It's Getting Close

Very soon, I will have to write a blog post that I have been dreading writing, and that concerns a summary and reflection of my tenure as a Fulbright E.T.A.  It means that I have to say goodbye to a job that I've loved dearly and to children who don't really know it, but who have made an impact on me.  A frightfully big impact.

They're not without their faults.  They're ungrateful, sometimes bratty, sometimes spiteful little ducks, but for the most part they're the most well-behaved students I've seen.  I know that most will not remember me other than the fact that there was an American E.T.A. at their school, even though I was actively doing things in their classes at least once a week all year.  I also know that some teachers will be relieved to get back to teaching solo.

And I'm okay with this.  I've loved every minute of it, including the stressful and hurtful parts.

The grief that I'll have is necessary.  If I didn't have the grief, then this time wouldn't have mattered to me as much as it has.

*   *   *

A few things have happened since my last post.  Two Sundays ago, I went with Maryle and Rachel, the Dresden Fulbrighter with whom I stayed over New Year's, to Hildesheim, a quaint town in Niedersachsen.  It really was a pretty place, and we spent most of our time outside walking around or inside churches.  The most notable aspect of our trip was the absolute quiet that surrounded us, as most shops are closed on Sundays in Germany.  It was certainly the quietest trip I have taken.  Other interesting things about the trip include: the 1,000-year rosebush, the St. Michaelis Kirche (claimed to be 1,000 years old, but it's more like 700), getting a free tour from an elderly man in the St. Andreas Kirche, getting Spaghetti Eis (yes, spaghetti ice cream), and taking a picture of a half-eaten sandwich.

Rachel: "Why would someone leave a sandwich here?"  (as all three of us whip out our cameras)

This past Saturday brought about the last opera I am to see here in Germany (for awhile, anyway): Puccini's Madama Butterfly.  The production was quite good, but I had a sad feeling in my heart when I gave the opera house one last glance, for I knew that the curtain had drawn on one of my favorite pastimes here in Germany.  Having seen six operas in ten months, I call this an accomplishment, and I have Maryle to thank for getting me into this form of theatre and music.

Sunday also was a bit busy for me, as my fellow substitute/friend, Katrin, had invited me to coffee.  She picked me up and drove to Hehlener Tor, a suburb of Celle (whereas I live in Klein Hehlen).  The cafe, KraeuThaer, is actually a cooking school, and all of the food is made by the students.  Katrin had invited another one of the substitutes, Helga, along, and Annagriet, one of the actual teachers at GKH, also came.  All in all, it was a very enjoyable visit, and we spent about three and a half hours talking.  I really do appreciate it that Katrin went out of her way to invite me to do something before I left, and her gift of a "good luck" book will have a place in my special bookcase back in Huntsville.

This week has been hectic, as so many teachers are out either on class trips or because of illness.  Because of this, I have been promoted to full substitute for English, which is fine.  It would have been better had Suzana actually left, you know, lesson plans, but I don't want to sound greedy.

Next week will be painful.

Next week I must say goodbye.

Einfach die Welt veraendern

Lots of little things going into today's post, so forgive me for the increased randomness. It will probably range from reading to nicknames to having a nice voice. Something along those lines. For clarity's sake, I'll separate each topic into sections. That's what writer-type people do. Yeah.


Einfach die Welt veraendern

So, last night while getting ready for bed, I went into my bathroom to, well, get ready. I noticed that, under my hairdryer, there laid a small, square book, entitled Einfach die Welt veraendern: 50 kleine Ideen mit grosser Wirkung (rough translation for non-German types: Easy to Change the World: 50 Little Ideas with Big Effects). It appears that Andrea left if there for me to read (but not in the bathroom, you perverts), and it may or may not have been a pointed action that she placed it under my hairdryer...but I'm going to ignore that. You see, Einfach die Welt is a book by those crazy kids at We Are What We Do, an English organization that encourages small good deeds in the somewhat optimistic belief that these such actions can make a big difference, given enough participants. Sounds all well and good, right? It's technically a piece of green, save-the-planet propaganda, but I'm going to go out on a carbon dioxide-producing limb here and say that not all propaganda is bad--and this book is actually quite a delight to read. It makes me happy, anyway, so there must be some good in it. It gives such helpful hints as giving away--or, "recycling"--books, old computers, and the like as well as providing advice to plant trees, smile at people (from a German book, HA*), and bathe with your partner to conserve water.

Though I enjoyed the book (and wonder if I can keep it; I haven't seen Andrea today to ask about its mysterious appearance in my bathroom), I cannot help but wonder that this is Andrea's attempt to get me out of what she may deem as a funk. To clarify, I'm not too terribly social with the family (though I did give Andrea a jar of my peppermint tea as a thank-you for her hospitality), but that doesn't mean that I'm not thoroughly enjoying myself here--and I found myself thinking, "Hey, I already do that" many times while browsing through the book. Regardless of intent, I really appreciate the loan.

If anyone is curious, here is the link to the WAWWD website: http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/. Now go! Go and be delightfully brainwashed by good-intentioned, yet too-optimistic Green people!

*Reference my angry post about Germans' reactions to smiling pedestrians.


Nicknames

I probably won't write nearly as much here as above, but this is worthy of honorable mention in my blog. While in grade school, I went by the nickname "Jenny." I have long since gone by Jennifer (and if people are close to me or feeling brave, then Jen), having deemed the nickname of yesteryear unsuitable for my personality. For the most part, I am right. Jenny doesn't suit me. However...

Kids in 2a, the first week: Jenni!!!

Kids in multiple classes, this week: Jenni!!!

So, yeah. Now that I'm working in a primary school, it comes back like the reanimated corpse of Frankenstein's monster. And I don't mind one bit.

Don't get me wrong. Most of the students still call me either Jennifer or Ms. Jennifer. However, I have the feeling that Jenni will stick for at least a little while...


"You have a nice sound."

I co-substituted for yet another class today, seeing as Susanne is still sick. Fortunately, the subject was yet again the parts of the bicycle, and the substitute and I have pretty much done this lesson thrice now. It went very well, but that's also because the class itself is well-behaved. During their busy work, Katrin and I started chatting:

Katrin: "The students come up to me and say that they like hearing you speak because you have a nice sound."

Perhaps I should explain/pseudo-translate. This remark does not sound strange to me, but that's because I'm used to the German structure of things and am a little removed from how English is supposed to sound. (Not really, but you see my point.) What Katrin means is that the children like to hear me talk because I'm fluent in English, therefore making my mother language, which is foreign to them, sound prettier than, say, a German teacher trying to speak English. Does that make sense? Damn, now I'm confused. Now that I've read over it, yes, it does make sense. If it doesn't, then you're just weird.

I've been told that I speak like a primary school teacher. Considering the source, this probably wasn't a compliment. But, you know what? It does help the kids. So, I'm glad I do have that sort of voice, if only at this point in time.

Oh, hey--I lied. There's one more section...


This Instant Coffee is My Drug.

Really. It is.