Hello and welcome to my blog. I'm Marcus, I'm 20 years old and I've just finished my second year at Aston University studying German. This leads me nicely on to this blog... In a few months I will be embarking on my compulsory Third Year Abroad and as a result I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog. As the description says, basically this is a way for me to, not only ensure I don't forget all the (hopefully!) fantastic experiences I will encounter but also to communicate with people back home. I aim to update this as often as possible and hopefully keep you all entertained and interested.
So a bit my Year Abroad. The process began, well it must have been last year (wow, time flies) when the language students at University began to decide how they would like to spend their Year Abroad. We had three options - We could study at a University in our retrospective countries, we could work within a company or we could teach English as part of a scheme run by the British Council. I decided on the latter simply because this appealed to me most. I did a module in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and really quite enjoyed it. This, coupled with the fact that I really didn't fancy a 9 - 5, 5 day a week office job and the fact I was/am pretty fed up with studying, quickly narrowed my options down. With this decided I sent off my application to the British Council with first, second and third choice of preferred region in Germany. My Girlfriend (also a German student at Aston University) and I had done our research and decided we would very much like to be placed in a lovely little town called Regensburg in Bayern (Bavaria to all you English folk.) Therefore Bayern was naturally our first choice.
We soon received acknowledgment that our applications had been successful and they were passed over 'to zee Germans' to place us in areas which needed language assistants. The wait was agonising. In May we both found out that we were being placed in Bayern which was a relief (anyone in a relationship will understand that we wanted to be placed together) but considering Bayern is 27,200 square miles, we could still be placed a long, long way from each other.
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| Regensburg - Well placed for travelling to other German cities but also to other countries! |
Just over two weeks ago I discovered that I was to be placed in Regensburg. I was so happy and relieved. But at the same time the reality of the situation hit me! It wasn't until I received the e-mail containing my contract and all the other necessary paperwork (which is completely in German may I add!) that I realised just how close my Year Abroad really is. Unfortunately, a few days later, Lois (my Girlfriend) discovered that she was not placed in Regensburg, instead she will be in EichStaett (about 100km from Regensburg - easily doable on a train.) Despite initial worrying and stressing (we had counted on being placed together) we both realised that maybe it was for the best. (We would probably live in a little 'English bubble' had we been placed together. I'm convinced this current situation allows for a better and more effective Year Abroad)
I e-mailed both my schools (I will be teaching 12 hours a week, hopefully split 6 hours each at my 2 schools) and introduced myself. I asked loads of questions and they probably thought I was really annoying, but nevertheless they replied with 'herzlich willkommen' and 'mit Grüßen', meaning at least, they pretended to like me. The main thing now is sorting out accommodation. I asked both schools for advice and they are both enquiring and helping me out. I plan on waiting a few more weeks before starting the accommodation hunt myself.I'm sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to 'set the scene.' I will update when I know more information. But I won't be going until late August (at the earliest!) and that's ages away, right?
Somehow, I get the feeling I might regret saying that...
