Home at last!!!

I am now home for the holidays. It took a while to get back though. I was planning on traveling for almost 24 hours, but was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at O'Hare. My flight to Kansas City was canceled. I had already been on a plane from Milan for 10 hours so I was extremely tired. I then waited in about 1000 lines before I found out that the next flight home was full and I would be put on the flight in the morning. They did give me a shimmer of hope, and gave me a stand by ticket for the later flight that was supposed to leave at 8:45pm. But when I went to wait for the plane to come, I noticed that I was number 15 on the list. I knew I wouldn't make it. So then at that point I went and slept on some cots American Airlines had set up for all those who would be stuck in the airport. I think I woke up every hour until 4am when they decided that it was a good time to pick up the cots. At that point I went to my gate and made myself a bed on the floor. I think I might have gotten another hour of sleep. My plane finally took off at 7:50am and I made it home a little after 9.

When I was getting off the plane I was anticipating what my greeting from my parents was going to be like, and then as I walked out of the gate, no one was to be found. It was quite a disappointing moment. As I was walking around, thinking where are they, I turned and my dad was walking down the hall. I ran up to him and gave him a hug and asked where everyone was. I guess my mom and sister thought I might be coming out of another gate, and when I didn't show up, they came back to the area where I was. I was so happy to see them.

Now it is 6am and I am trying to fight jet lag. I woke up about an hour ago and couldn't go back to sleep so I figured I would just get up for a while.

It's so close now!!!

I leave Berlin in less then 12 hours now, which will be 6:30 in the morning, but that doesn't keep me from being excited. I have had one of the most busy and stressful weeks and I am exhausted, but I don't know if I will be able to sleep tonight. I should really be packing and finishing cleaning my apartment right now, but I am just so excited to be home, I had to write about it.

I know it has been 4 months to the day that I have been in Berlin, but I'll tell you the time has flown by. I just can't believe that I have been here that long. I guess that is a good thing though, it means I am enjoying my time here. I have made so many friends and met so many great people and had so many crazy-wonderful experiences. I do not regret this decision at all. That doesn't mean I will not be sad to leave Kansas City, but at least now I will know what to expect when I return to Berlin.

I really have to go now and finish getting packed and such, but I will be home soon. See you all then.

Random

I am just sitting here in bed, and should be in bed, but I have too many things on my mind. I last posted all the things I had going on this week. Little did I know this week was going to turn out even more busy. Only if I could tell the story, but this is public information and it could come back and haunt me.

But now it is Wednesday night and there are basically two more days until I leave and come home. I just can't describe how I feel right now. On one hand I am so excited to see my family and friends and my cat Lucy. But on the other hand, for some strange reason, I am already thinking about how I will feel when I have to leave. I just don't feel like two weeks is long enough, but that is all the time I get to take off.

To switch the subject: On Monday I was suppose to start cleaning my apartment. Instead I went craft shopping (for the students) then to my favorite restaurant/bar in Berlin: "The Bird". This place is amazing, I should probably donate an entire post for it. It is owned by a couple of guys from New York City. Here they have the best hamburgers and steaks. Now your probably thinking that doesn't sound so special, but it is. The beef here in Berlin is not very good and so this restaurant imports the meat from an Iowa meat company. To make the bar even better, one of my friends works there and so she hooks us up all the time. Almost every time we go in there we get free booze, but this last time we went in I mentioned how I really would like to try the steaks, but they are so expensive. Well my friend went back to the kitchen and got the cooks to make us a few samples. Oh man they were so delicious. If you ever go to Berlin you have to visit "The Bird".

USA here I come

6 days now until I step on US soil again. When I come home it will have been exactly 4 months since I have been home and I am so excited to see everyone. There are many things that still need to be done this week before I leave. I need to clean the apartment, my roommate is out of town and she left the place a mess (dog hair and all). So I need to clean the place. You might be asking yourself, why clean if she left it a mess, why not just leave it. That would be simple, but my friend Amy's birthday is on Thursday and I offered to have a taco night when some of our friends, so I have to clean really good before that night. Then I leave Berlin at 6:30am on Saturday, so I will not have a lot of time to clean up on Friday. So I have made a schedule for myself this week.

Monday - Begin packing and clean the kitchen and dining area (they are used the least by me in the house, and for those of you who know me understand why - I don't really cook).

Tuesday - I am meeting with a friend and we are "shopping" on a very exclusive street here in Berlin. The reason I put shopping in quotes is because it will be more window shopping (too expensive) and enjoying each others company and the Christmas lights. Before I meet her, I also think I am going to finish up my last minute shopping.

Wednesday - Grocery shopping for Taco Night. Cleaning my room and the bathroom. Also last loads of laundry before I come home. Also doing all possible prep for the party that can be done the day before.

Thursday - First I have our class Christmas Party at 4pm, then immediately following this I have to rush home to begin cooking and getting the apartment set up for the Taco Night.

Friday - Last day of work before the holiday. Finish packing for Kansas City. Finish any last minute cleaning and cleaning from the night before. Then heading to Amy's house, where I will stay and we will go to the airport together. She is from Iowa and we are traveling together all the way to Chicago so that is nice.

Saturday - Wake up by 4am so I can get to the airport in time for my flight at 6:30. Then travel for at least 22 hours before landing safely in Kansas City. Totally worth it though.

So this week is going to be extremely packed, but that means it will go by fast and I will be home faster, or at least it will feel that way.

The Puffy Shirt

So I was doing a little Weihnachts-word for Christmas in German-shopping today and was in a store that I like to shop more for myself, Zara. Sometimes even when you are shopping for others you have to sneak a few things in for yourself. Here I saw it... the white puffy shirt. I just couldn't believe it. Then I turned around to look at other clothing and there was another puffy shirt this time in stripes. Now, don't get me wrong, I have become a fan of European fashion, but I am just not ok with a puffy shirt. I don't know why this store thinks it looks good. If I had a camera, I would have taken multiple pictures to show everyone. Oh well.

I did get some gifts today which is nice, but to be honest, I have done most of my shopping online. It has been a lifesaver. There was no way I could have brought home all the stuff I wanted to buy people for Christmas.

10 days till I am state side!!!! I'm pretty excited.

Busy, Christmas Filled, Weekend

Ok so the last time I posted I said I was feeling homesick. I don't want everyone to think I am still feeling that way, so I wanted to go on record saying I am good now. I am still very excited to come home, and it is only 15 days away!!!

Now I have a very busy weekend coming up, and it is mostly filled with Christmas type activities. Tomorrow night (Friday), our school is having there staff Christmas party. It will be held at the school in our lovely new cafeteria. The school is providing pizza and we bring side items to go with the pizza. Now here is the best part, keep in mind it is at the school, the school is also providing all the booze for the party. You heard me correctly, they are providing booze and it is at the school. I just can't believe this, but I am not unhappy about it. I heard last year it got a little crazy, so I'm excited to see where the night leads us.

Then on Saturday, I will get up, probably early afternoon, and I want to do a little shopping. In the evening I have dinner plans at a friends house.

Sunday I am attending a proper German Brunch with some people from work. I am very interested to see what this will be like considering I've never been to a brunch like this. I also know that brunch in Germany tents to last most of the day, so that will probably be the end of me for Sunday.

I'll let you know how everything goes and post some pictures if I can. Well it is late here and I am off to bed. Night

Feeling a bit homesick

I don't usually post things like this, but tonight, I really felt like writing about how I feel today. It is Sunday night and I have to get up early for work tomorrow, and I am feeling a little depressed about it. The Sunday night blues is what I like to call it. I get these from time to time and got them when I was back in the US as well. However when it happens here I start to also feel homesick. I also think the fact it is now officially the holiday season, I am really missing home. I have less then three weeks until I am back for Chirstmas and I am very excited about this. I can't wait to see everyone.

Thanksgiving, Definitely Not a German Holiday

It is now officially no longer Thanksgiving Day for me anymore, seeing that it is after midnight in Berlin. But I know there are families back home who are just sitting down to eat there dinner, or who have already stuffed their faces and are laying back to dive into their turkey comas.

I did have the privilege of having a Thanksgiving dinner at my bosses house. I had all the goods; turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and even pumpkin pie. But somehow I do not feel satisfied. Not even a little bit.

I talked to all my family today over the webcam and it just made me miss being with them for this holiday. I miss my mothers mashed potatoes. They are the best. I miss the buffet style meal. I miss the evening poker games. I even miss the football. It just feels so weird not being home.

Even though I do miss all of these things, I am still very thankful. I will be home in about 3 weeks now, and that puts a big smile on my face. I am so excited to see everyone.

Well I still have to work tomorrow, so I am off to bed. Good Night, and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow

Yesterday was the first snow here in Berlin for the winter. I always get that same feeling when I see the first snow, excitement. I feel like a kid again. I was sitting in a meeting with my grade level team, and when I turned around and saw snow I ran over to the window. I love that feeling.

Then I went back to my classroom. I made it there the same time the Drama teacher made it back with my kids. They all ran in yelling, "IT'S SNOWING, MS. KENSINGER, IT'S SNOWING." And they all did the exact same thing I did, ran to the window. They had that same feeling I had. Except this time, I was more annoyed with them, because I couldn't get them to come back to there seats. Finally I did the teacher thing, and started counting backwards from 5, and that worked. Every morning we graph the weather in school, so that morning we were excited to add our very first snowy day to the graph. Then I told them maybe later we would make snowflakes to decorate the classroom. They were excited.

*Side note: Some of you are probably wondering, make snowflakes, but that is not in any curriculum. I know, but here they don't really worry about that kind of stuff. In fact they encourage the children to do those fun things when you feel it is necessary. Early this fall I was asked by my assistant principal if I had done anything about fall or the leaves falling, and I looked at her like she was crazy. We didn't have time for that nor was that in the curriculum. But she implied that she wanted things to be done like that when the feeling was necessary. This is all quite new territory for me.

So that afternoon I showed the children how to make snow flakes and they did a fabulous job. They were all very excited to show off what they made and I started hanging them on the windows. I even started singing some Christmas songs with them. It was a very good moment for all of us.

Now that the first snow is out of the way though, it is getting much colder and I have a feeling it will snow more. I know I won't get the same feeling, in fact I think I will resent it. Because I know that I either have to walk in it, or pay for transportation. I don't think riding a bike in snow is safe.

Well it is now less then a month and I will be home for Christmas. I am getting more excited every day!!! Can't wait to see everyone.

I finally get to see the sun

So I opened my eyes this morning to a bright and unfamiliar thing... the sun. Thats right I actually got to see the sun. It is the first time I have seen it in over a week. I think the last time was my first day in London. Every day in school my students graph the weather, and this week was the first week in November. There were no sunny days, and no partly sunny days. When I would ask them what kind of weather they think we would have tomorrow they would all respond cloudy. And not only has it been cloudy, but since day light savings it is dark by 5pm. It is so hard to walk out of work in the dark and get on your bicycle and go home. I mean seriously people, and it is not even December yet. I don't even want to know what time the sun will set then.

Other then that it was really nice to get back to work this week. I really needed the routine again. I was starting to get homesick. I miss everyone and hope you are doing good. I can't wait for Christmas when I come home.

A Young Woman in Paris

Paris was an amazing time. We got in very late on Friday night so we decided to get some rest for our site seeing the next day.

We woke up fairly early, had baguettes for breakfast, and began our journey through Paris. The weather was not bad when we were in Paris so we walk to most places. This is how most of the days went. We visited Notre Dome, the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, and many other lovely places in Paris. We even visited the flea market there, but it seemed rather small and I didn't find much.



On Saturday night we met up with some locals and started the evening with wine and cheese. It was quite delicious. Then we set off on the town. Lets just say it was a late night, and it was our day lights savings time. So I got an extra hours of sleep the next day.



Due to the late night on Saturday, Sunday was kind of a lazy relax day. Our hostel had a day lock out so we had to be out of there by 11am and we couldn't return until 3pm. So we walked around Paris some more and went to the Louvre. This is the museum where they keep the Mona Lisa. We decided not to go in, but instead take a nap in the park in front. There were these amazing reclining chairs. It was so nice. We did a lot of walking around that day and when we finally got back to the hostel at around 8:30pm we were ready to crash. The next day would be full of window shopping.


And that is exactly what we did. On Monday we went down Champs d'Elysees, where we did lots of looking. We went by many expensive shops and imagined we could afford these places. Unfortunately that was not the case. That evening we went out for a couple of drinks with one of the guys we met on Saturday. We then went and ate dinner at a Canadian restaurant. I was so excited because they were playing baseball and highlights from American Football. It felt like home. There we ate a Canadian specialty called Poutine. Which is basically french fries with cheese and brown gravy.

On our last day in Paris we decided that we loved baguettes and cheese so much we would buy some at the store and just snack on it all day. We then walked around Paris more and even stopped into an art museum while we were there. To make the day perfect we went to a small French restaurant where we drank red wine and I even had escargot(which are snails). They were actually delicious. It was a wonderful end to a great week in Paris. The next day we would leave for London and soon be able to speak English again all the time.

Overall it was a fabulous time and I think you should definitely visit if you get a chance.

Oh and, my camera was stolen in London, so all the pictures I took are gone. But I added some pictures I found online of things that I saw in Paris. My friend Sarah has a few pictures, but she didn't take a lot because she had been to Paris before. When I get her pictures I will post them as well.

Sites in Paris, my camera may be gone, but I still wanted everyone to see what I saw.

Finally in London

Yesterday was a bad day for travel.  After arriving at the Paris airport at 7:30am for an 8:50am flight, we found out our flight had been canceled.  We then waited in line for 2 hours to find out that we could not get another direct flight to London.  So they put us on a flight at 2pm to Glasgow(which is in Scotland) and then from there we would travel to London.  Lets just say we sat in the airport for a very long time and finally got to our hostel at 9pm.  Then we headed out to the pub and drank a pint.  It is now Thursday and we are doing some shopping.  I just wanted to let everyone know I arrived in London safely.  I will definitely post more when I return to Berlin, with pictures. 

later

When in Paris

So I am now in Paris. It is very hard for me to type because the keyboard is different, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I made it safely. I saw the Eiffel Tower at night yesterday. It was beautiful. Then we met up with some locals and had red wine and cheese of course (when in Paris).
One of my favorite things we have done so far is go to a French Market. It was packed with people and the hawkers were yelling out things to get our attention. In French of course. I have taken a lot of pictures and can't wait to share them. Tomorrow I think we are doing a little shopping. So excited!!!
Head off to London Wednesday, it should be easier to type there, so hopefully I can make it longer. Miss everyone back home.

One last beautiful day in Berlin

I woke up today and the sun was shining so bright. Which after graphing the weather with the students this month I didn't think I would see another sunny day again. I am now on fall vacation and so the sun was shining when I got up because I was able to sleep in. Lately I have been waking before the sun rises, which sucks, but that's what you have to do. I think day light savings is coming up.
After doing some basic things around the house I decided it was too nice of a day to stay in. I noticed on my computer that it was really nice out. It had already hit 60 degrees and it was just after 10. I needed to run some errand anyways before leaving for Paris on Friday. So I hopped on my bike and took off. It felt like spring time outside and I was so thankful for this weather.
I was thinking about going into work today and get myself ready for when the kids come back but it was just too nice to do such a thing, so I took the dog out for a walk instead. We walked around the neighborhood and eventually ended up in the park. Here I layed on the grass while the dog played. I watched him some, but also read from my book. It was such a peaceful feeling. The dog would alternate from playing to laying with me. It was such a nice day to just relax in the park and read. It felt really good to get out.

Well now it is night and about 3 hours ago it started to rain and the temperature dropped almost 20 degrees. I think this may have been the last really nice day Berlin will see until spring. I am just glad i got to enjoy the day.

I leave for Paris on Friday and I hope to have some great stories and pictures to share when I return. I miss all of you and hope everything is going well at home. Can't wait to see you at Christmas!!!

Russian Disco

So I experienced my first European Disco last night. It was a Russian Disco. I was told it was very popular a few years ago. First you walk in and it is kind of dark and there are red lights everywhere. They are blasting Russian music and people are jumping around and dancing. The type of music is both from the 70s Russian time and more popular. It was so much fun just dancing and acting silly. Of course I drank the Russian chose for drink: Vodka. How could I drink anything else. I went with some friends of mine that I have met here through the English speaking forum Toytown. When we left at 4am there were still many people in the club dancing and having a good time. It was definitely Berlin. Clubs and bars here stay open till all hours of the night.
After leaving we walked to a Turkish diner and got some delicious wrap with lamb, onions, lettuce, tomato and some great sauce. It tasted like the best food I have ever had. I finally settled in my bed around 5:15am. Like I said before that is really how Berlin is. I can only do this every once in a while, it is to hard on me. But I had a blast and I just wanted to share the fun times.

I posted a few slide shows below. One is of some of the people I have met and now hang out with here in Berlin and the other is school stuff. I hope you enjoy them and I know I will have more pictures. The last week in October I am traveling to Paris and London with my friend Sarah. We bought our plane tickets yesterday. We got a great deal, three plane rides for about 150 euro. You can't beat that. I will definitely write about the fun times in these cities and have more pictures.

I miss you all and hope to hear from you soon.

New Friends

School

Parent's Night

My school had their beginning of the year parent night. This is common in both schools I have taught at so I am used to this kind of evening. With that said I was still nervous about talking to all the parents about the classroom. You never know what could happen. The night went as most beginning of the year Parent's Nights go. I handed out materials, they signed some forms, we talked about procedures, asked and answered questions, etc. The most interesting part of the evening came after we left school.

My students have been together in the same class since the beginning of pre-school (for two years) and so they all know each other very well. It is a tradition for some of the parents to get together after functions such as these and go out for a drink. One parent asked me if I would like to join them. I was a little thrown back by the idea of me drinking with my parents when I first read the invite. I then asked some other teachers about this and they all said it was an ok thing to do over here. So I decided to wait and see how the evening at school went to see if I wanted to join them for a drink. In the end I decided it could be a good way to form a relationship with the parents, and we all know how important that is. So I decided to go. It was a wonderful experience. One parent even offered to order for me in German if I needed, but I said no thanks. I had many great conversations with the parents that were there and I felt really good about the rest of the evening. I just knew I had to share this experience with the people back home, because this is something that would never happen in the US (even though it was talked about sometimes with one parent I can think of, Deborah you know who I am talking about :) ).

It is actually supposed to be in the 60s for the next couple of days, so hopefully this weekend I can get out and about. I miss all of you and keep looking for more wonderful stories.

The weekend was nice, it broke 60 degrees

I know I should write more often, it's just that things during the week are becoming a little routine. I am in the process of taken beginners German. There are 7 people in the class. 2 are from Italy, 2 are from the US, one is from Mexico, one from Venezuela, and one is from Brazil. It is quite a mixture, but it is a very fun class. I go on Mondays and Wednesdays and the teacher is really funny. She speaks English but she will not speak it to us during class. She tries to get us to speak German to her all the time, but it is hard with this group. I sit next to the guy from Mexico and he seems to pick things up quickly, so he is helping me a lot. Sometimes we have homework and I ask my German co-workers to help me. I have decided from this day on I am going to try and use German at least once a day. Wish me luck!!

This weekend it did hit 60 degrees one of the days. That is warm these days. This is the worst part about Germany, the cold. I wish it was warmer. Oh well. I spent the most of Saturday afternoon strolling around town looking through shops, eating ice cream, and I even stopped for coffee, did some people watching and read my book. I feel so European. It was fun. I tried to use German at the coffee place, but they immediately knew I was struggling and asked me questions in English. How am I suppose to learn German this way?

That evening I attended a birthday party for some new friends I have made. Quite a few of them are British, but there are some Canadians as well. Most are native English speakers. It was quite fun. Everyone was asked to dress up. I wore a dress and boots, with tights (again feeling very European). 2 of the guys showed up in tuxes (of course being British) and one guy even showed up in a girls dress. It was all good fun.

On Sunday I went to my first movie here in Germany. I saw Step Brothers. My friend Amy (who I teach with) had free passes. It was funny, but a little stupid. Oh well it was nice to see Will Farrell in a movie. I think we might see Batman next. I know that came out a long time ago in the states, but it just came out in late August here.

I will try to get more pictures up for everyone to see. I have some of the people I am hanging out with now, so maybe I can show those.
I miss you all and I can't wait to see everyone at Christmas.

I've Been Here 4 Weeks and I'm Already Sick

Yes, that is right I am sick. This week was the first week of school and the little ones already got me sick. Its the same old cold, but I think a new strand. I still can not believe how fast I got it. Tomorrow is Monday, I just hope I feel better or I am going to have to go to the doctor and that should be interesting. Everything is more interesting when you can't speak the language.

This week was a very busy one. The students started school. Which was a challenge. It's like I am teaching Kindergarten in the US because these kids have only been to preschool. So we are working on routines a lot and I have to figure out ways to tell them things without knowing German. So I use lots of pictures and hand movement. Which gets hard. But it has been ok.

So I already told you that last weekend I locked myself out, well on Tuesday I lost my keys on my way to work. Which just sucks because I have to take care of all that. It seems like I was not meant to have those keys. Oh well I am getting everything figured out. Losing my keys and having to deal with all that just made me miss how easy it would have been in the US, but I am working through it.

Later that night I did go to a restraunt called "The Bird." Here they have the best burgers I have ever tasted. They also put there burgers on English Muffins, but they are so freakin delicious. It was so good that I had to go back on Thursday. I have to stop eating like that. When I got home on Thursday I was in a burger coma and all I could do was go to bed.

I was invited to go to a birthday party on Friday and I was a little reluctant due to the fact I could feel myself getting sick. But I went anyways with the idea I wouldn't stay out too late. Did that happen, no. I didn't get home until after 4am. I think that is how Berlin works though. There are always people up in this city. I met some more great English speaking people. I also found out that there is a fast pitch softball league here for adults. That is crazy. This guy I met from Minnesota plays on a team. They are in the regional finals now (i think). I had a lot of fun Friday night, but I don't think my body liked me very much for staying up that late. Hopefully I will feel better soon.

I really wanted to do some site seeing before it got to cold here but I was sick this weekend so hopefully next weekend.
Well I hope everyone is good and I miss all of you. Keep me posted on how you are doing as well.

Locking yourself out is no fun

Well this weekend was quite interesting. I was actually extremely busy and stressed at some points.



Friday after work a bunch of people from school went out for Happy Hour. It was one of the teachers birthdays. The place was nice and I had a good time getting to know my co-workers. I had to go home early though due to the fact that we had the entering into 1st grade ceremony on Saturday morning.



This was interesting. In Germany it is a big deal for kids to start 1st grade. Traditionally you have a ceremony and the students get presents. We had it in a big fancy performance house. It was a little over the top, but it was neat to see the students all excited about it. We then walked 1/2 a mile back with the students (no parents) to the school where we went to the room and had a snack, took a class photo and did a lesson. This was when it got hairy. The parents were down in the lobby and on the playground drinking champagne (which is very fancy or posh as they say it here) and mingling. The problem with this was that the students knew this was going on and so, in the middle of a read aloud, they began chanting outside, outside, and so on. This was not a good start to the year. However this did prepare me for Monday. I knew I was going to have to lay down the law. The parents then came and picked up the students and hung around for a while longer. Everyone seemed quite nice but it was a mad house in my room. I wanted to take pictures, but there wasn't even time for that. So when this was finished I was exhausted.



Later that night I was invited to one of the teacher's houses for dinner. It was a very good home cooked meal and it was nice to hang out. I was with my friend from school Amy, she teaches 1st grade as well. After this I had to run home to feed the cats, then I was off to Amy's house to stay with her for the night. That's when it happened... I shut my apartment door behind me and did not have my keys. Now this usually isn't a problem, but my roommate is in Vienna for the weekend and so there was no other way to get back into the house. I started to stress. I decided not to take care of it that night, but to wait until the next day. I went to Amy's flat and crashed.

The next day me and 3 other teachers did a 10K walk around the center part of Berlin. It was actually cool to see everything, but of course I forgot to bring my camera with me. I got to see part of the wall, plus various other Berlin things. I plan to go back to this area so I will post some pictures when I get them.

When this walk was finished, I had my friend call the locksmith for me. He only spoke German and arranged for a time to meet me at my house. When I got there I was about 10 minutes late so I was so worried that I missed him, and I couldn't call him because he spoke no English, so I began to panic. Luckily the lady that owns the wine bar under my flat was unloading some wine and came over to see if I was ok. She knows my roommate so she helped me out and called the locksmith for me. He had not come yet and was on his way. I was so thankful for her.

He finally arrived and got into my flat in less than 30 seconds. Serious 30 seconds of work and it cost over 100 euro. I couldn't believe it. Now I always make sure I have my keys on me.

After this long exhausting weekend, I was able to just sit back and relax for the rest of the weekend. Which was all I really wanted to do.

As always I miss you all, and hope all is well at home. Please update me on how you are doing.

Hello Hello

So I know it has been a while since I have posted and I am sorry. Don't worry I am still alive and kicking. It has been a crazy week and a half. I have been so busy trying to get my classroom together and get my mind set for this new school.

This school is very different then Westridge. Everyday they have at least one specials for an hour and German for an hour. They also get two 30 minute recesses and a 30 minute lunch. Some days they have two specials. So sometimes it feels like I am barely teaching. I think on Fridays I am literally teaching for 1 hour. I am going to have to get used to not seeing the students as much. On Thursdays I don't even have to be at work until 10am because my German teacher has the students till then. This will be an interesting change for me.

Outside of school my life is very good. In Berlin you do not get a lot of sunny warm days, so when this last weekend was sunny and upper 70s I was all about being outside. It's amazing how you don't really appreciate something until it is taken away.

We had a good Saturday planned. We went to IKEA in the morning, where I bought some school and apartment stuff. Then headed to the park around 1pm or 13:00 as they say it here. We stayed in the park until after 8pm just enjoying the nice weather. Then that evening I was invited to a birthday bbq with some people I met at an English speaking gathering. That turned into the police coming because we were being too loud so we moved the bbq to a neighborhood pub. I had a great Saturday.

Sunday was just as nice and my roommate and I went to the flea market. Then I went to dinner with a friend and saw the city. It was a very good weekend.

On Tuesday night my roommate and I had a small dinner party for some people. She is a great cook. I just chopped up veggies, peeled potatoes, and cleaned dishes. We drank some wine, talked to friends, and had a fabulous time.

I do not have any pictures right now because I have been so busy with other things. But I plan to visit Potsdam soon and I hear it is beautiful there. So I will post pictures after that.

I miss all of you and think about you often. Keep me posted on how you are doing.

Roommates and flat pics

Roommates and Flat

I was successful in finding a flat before I started work. I moved in yesterday. It is pretty amazing and in a great neighborhood. It really worked out well for me. I live with a women named Amina. She is originally from Liechtenstein and studied in Austria. She is an artist and does her work in a studio in the apartment. She has a gallery in Vienna and that is where her boyfriend lives. So, she is traveling there quite often. She is very friendly and has really tried to make me feel at home. It has only been one day, but so far so good.

Last night we attended a birthday party for an artist friend of hers and that was quite an experience for me. Considering I don't know how to speak German it was hard to start up conversations. People did try and talk to me though and everyone I encountered spoke English. Everyone was extremely friendly too. It helps when you know someone in the group. :)

This morning I was sleeping soundly in my bed until 9:55 when the church bells from across the street went off for 5 minutes. That is the one bad thing about where I live, it has an amazing view but the bells are so loud. I had to put my pillow over my head just to block the sound and it really didn't do that great of a job. Oh well I knew it couldn't be completely perfect.

I start my job tomorrow. We have teacher meetings and trainings all week. We are also given some time to put our rooms together. I am just glad I have an apartment and I don't have to worry about that.

I hope everyone has a great week!!!

PS you probably wonder why I put roommates in the title, its because I live with 2 cats and a dog. They are all my roommates too.

Germany Week1 Pics

Germany Week 1

Well I know it has only been 3 days since I arrived in Berlin, but it feels like it was at least a week. I have been so busy trying to get settled. I found an apartment. I get to move in Saturday, so that would be tomorrow. My roommate is a 28 year old artist from Austria. She seems really cool and she has 2 cats. This makes me so happy and it makes me feel more at home. The apartment also has a shower (which is not that common for Europe) and a washing machine with a dryer. There is also a great view. When I move in I will take pictures and post them.

Today was the first day I was able to ride around and really look at some cool things here in Berlin. I didn't go inside anything yet, but I really want to. I did take some cool pictures and posted a slideshow. It wasn't very sunny today so the pictures arn't that great, but I figured you would enjoy them.

So far everything has been really good. The woman I am staying with right now has been super helpful and really great. She took me to a meet up last night for English speaking people that live in the city. It was a lot of fun and I met so many people. Most of the english speaking people here are from the UK. But I love British accents so I'm for it.

I saw my first McDonalds today and yes I stopped and had a Happy Meal. It was quite delicious too. I'm sure I won't eat it a lot, but it was nice to have something familiar.

Well I hope everything is going well in KC. I miss you all.

Arrival

So I don't want to discourage anyone from coming to visit but the flights were not my favorite part of the day. From the time I got to the airport in KC to the time I landed in Berlin I was traveling for 17 hours. That is a long day of traveling. To make matters worse I was sitting in front of a screaming child on the flight from KC to DC. The child would not keep his seat belt on during the landing and his mom had no control. It was so bad the flight attendent yelled over the intercom at him. I laughed a little. I later heard her tell her co-workers she is not a witch. It was amusing, but the kid was annoying. Luckily this did not happen on my 8 hour flight. :)

The 8hr flight was as good as it could be. I slept for a total of 1 hour and watched a couple of movies. They give you a meal and a snack. It wasn't too bad except I could not get comfortable enough to sleep. The one time I really did fall asleep the captain came over the intercom and announced that we needed to put our seatbelts on because there might be some terbulence. This woke me up and I couldn't fall back asleep. Bastard!!

When I arrive at the place I am staying, I realized I would have to lug all my luggage up 3 flights of stairs. Now that may not seem bad but when you have 3 bags that weigh almost 150lbs (all together) that is awful. And there is no airconditioning, with means I was sweating very badly. And this place is just temporary so that means I will have to lug it all back down. Oh well, it builds character.

I was finally about to get another 2 hours of sleep during the afternoon. But it wasn't a whole lot. Hopefully my body will adjust. I also went and looked at an apartment this evening. The people were very friendly and the room was nice. It has a good view too. In some photos I will post you will see a tall tower with round bulb in the middle that is what I would see out of this window. I look at two more places tomorrow, so we will see what happens.

Well it is getting late here and I am exausted. Keep your eyes out for more. I did get to walk around a little today and I will post a few pics of what I saw. It isn't much, but give me time I will be here for a while.

I miss you all and I hope all is well at home.

Note: For some reason spell check isn't working, if I spelled something wrong I am sorry

Good-bye and Thanks

It is now less then 24 hours before I leave for Germany. It has been a busy, stressful and exciting summer. I have been able to spend lots of time with friends and family and I really appreciate it. It has been such a great summer. Thank you to all that were a part of it.

I am very anxious about leaving. I have so many emotions going on right now it is so weird. We cleaned my house out today and it seemed very weird to leave an empty house. It was hard, but it's all about new beginnings at this point.

I really don't know what else to say, except I will miss everyone and I am so thankful for everything that everyone has done for me. I will keep in touch and I will be updating this blog often.

Berlin Metropolitan School

I thought I would give you a little information about what it is I will be doing in Berlin. I am teaching at Berlin Metropolitan School. This is an international school located in the heart of Berlin. It has only been open for 3 years and is really open to new ideas. The principal seems really nice and supportive of the staff. This school is very different from other international schools in that most students in international schools are from other countries and can usually speak English. This school caters more to the German families in the area. So some students will not be able to speak English, but I have been told they will understand you. This is very scary, but I just found out that I have a student from Fort Worth, TX in my class next year, so at least I will have someone to talk to. :) I am teaching 1st grade and I am the English speaking teacher. Every class also has a German teacher. We do not team teach, we teach at separate times but are highly encouraged to collaborate together on what is being taught. The German teacher will teach the students how to read and write in German and I will teach Math, Science, Social Studies, Calendar Time and then eventually English. The students do not learn how to read in English until they learn in German. So all the time that the students are with there German teacher I have plan time. Plus we get the normal specials as plan time too.

The school year is kind of different to the US school year. it is almost like a year round school. The kids start school the first week of September, however my first graders don't start until the second week. Since 1st grade is traditionally the first time the kids are in school they have a huge ceremony the Saturday after school starts and then the 1st graders start school. It is kind of a big deal in Germany and this just means that I get an extra week to get my classroom ready. Then we have school for 6 weeks and then get 2 weeks off in October. For Christmas I get 3 weeks, a week in February, 2 weeks in April and then 6 weeks in the summer. School goes until the middle of July. That is going to suck, but I am excited about all the breaks in between.

Well I hope this gives you some information about the school. I really don't know much more, but I will update you when I do.

A Crazy Summer

So many people have been asking how everything is going with preparations to move to Germany I thought I would create a blog for the trip. I will keep this updated while in Europe so everyone knows what's going on and so that I have record of my adventures.

This summer I have been busy getting things ready for my move. My old roommate is moving back into my house and so I have some cleaning up to do. I have been going through the drawers and cleaning things out. I have to figure out what I will take and what I need to leave.

At the beginning of the summer I made a list of everything that I needed done before I leave and fortunately I have accomplished quite a bit. One of the hardest things I have done so far is selling my car. I am very sad about this, but after a long talk with her, we parted our ways.

One thing that has stressed me out a little over the summer is finding a place to live while in Germany. And lets just say I will not find a place until I get over there. I did, however, find a place where I can stay until I find an apartment. This is a huge relief, considering I thought I might be wondering the streets of Berlin without a place to stay and two large pieces of luggage dragging behind me.

Well I leave town on Monday August 18th and my going away party is the 15th. It is at Rivermarket Brewery. I hope everyone can attend.

Have a great rest of the summer and I will continue to post when I have more news.