After the excitement of Munich, the last couple of weeks
have been fairly quiet. Last weekend I was very excited to welcome my lovely
friend Kathryn to Bensheim. It’s so nice to be able to catch up and share many
a weird and wonderful tale of life in Germany. Though the weather was slightly
on the chilly side, we had a lovely couple of days filled with chats, cocktails, Downton Abbey and many-a giggle. I’m very fortunate that my town is within very easy reaching distance of Heidelberg – easily one
of the prettiest towns in Germany. I love showing it off to people when they
visit as if I were a resident of the city myself. I really wanted to show
Kathryn the view from the top of the castle, as it is definitely a sight not to
be missed. Naturally lots of photos were taken, including several with a group
of Chinese tourists, who I think adopted us as their new best friends! A lovely
city, with even lovelier company – what else could you ask for?
Look who came to see me!
I also had the opportunity to experience parents’ evening
last week at school. It was a little surreal for me at first, as I’m so used to
being the student, waiting to see what my teachers thought of me and my
abilities, (or lack thereof!). This time, however, it was parents and students
who wanted my opinion – something I’ve never experienced before. This year has
shown me just how hard teachers have to work. The stereotype of a teacher,
namely that they work short hours, enjoy long holidays and merely have to turn
up in the morning and teach a class, could not be further from the truth. There
is so much preparation that goes into planning a lesson, not to mention the
marking, organisation, support and pastoral care that they have to provide –
it’s a wonder they’re not thoroughly exhausted all the time! Also, it never
ceases to amaze me just how scary teenagers can be. I’ve been fortunate enough
that the classes I teach are mainly full of nice young people, but the fact
still remains that walking into a classroom to be faced with 30 expectant
faces, some of whose desire to be there is questionable, is not a task for the
fainthearted!
When I stop and pause for breath, it’s weird to reflect on
how much has changed and how much I’ve changed since coming to Germany. I think
in general I’m still the same girl who will quite happily dance around her room singing along to Disney songs, but I also hope that this year has helped me grow
up a lot. I'm a lot less afraid of what lies beyond the end of my front garden than I was this time last year. I think that living abroad has also helped me come out of my shell a lot more. Way back in August, the prospect of teaching a whole class of
students filled me with terror, whereas now it’s become routine to stand up in
front of a class and do my spiel. Even taking cover lessons is far less terrifying than it was five months ago. Self-reliance and
self-confidence is something I hope I’ve gained a lot of this year, which just
goes to show that forcing yourself out of your comfort zone and facing your fears
really can reap its rewards.
Anyway, enough navel-gazing for one day.
Ciao for now, folks
Emily
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