my apartment. Including a rug, an old fashioned purée crank thing to make soups, couch pillows, storage drawers, mixing bowls, a ceramic pot to cook bread in! Honestly, the afternoon was more exciting than school. Like I said, I'm having a lot of fun moving in and Herr Hartmann's generosity is very much appreciated. 

August 20th: It was only Tuesday- and I only taught one double period class of 7 students- and I came home so exhausted, I felt too tired to even sleep (if that makes sense). I don't know, something about lesson planning and copy machines and navigating around the school really exhausted me. But, this cactus that Helmut gave me put me in a good mood just to look at. There is just something really adorable about it. But I like my 9th graders. I'm looking forward to a good year with them. I'm mildly scared of my 8th graders. 

A Fond Farewell

Beloved readers, the time has come for me to update you all for the last time.  As I type, I have already made the voyage across the Atlantic, and am sitting in a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, waiting for my shuttle to take me to the airport so I can take that last flight home to Texas.  Germany, the country I have called home for slightly over a year, is behind me.

It would be foolish for me to attempt to fill you all in on everything that has happened since the last post, since that would include a whole semester and half the summer holidays.  Instead, I will give a general overview and list some highlights of the year.  Overall, the second semester at the MLS surpassed the first by far, in terms of sheer enjoyment.  Having adjusted to the rigors of teaching, I was able to lead lessons with much more confidence and I had a great time with all of my classes.  I truly enjoyed getting to know my students both in and out of the classroom and I will miss them all next year.  Hopefully I will be able to come back and visit before they graduate.  My ninth graders gave me a signed basketball, and my eleventh graders gave me a signed t-shirt, both of which I will treasure.

I had more to do outside of the classroom in the last six months as well.  The basketball season wrapped up well, and two of my best friends from home, John and Jordan, were in Germany to see my best game of the season, as I scored some 24 points and led us to fourth place.  I also hung out with several of the 13th graders a bunch towards the end of the year, and continued to go to local festivals with other teachers and student teachers.  As my German improved, so did my confidence in going out and striking up conversations with people I didn't know.  I was actually mistaken for being a German several times while talking with people, and they were surprised when I told them I was American!!  Though in the spirit of full disclosure, there were other times when my flawed German made itself painfully obvious.

The last week of the school year - Abiwoche - was probably the most fun all year, as the 13th Graders partied in tents behind the school all week, and finished up with their Graduation ceremony and prom.  It was great to hang out with them during the week and get to know a bunch of them better.  It was also a blast to play my last saxophone solo at graduation and to do a surprised choreographed dance (despite my crutches) with some other teachers at the prom.

My three weeks of summer were rather full, as I hung out with as many people as possible and slowly said goodbyes to everyone.  I also went on a 10 day trip with Timo, Lukas, and Sebastian to Norway, which proved to be some of the most spectacular and adrenaline-filled hiking that I've done.  And then it was over.  I suddenly found myself with only few days left in Germany with which to see everyone I knew one more time, fill out all the forms required for leaving a country, and pack everything I own into two suitcases which couldn't be too heavy.  And here I am, about to fly with those suitcases and memories to Texas.

The impact of my year in Germany is still nowhere near to hitting me or even feeling real.  I said goodbye to my friends with the feeling that I would see them soon, but the reality is that it will probably be at least a year or two.  I found myself trying to speak as much German as I could before I landed, talking to anyone and everyone on the plane, as the opportunity to improve my skills was about over.  I'm sure there are aspects of German life, culture, and food which I will realize I sorely miss as time goes by, and I look forward to discovering what those things are.  For now, it's nice to simply look back on a few highlights of my year: going to Kerwes with the Odenwaeldergang, playing saxophone solos, Berlin with the eleventh graders, Italy with Stacy and Garrett, the Weinachtskonzert, the Superbowl party, mountain biking, basketball with TSG Weinheim, Osterferien with John and Jordan, hanging out with my ninth and eleventh graders, Fruehlingsfest in Stuttgart with Thomas, Abiwoche, Abizelten, Abiball, Norway, and many more.

I won't attempt to name people who helped to make my year there special, as there are too many and I don't want to leave anyone out.  But most of you know who you are, and everyone will continue to be fondly remembered by me.  As with all years, there were ups and downs this year, but I know that it helped me to gain confidence and independence, meet people with a more open mind, explore new cultures and ideas, and to grow up.  It was a year that has impacted me as much as any before it.  As the year of the 30th Rimbach guest teacher ends, so does his blog.  In the words of someone much more traveled than I am: "I am going now.  I bid you all a very fond farewell.  Goodbye."

Januar(y)

So beloved readers, here we are again, after my lovely trip home to the US.  I am not going to speak too much on that subject here, as it does not involve Germany, but it was a lovely time, and great to see so many friends and family.  I saw a few movies, including the amazing Les Miserables, whose soundtrack is now serenading me, and has been for the last three weeks.  If you haven't seen it, go.

While flying back to America I struck up a conversation with a German woman who had been on holiday in the best country in the world.  She told me that she loved it in America, and that people there were way more open and friendly.  This is a comment I have heard many Germans say about Americans, and something I myself have missed while in Germany.  It is not that Germans are unfriendly, once you get to know them they are great, but they have a certain shell which is difficult to penetrate, and to foreigners, they can come off as quite unfriendly.  Meanwhile, Americans like to strike up conversations with strangers and are simply (most of the time) more willing to talk and converse.  Contrary to last year's theme of fitting in, I decided to start this year off by putting some American culture into little old Rimbach. It was the woman on the plane who helped me realize that while Germans are less open, they love how friendly Americans are, and I decided to play that to my advantage.  Thus it was that my first trip back to the grocery store had me asking the cashier in German: "How is it going today?"  The blank stare I got back told the story of the differences between the two cultures.  She had no idea why I was asking and how to respond.  I asked again.  Finally she responds: "Goood...?"  At which point I realized that the only way we were going to connect was if I just took over the conversation, so without being asked I told her how tired I was from jet lag and that I had just come back from America, and my greatest fears and worries and trials and tribulations, my dreams, and everything there was to know about myself.  We ended up having a nice chat, and I felt like my job of bringing American culture to Germany had successfully begun.  It wasn't until a week later, however, that I realized the impact a small effort to start conversation can have on people.  I was going through the checkout with the same cashier, but was having a downer day and just didn't have the motivation to start a conversation with her.  I was planning on going through silently and conceding defeat when the cashier asks: "How's it going today?"  We ended up having a great conversation.  I still wonder at the fact, that only a week after a woman was dumfounded at the fact that I asked her how she was in the grocery store, she took initiative to ask me.  I think it points to the power of making an effort to be friendly to people, you never know how you much can touch them.

It was also nice to be picked up by a fellow teacher at the airport in Germany.  It was a strange feeling to be flying "home" to a foreign country, but it was nice to have friends to greet me immediately.  The last three weeks have not been too eventful, as we have wrapped up the second semester.  I have badly jammed two fingers in basketball and suffered a severe cut on another finger, but they are healing fast.  Last week I was compelled to ask my students to anonymously fill out sheets answering how much and in what ways their English has improved this year, and in what ways my class is good and bad.  I was admittedly quite nervous about the potential responses as at times I do not consider myself that great of a teacher.  To my surprise, however, every response was overwhelmingly positive.  Students indicated that their English was vastly improving and that they loved my teaching style.  Several even called me the best English teacher ever.  I feel incredibly grateful and blessed.

This Friday I was also invited by several students to go mountain biking with their sport class.  I took up the challenge and joined them on a four hour bike ride through the Odenwald.  Definitely a major highlight of the year to date.  It was around 40 degrees and raining, but about 15 of us all toughed it out.  At times it was as strenuous of a ride as I've had, climbing a steep mountain for a solid two hours.  Every now and then, we had a gap in the fog and it allowed one to admire the incredible natural beauty of the Odenwald.  Cows, pastures, beautiful forests, and rolling mini-mountains with little towns dotted throughout.  The way down was incredibly cold, as our bikes skidded through mud and dirt splattered our faces.  I was incredibly sore afterwards, but it was a great time.  Today, around 15 students and 3 teachers came to watch me play basketball in Weinheim!  I feel once again grateful and blessed that so many people would take 2 hours out of their Sunday to see me play.  After shaking off initial nerves and my first two missed shots, I hit my last 3 and finished with 8 points, an ok game, but we won, which is the most important thing.  Soon, some of the seniors will come over to my apartment and we will go over to the MLS, setting up the Super Bowl on a big screen.  It should be a blast.  With that, dear readers, I must leave you all.

 Be merry and enjoy life, till my next post,

Luke

An MLS ChristmasFest

Hey beloved readers,

So contrary to previous statements and promises uttered in my past posts, I failed to continuously update you all, and resorted again to my tendencies of procrastinating until I have a post full of information.  Perhaps over New Years I will resolve to update more frequently, but I hate failing at things, so probably not.  Anyways, I'll try to simply include the highlights of the last few weeks.

I'm not exactly sure how long it's been since last I put quill to paper, but let me assure you, it doesn't matter that I know right when I last updated you all, not too much has happened.  Contrary to my excitement-filled November, my December has been much more run of the mill.  Weeks of classes and basketball have gone by without too much to note.  As far as classes go, I finished grading a ton of tests for my 11th grade class so I don't have too much work at the moment, and soon I will be giving a test to my 9th graders.  Also my conversation class is reading Lord of the Flies which is great to read again!  In terms of basketball, I finally worked my way into the starting five!  Our coach was absent two games ago, and he left some players in charge.  Since the players actually realize that I'm good, they immediately put me in the starting five and I responded with leading the team with 18 points!  Yesterday we had another game and our coach left me in the starting five but I played horribly, so we'll see what happens next weekend... After the game I said to my coach "sorry, I played horribly today" and he responded with "good that you noticed", just so you guys can get an idea of him.  Not my favorite guy.  But my stats are recorded online so that's super awesome, and I'm 2nd in the league in free throw percentage!

The main highlight of the last few weeks came two weekends ago, however, at the MLS Weihnachtskonzert (Christmas concert for all you German-impaired readers).  It was the same weekend as Christmasfest at St. Olaf, and thus a weekend which could easily lend itself to some bouts of college-sickness on the part of yours truly.  However, playing in the Weihnachtskonzert was truly a blessing all weekend.  There was a concert on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and it consisted of all the musical groups at the MLS and lasted around two and a half hours.  I spent most of my time sitting backstage waiting to play, and while that could have been very boring, it was actually great to meet a ton of students outside of a classroom setting.  I talked to my 9th graders a ton in German, and I think I made a few fans in a grade I previously thought didn't like me!  Like Berlin, it was fun to let my personality shine through in an environment which was much more relaxed.  I gave fist bumps to my fellow musicians as I went on stage and just had a blast.  I had an improv solo with the jazz band which went really well all three nights and drew awesome, but unexpected, cheers from the crowd.  On Friday night a group of students screamed "Mr. Obermann!!" as I walked on stage, which was really awesome.  I also met some upper class students, who spoke great English and several of whom had studied in America already.  It was nice to get to know some kids, who at 19, are really not that far from my age.  Friday night I went out to a bar in town with some teachers and students and we had a really good time, and I ate dinner with a bunch of the upperclassmen after the concert on Saturday.  All in all it was a great weekend filled with music and friends, as trite as that sounds.

Snow has begun to fall here in the Odenwald, and it is quite beautiful.  I plan to get some photos soon, when the timing is right.  Christmas spirit is definitely in the air, students are getting restless, lights are going up, and Weihnachtsmarkte are popping up all over the place.  I'm also starting to miss my family and friends more, and I am really looking forward to the three weeks I will soon be spending with them over the holidays.  This is probably the last update you will receive from me until I get back, barring any life changing events, so Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

School, Friends, Berlin!

Well friends, it's been a great couple of weeks for me here in Germany, and I am continuing my late night once in a month or so ritual of sitting down at my desk and informing you of my recent shenanigans.

After my friend Thomas left to go back to his university, I refocused on teaching for my classes.  Monday went as Mondays usually go and class was not all that enjoyable.  What's more, a couple students really gave me some attitude.  The instance came up after class.  It was really cold outside and they had a free period before their next class.  They wanted me to leave the room unlocked so they could chill in the warm class room, but I had previously been told by a teacher that students weren't allowed to stay in classrooms unsupervised.  I wasn't 100% sure on this rule, however, and I wanted to let the kids stay since it was so cold outside.  However, I decided to be safe rather than sorry, and told them that they would have to leave, and that I would inquire as to whether or not they would be allowed to stay for next week.  At this point, one student in particular adamantly refused to leave and said that I was wrong and she would stay.  It took me getting quite stern before she left and it all put me in a very strange position.  These kind of instances come up more often than I would have thought, where I am asked by a student if they can do something that is questionably within the rules.  It could be in the rules, but it could also not be, and I almost always have to make a split second and uninformed gut call on what they should be allowed to do.  It is, however, a nice exercise on thinking on my toes and being confident in my decisions.  I later asked another teacher if I should have let them stay in the room, and he confirmed that they were not allowed in there alone.  Victory: Luke.  Later that day in Big Band I was also told that one of my solos would be twice as long, and therefore involve a lot of improvisation.  I actually busted some out without too much trouble and it was fun to fool around on my sax with such freedom.  The concert is in a few weeks, I believe.

The rest of the week went great.  I had no class on Tuesday, but I went to Weinheim as usual to coach and play some basketball.  The basketball was great on Tuesday, and we had some great competition for a couple hours.  I got a ride home from my friend Martin, who doesn't speak too much English, but is almost always generous enough to give me rides when I need them.  I also spent much of Tuesday preparing for my Wednesday lessons as I would have to teach participal constructions in place of relative clauses and for time and reason clauses.  A subject which I am able to speak perfectly, and yet I know nothing about.  I did a ton of research on them and prepared a nice grammar lesson for Wednesday's class.  Incidentally, Wednesday went great.  Class went smooth, with my students paying attention as I explained the complicated grammatical details to them.  I even took part in a card game with some of my students during one of the breaks.  Little did I know that this game involved your hand getting punched and knocked on the desk if you lost.  Obviously, I lost, and the students all but destroyed my hand.  I like to think it won me quite a bit of respect, however.  On Thursday I had my conversation class and I ended up being a little disoriented and arriving there at the start of the class before my class.  I was thus at first very distraught at the fact that I had no students showing up to class!!  Was I that bad??  Then I realized that I was 45 minutes early and I sat outside for a while.  Some students showed up early and we ended up talking for a half hour before class.  Somehow I ended up telling them about the St. Olaf Darth Vader video on Youtube, which they found great, and it now has added about 100 views in the last week.  I think it's currently circulating the MLS.  Friday's class also went very well, though I may have attempted to pack way too much grammar into one class, since I would be gone the next week.  Afterwards, however, I asked one of my students if it was too much, and she responded that no, it was fine, and that I was much easier to understand than their last English teacher (who was far better trained than I).  I took that as quite the compliment!  Basketball also went great on Friday, and I was on the same team as Philipp.  He's 18, and other than that, about the exact same basketball player as I.  We definitely enjoy being on the same team though, as we're easily the two fastest players on the court and we can really get running.  After basketball I enjoyed a movie and a nice sleep.

On Saturday, I slept in and pretty much did nothing until later in the evening when I met up with Timo and Annett at the Sonne (a bar) in town.  It was my first time in the bar, which I heard was Ian's favorite, and it was nice to meet the bartender, who speaks very good English.  Timo, Annett, and I then went to the Rimbacher Kerwe, which is basically just a large tent packed with a ton of people and a band, and we hung out there till late in the evening.  I spent a while talking with Timo and Annett, as well as other older students from the MLS.  Later in the evening, I ran into a girl named Marie, who graduated last year from the MLS and is fluent in English.  We talked for a while, and she then introduced me to several other people in the tent.  One of them asked me where I was from, and after I said Texas asked if I was from Austin.  Turns out, he lived there for half a year for work!!  I couldn't believe it, and we were instantly best friends.  I also met another guy who was determined to find me a girl at the Kerwe, despite my efforts to tell him it was a bad idea.  He then ended up introducing me to around ten girls, all of whom were naturally students at the MLS.  So that happened.  Thankfully, I'm pretty sure it was obvious that I was being introduced against my will, and not trying to hit on them.  Around 2am I took my leave and went home, but it was a fun night.

The next day, I went in to Weinheim to coach a basketball game and we ended up having another brutal defeat.  Shortly thereafter, however, I met up with Elizabeth Peckham and family!  For those of you who don't know, Elizabeth is a friend of mine from high school.  We went into the Odenwald and had a nice dinner together, and it was great to catch up with them, before they drove back to Frankfurt.  I then packed my things, and went down to meet the buses which would take me and over 100 students to Berlin and left at 12:15am.

I arrived at the buses to a mob scene of parents and kids all getting on them.  Thankfully, teachers had spots reserved and I had a window seat near the front.  I was hoping I would be able to get some sleep and without my headphones that would have been impossible.  The students were in a festive mood, as they were going on a week long trip away from school, and they talked, yelled, and sang the whole 9 hour drive through the night to Berlin.  I turned on music and was able to get probably around 5 hours of sleep, not bad.  The week in Berlin turned out great.  I won't get into it on a day by day basis, but I'll cover some highlights.  We toured plenty of museums and governmental administration buildings, and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of information I could understand during our tours.  We also ended up staying at the same hotel that I stayed at three years ago while studying abroad in Berlin!!  I can't imagine the odds.  A few of my students from my conversation class joined the trip to Berlin, and it was great having students that knew me relatively well and wanted to talk to me.  It was also nice getting to know some other teachers from the MLS better, while we went together with groups of students on tours.  An especially pleasant surprise was how much my German improved.  I got to know several teachers much better, and talked to them only through German.  I'm finally at the point where I have no fear of hanging out with someone for a long time and letting a conversation wander in German.  It's also nice to finally let my personality shine through in a foreign language.  I'm finally being able to express stories in relatively the way I want to, and to spontaneously strike up conversations with soldiers at the Ministry of Defense, for example.  Tuesday night proved to be an especially fun night, as we took the students to a club especially made for students.  It's actually a great idea as it is then easier to control for the drinking age and everyone in the club was young except for us teachers.  It was hilarious going to a club with students, however, and many of them would often drag me out on to the dance floor where I could show of my moves with groups of students.  It was a fun night, and afterwards, I unfortunately did not have enough energy to go find an election party and stay up all night to see if Obama would win.  I found out the next morning by asking the receptionist.  I was also pleasantly surprised this week by having several students come up to me and say that my class is the best class or that I am the best teacher.  It really was quite a confidence boost, and I can see why appreciation from your students is one of the true joys of teaching.  The best one of these moments was when I met several students at a Christmas market and hung out with them for about 30 minutes before our tour.  Several of them ended up buying me a huge cookie heart which says "Opa, your awesome" on it, and one of them gave me his hat to wear.  Meanwhile, they all wanted a picture with me, and seemed to think I was pretty cool for wearing the hat and cookie heart around.  Apparently, many students have now heard of that incident as well, but it's nice to express my energy with them and just have fun whenever I can.  I'm really glad I could get to know more of my students a lot better on this trip.  Thankfully, the bus ride back from Berlin was much more subdued and easier to sleep on.  We arrived back at 2am on Saturday, and I got a much needed night of sleep back home.

Classes start up again on Monday, and I'll be sure to keep y'all posted.

'Till then, the Jayhawk season just started, ROCK CHALK!

...Some Time Later

Dear loyal fans and readers,

I am most sorry for the delay in updating all of you with my life stories.  I have no real excuse for my lateness and I can only hope that those of you eagerly waiting for a post were able to somehow find some other reading material with which to pass the time.  But your patience has paid off!  Here is the story of my life in the last month.

I have continued to play and coach basketball in the area, and that has gone relatively smoothly.  Unfortunately for me, the first basketball game that I coached resulted in a loss by over a 100 point margin.  We had only five players who were far outmatched in athleticism by the opposing team, and after two of them fouled out, it was tough to keep up playing 5 against 3.  Nevertheless, as one not accustomed to losing, that was rough.  It has been tough coaching sometimes, since I am only an assistant coach and the main coach knows a ton more about how to run a practice than I do.  Therefore, I often find myself standing around doing nothing, and it can be frustrating not feeling that helpful.  I tend to enjoy Friday practices a lot more, when we split up the team and I take half of them on my own, and thus feel much more effective as a coach.  As far as playing basketball goes, I got off to a slow start and only scored 2 points in our first victory.  But I dished out 7 assists with 0 turnovers so still not a bad stat line.  However, in my most recent game, I finally came out playing with more confidence and came into the game with our team down 12 in the second half.  By the time I left, we were only down 2.  I had 11 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals, so I'm not at all upset about that.  We did lose by 1 however.  My next game won't be until the 11th.  Basketball continues to be a highlight of my week however, and it's great bonding with a bunch of the guys on the team.  There are several guys around my age and we usually chill together during practice.  One of them lives near me and he is nice enough to give me rides home when I need them.  He also wants to watch some American sports with me in the near future so that will be nice.  I may actually have a Super Bowl party after all!

Teaching is going well for the most part.  I suppose the low point is my ninth grade class.  I'm not sure if it is that age, that particular class, or me as a teacher, but we just don't seem to be gelling that well.  They don't seem quite interested in me or my class, and I'm not having that much fun teaching them sometimes.  However, I plan to continue to make an effort with them and things should go uphill.  It just seems to be a tricky age, when those kids start to really get attitudes and think they're cool, yet are not mature enough yet to really be reasoned with.  My 11th grade class is going great, however, as is my conversation class.  I had a class meeting with my 11th graders, which basically means going out to a restaurant with them, and it was great to get to know several of them outside of class as well.  They are good students, and come to class interested, hence boosting my enthusiasm and leading to good classes.  Meanwhile, some of my conversation class students came up to me and told me they were excited to have me on their bus as we go to Berlin in a week, so that was good to hear.  The main tough part about teaching comes from doing a job that I wasn't really educated to perform.  It's really tough to have confidence in your work, when you don't always know what you are doing, but I am doing my best to welcome this as a challenge to really grow as a person.

Other updates from the last month include my dad visiting and my fall break.  Two weeks before my fall break my dad visited from Texas.  I lucked out on his visit because Wednesday was a national holiday, I had no class Tuesday, I cancelled my conversation class on Thursday, got a sub for Friday, and Monday's class was really early.  Thus my dad and I were basically free to travel the entire week.  We went to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Malmo, Sweden for a couple days and played several rounds of disc golf. Some people may like to get to know a country by seeing the sights, but I find little better than getting your hands dirty while throwing around a frisbee in a park.  We had some great seafood in Copenhagen which ended up costing a ton, but my dad was nice enough to pay!  We also drove to Munich, and enjoyed a Friday evening of Oktoberfest fun in a big tent!  The beer was incredible and the atmosphere was like nothing I've ever really experienced before.  Loud music, people sitting on benches, thousands of people packed into a tent, people standing on tables and singing, a million cheers throughout the night, and many new friends.  I need to go back someday.  It was also great just to show my dad around Rimbach, and have him see where I'm living.  We went to what is quickly becoming my favorite restaurant in the area, and had the local specialty: Kochkäseschnitzel.  Basically it's like breaded veal, covered in grilled onions, covered in melted cheese.  It is amazing.  My dad was also able to come to a couple of my basketball games for the first time since I was in middle school.  His visit seemed to blow by, but it was great having him here.

Only a week later, fall break arrived and I flew to Venice for only 12 euros!!  Ah, the beauty of cheap airlines!  American needs some of those!  Once in Venice, I met up with my cousins Garrett and Stacy, and my spirits were probably as high as they have been all fall.  It was great to see them, and romp the streets of Europe, getting lost among the alleyways as I made many gut instinct calls on how to get back to our hostel.  Garrett and I were adventurous enough to try the local Venetian cuisine: noodles dyed in squid ink, and they did not disappoint.  We next took a train to Bologna, a highlight of which included a girl asking us to take a picture of her with a boy.  They were hugging, holding hands, and kissing, so clearly together.  We then asked her to take a picture of the three of us.  They boy was inadvertently standing in the way, and she needed to get him to move.  She tried to wave him away with her hands, and then called out to him: "Hey..hey...uh....oh what's his name....move!"  Garrett and I were both in shock.  The entire day went by with us wondering how this girl could be with this guy and somehow not know his name.  Then by sheer luck we saw her hours later in the day and we got the chance to ask her!  Turns out, they are dating, and she just momentarily forgot the name....  All the luck in the world to that couple.  After Bologna was Florence, which was probably my favorite of our Italian cities.  It was beautiful and artsy, but with enough of a local and young feel to not feel overwhelming.  We saw the David for 11 euros, which to me was a little expensive, but it was spectacular nonetheless.   We also found our two favorite restaurants of the trip.  The first was supposed to be a great restaurant, and I ordered a traditional Florentine steak.  It was great.   Stacy, however, ordered tripe, unaware that that is a cow's stomach, and upon seeing what she was brought almost threw up on the waitress before swearing off meat forever.  Garrett ordered ravioli, and enjoyed his 8 pieces of ravioli at the price of about 1 euro per piece.  When I got the bill, I almost died at how much my steak cost.  Basically, that restaurant was our favorite because of how absurd the night was.  The second restaurant we found was in a less touristy area of Florence, and was a nice pizzeria with a brick oven.  The pizza was amazing, and we ate there two days in a row.  I was able to eat a delicious seafood pizza, and the staff was nice enough to round down the bill!  Our last meal there cost 33,50, and they charged only 30!  Someday, I will return.  Our last stop was Rome, where we stayed in a great hostel and were able to meet some cool people.  We spent our first night there going to a Lazio vs. AC Milan soccer game at the Stadio Olimpico.  It was amazing, Lazio won 3-2, and we became Lazio fans for life.  The second day was spent walking around the coliseum and just hanging out.  The next morning, I left at 5:30am to fly back to Germany.  It was amazing to see my cousins, and I am extremely lucky to have two cousins who I can consider as close to me as anyone I have in my life.

The rest of my break was spent in a rather quiet fashion, which was needed, and I have begun looking for and applying for management consultant positions back in the US, for when I return.  This past weekend, I welcomed a visit from Thomas Zürn, whom I met while he studied in Austin at my high school for a year!  He lives about 2 hours away from me, and he came and stayed all weekend.  It was a great visit.  We caught up on all sorts of stories from our lives and enjoyed the best that Rimbach has to offer.  Meanwhile, we found tortillas in Rimbach, and made breakfast tacos that we will remember forever!  Gosh, that was a needed meal.  Note to mom and dad: Thank you so much for the salsa.

Rimbach received it's first snow this weekend, though it quickly melted, however the hills within view of my house are still frosted white.  I have another week of classes upon me, before I join the 11th graders in a school trip to Berlin.  I will also welcome the Peckham's to Rimbach on Sunday night for a nice dinner, which I am looking forward to.  That's all for now dear friends, thanks for reading, and I'll try to make this a little more regular, hence keeping the entries shorter!

Luke