Just Chuck Yourself In.

So another week has passed. I’m having a great time, and I feel more and more at home here every day.  Life is good.

On Tuesday morning, I taught my first class. Up until now, I’ve mainly just been observing how the class teacher conducts a lesson, and occasionally helping out with the odd bit of vocab. But this was the first time (since Altenberg) that I’d actually stood up in front of a room full of teenagers and tried to teach them English. I was really nervous at the start – trying to hand out work sheets when your hand is trembling is not the easiest of tasks – but I soon relaxed into it, and luckily enough for me, the class I was teaching is full of really nice students, who were all keen to get involved, which made my job a lot easier! The theme of the lesson was the ‘English school system,’ so I got to talk to them (with the aid of various photos) about all my school’s funny little quirks and rules. They seemed completely shocked that we had things such as ‘detention’ and weren’t allowed to wear earrings! I got good feedback from the class itself as well as the teacher, so that was a nice confidence-boost to start off the week.

On the subject of teaching, this week has also seen me start to work with the foreign exchange students in the school, and attempt to teach them German. I think it’s incredibly brave to go to a country on your own, where you don’t speak a word of the language (I was terrified myself, and I’ve been learning German for nearly 10 years!), so I have nothing but admiration for them. I’m hoping that at some point, once we’ve left the realms of learning the names of colours and food etc. behind,  I’ll be able to unleash my love of German grammar on them, (adjectival endings, here we come!), but I’m not sure they’re quite ready for that yet. Baby steps, Emily. Baby steps.

I also, in the spirit of “chucking myself in,” tried ‘Lehrersport’ [teacher sport] for the first time this week, as I thought it would be a good opportunity to get to know a few of the teachers better. They get really into it, and I had a great time, except for one small flaw; that being that I am terrible at sport. When I say terrible, I mean terrible! I have no hand-eye coordination, and there also appears to be no connection whatsoever between my brain and my limbs. I see ze ball. I kick ze ball. Doesn’t matter to whom or in which direction. There is no interim involved. This being true, volleyball was always going to end badly. I think the other teachers took pity on me, and heartily congratulated me every time I managed to get the ball over the net!! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not totally un-fit, I like swimming, and even go for the occasional jog, but when I’m confronted with any kind of ball-shaped object that I either have to throw, catch, or kick, any modicum of sporting ability that I may possess goes völlig aus dem Fenster. Physical activity is clearly not my calling in life. So for the poor group of teachers that had to have me on their team, thank you for the encouragement, and my most sincere apologies. Needless to say I don’t think this was their most successful week! I am, however, determined to stick with it. In the immortal words of Yazz & The Plastic Population, “The only way is up, babehhh,” so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I will…eventually…improve. If, by the end of the year, I can stand on a volleyball court and serve from the correct line, instead of one 5 miles closer to the net, I will be a very happy lady!  

Now that my fridge is all in place, I have finally started to get to grips with German food. I must admit, after my first German supermarket experience that was Aldi, where I could not find pasta sauce for love nor money, but where duvets and paint brushes in various sizes were available by the box-load, I did have reservations about what my diet would look like while I’m here. However, this was all before I discovered the wonder-shop that is…Netto!! Now, I have been a steadfast Waitrose-gal for the past 3.5 ish years, and I will be the first to admit that Netto’s customer service did not quite fit the bill of what I’m used to.  I was for example, not offered a bag for life, nor was I escorted to the product I was after, (honey, in this case,) but it’s dirt cheap, and what’s more I managed to find genuine Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, PG Tips and Heinz Tomato Ketchup, so I think I’ll let them off. I’m still on the hunt for McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives, but I guess you can’t have everything in life!

And finally, to end my week, I had my first visitor from home; my lovely friend Rachey. I decided that it was time I explored somewhere further afield than a 5 mile radius of Bensheim, so we travelled to the gorgeous city that is Heidelberg. It’s very typically German, and we did all the normal touristy-activities, like wandering down the Haupstrasse, climbing up the huuugggeee hill to the very strategically placed castle, and taking lots of touristy photos. The highlight of the day for me, however, hands down was the ride on a double-decker train that delivered us from Bensheim to Heidelberg. T’was incredibly exciting!  

 a double-decker train!!! How cool!!!!

So, another week full of exciting new adventures, (and yes, I do consider the discovery of Netto an adventure!) is over.  Here’s to many more.

This is Heidelberg. It's sehr pweeety.

Oh, and I’ve started dreaming in German. Ok, so it may have been a dream where I met the Queen in the laundry room of my flats, and told her to please hurry up using the washing machine, because I’d run out of socks, but it was nevertheless auf deutsch. 

Maybe I’m settling in more than I thought.

Until next time, folks.