A trip to the theatre and a visit from Jake!

Monday began earlier than normal for me this week as I had been asked to do an extra class. This didn't bother me too much but surprise surprise, once I got to school it emerged the teacher was off ill and so the class had been cancelled. Typical. I know it's nobody's fault and because it was early there probably wasn't any way to tell me, but as I'm sure you've learnt from my posts, this seems to happen to me fairly often and it does become tiresome. I had a large gap until I was required again so I did some shopping. Many of the stores were actually still closed but the supermarket had just opened, so once I again I joined the pensioners and weirdos doing their food shopping on an early Monday morning. I was able to come back and relax before my afternoon class back at school. My afternoon class was with the dreaded Year 5 class and they reminded me this week exactly why I dislike teaching them. They were loud, obnoxious, disrespectful and just plain uninterested. It was really hard work. I raised my voice more times than I can remember and actually shouted, which I hardly ever do, and it still had no impact. I just found the fact that they completely ignored my requests plain rude. It once again made me realise exactly why I don't want to teach and also made me understand that maybe I'm just not cut out for teaching anyway. I don't think I'm particularly patient and throughout the class I was becoming increasingly tempted to just leave. The teacher was either outside of the room or inside the room but helping the weaker students who were struggling and she also had difficulty controlling them. She told me that she is really thankful to have me there because it does allow her to focus on the weaker students. The fact that I will only have 7 more lessons with this class, is the only thing keeping me going and stopping me from throwing the towel in! Saying that, this week there was no flying orange peel or competitive raspberry blowing, so I guess I should be thankful!

On Monday evening I had been invited by the English department at school to go the theatre with them. The performance was 'The Wave', a well known and really thought provoking story that is based on real events and that is certainly worth looking up if you haven't heard about it (several films have also been produced). The production was in English, so of course I had no trouble understanding it. I arrived and awkwardly joined the group of teachers who were standing in the foyer and as a few students began to arrive, tried making conversation with them. Disappointingly only about 10 students had accepted the invitation, so there weren't really that many of us, but the rest of the audience was made of students from the various other schools in and around Regensburg. Before we entered the auditorium, a teacher posed a question to me in German. "But Marcus can't speak German, can he?" asked one of the pupils to the teacher. "Of course he can. His German is very good" she replied. And that was it. The shocked faces, surprised expressions and gasps signalled that my cover had been blown. Since we had specific seats I found myself sat next to some of these students, who now grilled me in order to test my German knowledge. I was embarrassed at first, since I had only spoken in English to these particular students before and whereas I'm normally in my comfort zone and totally confident, now I felt exposed. However as the conversation began to flow and I eased into the situation, I began to relish the opportunity to practise my German and reassure myself about my ability. The students told me how impressed they were (not to mention how shocked they were) and I think they feel closer to me after it. I received explanations of the best bars to visit in Regensburg and they were really interested to find out some more about me. We discussed how English is easier to learn as a foreign language compared with German since English can be found everywhere you look here in Germany. Oh and the performance? The show was great and I really enjoyed it. It was very cleverly acted out and the evening flew by which must be a good sign. I came away feeling happy, reassured and content. As I cycled back from the theatre (it was dark by this point) I discovered that the traffic lights and road lights are turned off during darkness. Despite the obvious risks involved, I think this is a great idea since it is so quite at night and it also makes travel more efficient since you don't have to wait at traffic lights for ages when it is obviously safe to go. Not to mention the energy this must save. Great idea Germany!

On Tuesday I didn't have much to do. Two of my classes had a test, so I played the role of invigilator and simply monitored the class. (Although the teacher did ask me to do the test too and then collected it with the others for marking. It's going to be pretty embarrassing if I don't get 100%!)With 5 minutes left at the end it was 'Ask Marcus Some More Questions' time. This time I was asked a question which took my breath away like no other before. "Hey Marcus, do you have a child?" Now I've been told I don't even look 20, so I'm not sure what kind of person this student thinks I am! He was being serious too! I answered with the obvious, but I did think to myself that I must be giving out the wrong impression if people have to ask me a question of this nature in the first place. In the afternoon the Year 10 students had mock speaking exams. I spectated in a few of them (much to the horror and fear of the students) and gave feedback afterwards.

On Wednesday I had my usual conversation class with the 'referendar.' These are teachers in training, who regularly get assessed and we have a lesson a week to discuss all matters relating to English, teaching and more. I often find it difficult to think of what we can do since they are all older than me and can speak fluent English. But we talk about classes and lessons and I try my best to offer any advice or suggestions. Seeing as though I had nothing to do after this, I was invited to a Year 5 class to practise some speaking. The students were as excited as ever and when the suggestion for groups of 3 to come outside and talk with me was put forward, every single pupil eagerly put their hand up. Great, I thought, some enthusiastic pupils. It seemed however that the only thing they were enthusiastic about was leaving the classroom as once out there, they were very quiet indeed. I understand their English ability isn't that good and I know it's scary speaking to natives, but I found it very difficult to make conversation. "So, what did you do at the weekend?" I asked. "I don't know" was the reply I received. So I asked the next person "O.K, what did you do at the weekend". "I don't know". I asked about TV, school, hobbies, family but always got the same answer "I don't know." It was difficult and if the odd student hadn't asked me questions, the conversation wouldn't have gone anywhere at all. After this class I joined the Year 10 class and visited a local cinema to watch a series of short films that are currently being shown as part of 'Regensburg Short Film Week.' They were in English (although some were Irish films and the students said they had difficulty understanding the accent) and they varied from the serious, to the funny to the really, really wacky, but it was enjoyable and different. On the way to the cinema I walked and talked with different members of the class. At one point, when an awkward silence arose, the students began muttering to each other in German thinking that I didn't know what they were saying. "Ask him something! Make some conversation!" "Like what though?" "I don't know...Ask him about England!" I had to hide my smile as I didn't want to give myself up (I'm going to keep this up with this class for a little longer and make sure they aren't saying too many negative things about me and thinking I cant understand them!), but it was a good feeling being able to understand them.

Thursday was another uneventful day which involved only two classes. I assisted in one class with the Year 10s and then did my weekly conversation class. I had prepared some fun activities and the lesson flew by, which as I've come to learn, is always a good sign. With two weeks to go until they take the test, they are as talkative as ever which is really good. I had lots of questions and it was good to chat with them. I had a haircut after school (I've got the hang of German haircut etiquette now and I've calculated that I will only need one more haircut before back in England! Exciting!) and then came back to await Lois' arrival.

Weekly Friday Cake time!

On Friday we enjoyed our usual trip to town. We visited the 'historische Würstkuchl' or the 'old sausage kitchen', which is actually the oldest sausage house in Germany and one of the main attractions in Regensburg (Tripadvisor backs me up on this!). Whenever you walk past there is always a queue and the air is filled with the smell of smokey sausages being freshly grilled. The sausages are small - more like a chipolata and are actually rather expensive considering what you get, however the sausages are famous around Germany and have very impressive reviews. You can sit out and enjoy sausage and sauerkraut or get a 'bratwurstkipferl' (sausages in a roll) to take away. Having been in Regensburg for 7 months and not yet trying this local delicacy, I decided it was about time. We both tried some and it was indeed tasty. I tried mine with some sweet mustard which is really delicious. We will definitely go back before we leave. We bought some food for the weekend and after another stop for a slice of cake each (this time I went for a slice of 'Eierlikör' cake, you know like Advocatt, which was different and tasty), before we returned back - I'm pretty sure we will have sampled every type of German cake by the end of our time here! After an afternoon sat out enjoying the sunshine, we went back out in the evening in order to meet our friend Jake, who we know from university and who will be living with us next year, at Munich Airport as he was catching a late flight from Paris which is where he is currently doing part of his Year Abroad. Despite a little confusion with the terminals we successfully made it to his arrival gate and gave him a hearty 'Grüß Gott' (the Bavarian greeting) and welcomed him to Bavaria. We caught the train back to Regensburg, but unfortunately due to the time (it was now after midnight), the buses had stopped running. Rather than pay the overpriced taxi fare, we decided to walk back. It was very dark but pleasant. As soon as we got back we all settled down for bed in preparation for an active weekend.

 On Saturday we took Jake to Nuremberg. After a tasty 'Lois and Marcus Breakfast' we caught the bus and then the train. The sun was blazing and as we whizzed through the Bavarian countryside on the train, Jake was in awe. Coming from such an urbanised area, like the centre of Paris, he was really able to appreciate the greenery in Bavaria and it also reminded us just how lucky we are to be placed here. The journey was nice as we laughed, reminisced and talked about how excited we are for final year at uni. In Nuremberg we showed Jake some of the sights (only once we had escaped the crazy old man who wanted to tell us the entire history of Nuremberg - being British we were too polite to just walk off but after 10 minutes of endless talking, we had to make excuses and leave!) and took Jake to the castle at the top of the hill for a great view over the whole city. With the midday sun taking its toll on us, we had a much needed ice cream break. After this, Jake was keen to see the former Nazi party rally grounds which Lois and I visited last time we were there. Despite being there before, we had completely forgotten how to get there! We ended up getting on the wrong train and leaving the city, meaning we had to get off, get another train back and start again. As impatient Marcus began to get annoyed, luckily Lois and Jake were there to calm me down and after some successful planning from Lois, we reached our destination. We visited the museum, but unfortunately discovered that they had recently introduced an entrance fee which we didn't want to pay so we walked outside and strolled around a beautiful lake. The paths were full of people enjoying the sun, the majority of who were on roller blades. They really love roller blading over here - mothers, fathers, sons and daughters all wearing roller skates. We showed Jake the grounds and the platform where Hitler stood to view his troops. Jake was impressed, but by this point we were all in need of a rest so went back to the city centre, found a nice bar and sat out in the sun. Following a drink and completely by chance we found our favourite Italian restaurant chain, Vapianos, so decided that that is where we would eat. After a tasty meal, we returned to Regensburg and took Jake to one of our favourite bars (we had to show him something in Regensburg!) before returning to the flat. We had planned to make 'a night of it' on Saturday, but we were so exhausted, we ended up in bed long before any of us had planned!

 

Ice Cream time!

It was such a nice day that even the Church service
was held ourside

On Sunday, Jake wanted to see some more of Bavaria, so where better than Munich! Lois and Jake packed their bags, and we all left for another busy day out. On the train, Jake was sniffling a lot since he was suffering with a cold. We were surprised when a friendly German lady gave Jake a pack of tissues out of the blue. Many would think this was very stereotypically 'un-German', but this is the sort of normal, friendly behaviour we have come to expect from the Germans throughout this year. It shows just how friendly Germans can be. That, or she was just getting really annoyed with Jakes constant sniffling. You can decide. In Munich, despite it being Sunday and almost everything in the city being closed, there were lots of other people enjoying another day of bright sunshine. Once again, we gave Jake a mini-tour of Munich and showed him the main things. We took him up one of the towers to get an idea of the size of Munich as you can see the whole city. The way up and down this old tower is very precarious and often there is only room for one person on the spiralling stairs. On my descent, a German lady who was wanting to ascend, looked and saw me coming. 'Du scheiss!' she exclaimed as I made my way down. I don't think I need to translate that one for you. (I'm aware what a mixed impression I'm giving about German people - from the friendly tissue lady and now to the abrupt lady in the tower - but I would say the latter is an exception) We visited the Frauenkirche, took Jake inside the Hofbräuhaus and relaxed in one of the parks. The gorgeous weather was the perfect excuse for more ice cream. Jake had not yet sampled any Bavarian food, so our final stop was a Bavarian restaurant where we were able to sit out and enjoy the local cuisine. Before we knew it, the weekend was over and Jake had to leave. We saw Jake onto the train to the airport and then we departed ourselves. I think we were all pretty exhausted after a hectic few days but I think we definitely made the most of it and hopefully showed Jake the delights of Bavaria. We will be seeing Jake in about two weeks when Lois and I visit Paris, so we are all looking forward to that.

The Hofbräuhaus

Jake enjoying the sun

ending our Sunday in typical Bavarian style

Until next time,


Tschüß

A German dream and a weekend in Zurich

I'm sure you remember from my last post that I'm not feeling very confident in my spoken German skills at the moment. But on Sunday night, just a short time after airing my complaints, something very interesting happened. I dreamt in German. For the first time (or at least the first time I can recall) I actually had a dream in German. It is said that dreaming in a foreign language is a defining moment in language learning and a sign you're really getting to grips with it. Although I don't feel as though this is the case, I'm reassured by this fact and very pleased it's happened. I think this has taken a pretty long time for me compared to others (Like many of my friends, I think Lois has had several!) but nevertheless, I am happy. Isn't it odd how it happened just after I had complained so much about my lack of German skills!?

My Monday and Tuesday were fairly uneventful. On Monday I did my conversation class and then was able to leave since the Year 5 class was cancelled. I was also informed that the conversation class next week would be cancelled which meant I had an even later start the following Monday. However, moments later I was approached by another teacher and asked to come to her class in the morning. My relaxing Monday morning had vanished in a flash, but I wasn't bothered really and I like to be kept busy. My 12 working hours a week are nothing compared to 'real' work and even then I still have the audacity to sigh when I have things to do. I'm genuinely worried about how I will cope in the real world, doing a full time job if I complain at the miniscule amount of hours I'm currently doing. C'mon Marcus, sort it out!

On Tuesday, another class was cancelled but I was already at school so I spent the time planning lessons. A few classes later and I was finished for the day thanks to a teacher conference resulting in my afternoon class also being cancelled. Whilst I really like the idea of no classes, the reality is different. Boredom has been an issue this week. I've found myself with almost nothing to do after lessons have been planned. Thank goodness I have the internet since I would be pulling my hair out without it! It's not much fun being on your own and not having anything to do and I was willing the weekend to arrive even more than normal.

Despite arriving at school for the first lesson on Wednesday, I found I had nothing to do until later so I once again planned some more. I was also informed that Anja was absent and was asked whether I would take one of her classes. I hadn't planned anything and hadn't a clue what to do, but I accepted. I felt a sense of responsibility and I felt saying no was an easy way out and I didn't want to disappoint. I spontaneously thought up a short lesson and hoped everything would be ok! Fortunately it was. Like every other time, the students cheered when they discovered the teacher was absent and I was there to replace them (but maybe this is because they know they can get away with more and not due to the fact that they actually like me). We talked a little bit about the London 2012 Olympics and I got them to do a few exercises listing different sports and thinking about how they would organise an Olympic Games in their city. With a little time left at the end I showed them a video of 2012 Olympic highlights. After this we only had 5 minutes left and I still had two more videos to show them, so I took a vote to see which one they would prefer. The options were James Bond and the Queen at the opening ceremony or Mr. Beans performance at the opening ceremony. Mr Bean took it hands down and we ended with this video. (Mr. Bean is very popular here in Germany). After this I had a lesson with a Year 8 class who had been nagging their teacher for weeks and asking her to get me to take a lesson. I did a lesson about food, national dishes and told them a little bit about British food with the help of a quiz. Lots of 'yuck's and 'urgh's could be heard as we discussed Haggis and Black Pudding and I once again had to explain to the students that we don't eat Fish & Chips every day, which they seem to think! (I also asked them to give me an example of a food that could be described as 'hot'. As someone gave the answer 'a hot dog' I realised I may have to explain this one a little). At the end of the class I offered the students some sweets that I had bought especially for this lesson, but only if they could tell me some of the words I had just taught them. They were able to and so earned some sweets. If there is one way to get a class to like you, it is definitely through the distribution of sweets!

Thursday was another largely uneventful day at school. I did a little more speaking practise with some classes and my conversation class didn't go ahead due to an early finish. This was fine with me as it meant I could go to Lois' earlier! The sun was blazing once again and after a super fast packing session at my flat, I was on the train an hour earlier than planned. It was lovely arriving in Eichstätt in the sun and going to Lois' for a change. I haven't actually been there for several months because we've both agreed that is more to do here in Regensburg, which is why this is normally where we spend our weekends. However my time in Eichstätt was short lived, as on Friday morning we departed for Munich where we would then catch a coach to Zurich.

We've never travelled by coach here in Germany, so we were looking forward to the change. The coach was cheaper than the train and just as quick so we thought why not. We weren't disappointed either as the coach was comfortable, clean and had free Wifi! (Megabus need to get on this!). The coach was on time and the journey was pleasant as we crossed into Austria and then into Switzerland. The Alps totally surrounded us at one point and looked particularly spectacular in the sunlight. As we got closer to Zurich we began to notice huge Golden bunnies next to buildings on the side of the road - the ones that everybody recognises as the Lindt Gold Bunny. It was as if they were welcoming us into their country of origin. 4 hours later and we were in Zurich. With the help of Lois' trusty iPad (which has successfully navigated us to our destination more times than I can remember!) we reached our apartment. This apartment was particularly high-tech. There was no reception or staff, instead just a key box in which you inputted a unique code that had been given to us and your key automatically fell out. It was cool! Our apartment was actually just a room, as the kitchen was shared, but that didn't bother us really as the room was nice.

The cool Key-Box

 

On our way to our accommodation we had been looking out for prices in shop windows etc since we were unsure about what currency they would accept. Obviously Switzerland is in Europe, but like the UK, it likes to be different so doesn't use the Euro. We had heard that many places accept Euros, but it soon became apparent that many also don't. After leaving our things in our room we returned to the city to change some money. After fretting a bit that we wouldn't be able to change our money, we luckily discovered a money exchange shop in the station so we set about changing some Euros into Swiss Francs. With our new spending power, we ventured into the city to find somewhere for our evening meal. And this is where we learnt just how true the information we had been told by friends was. Zurich. Is. Expensive. We set about checking out menus at various restaurants in order to find the cheapest. But no matter where we looked, the prices were just extortionate. Just to give you an idea of the prices (I've converted it into pounds to make it easier to understand) a pizza would set you back about £16 at a perfectly average restaurant, Schnitzel was £21 and a coffee was about £5. But we had been warned and we compared lots of restaurants and they were all pretty similar. But, luckily for us, we had noticed a restaurant close to our apartment that was reasonable and decided to go there since it was getting late. The restaurant was Hooters, an American restaurant with the tagline 'delightfully tacky, yet unrefined'. This explains it pretty well. It's a typical American sports bar serving typical American food, but the food is served by waitresses wearing very, very short shorts and very tight tops. I'm pretty sure this is the main reason most people (ie. men) visit this restaurant but we were actually surprised to see lots of other couples there. The food was really tasty and like I said, the prices were really good value. We enjoyed it a lot and we're pleased we visited a Hooters, seeing as though there are only several of them in the whole of Europe.

Crazy looking Swiss Francs

 

 

The Swiss seem to love bikes even more than the Germans!
They have special 'VeloParks' all over the place -
Like a car park but for bikes!

The next day we awoke to grey clouds and a miserable looking sky. Typical. As I said in my last post, it's now clear that the sun takes the weekend off, as this was the first time in the whole week that the sun wasn't shining. We got breakfast on-the-go from a supermarket and then ventured into the city again. At this point it started to rain. After buying an umbrella, which would be a life saver later on, we did our own little tour around the city. Zurich is a cute city, with lots of little passages and lots of high end shops. Boutique shops line cobbled streets and café after café take up pavements with outdoor seating (which were deserted due to the rain!). Several bridges cross over a river which opens out into a huge lake and the city, whilst being small, is nice. It is very clean and has a rather posh feel to it. However we certainly didn't see it at its best, considering by now the rain was coming down a little harder and the skies were worryingly grey. We enjoyed just sauntering round and exploring the odd little shops (mainly the chocolate shops which had huge arrays of expensive, but mouth-watering, chocolate). We went inside a few Churches, which were very plain and boring compared to the beautiful Churches and Cathedrals found in Germany, and also went up the tower of one of them which gave us a great view over the whole city. Like I said, its very small and it seems very crammed, but the houses are pretty and the river makes the city look very picturesque. The temperature had dropped considerably from the previous days and we were in need of a rest so we visited a Starbucks and begrudgingly, through gritted teeth, paid the high price for a warming coffee. We were hoping the rain would ease but instead it just seemed to get heavier and with a walking tour starting soon, we sadly had to go back outside. We met a guide and along with several others took part in a free walking tour. By this point it was raining pretty heavy and since the whole tour was outdoor we all began to get cold, wet and miserable. The umbrella Lois had bought began leaking as it struggled to cope with the downpour. But we soldiered on and tried out best to stay interested. We soon found out however, that Zurich doesn't really have much history. Ok, Lenin lived there for a few years and many artistic movements originated there, but there was nothing significant or particularly interesting that we got out of it.

Fortunately the tour lasted just over an hour, by which point we were definitely ready to head back to the apartment just for some respite. The guide very kindly gave us a voucher for a free brownie at a posh café (and the tour was free! Not bad!) but we didn't have the desire to take advantage of this right then and just wanted to get back. We were both fed up and paced back as quick as we could, getting a little lost on the way which didn't help. Once back we warmed up, Lois changed her shoes which were drenched and, feeling hungry and in need of energy we went out for some food. Once again, we found ourselves in Hooters - mainly because of its close location and because of the price (And not because of the girls!). We enjoyed a really good meal and felt like we had deserved it. We both slept really well that night!

On Sunday we left our apartment, dropped our key back in the automatic key box and proceeded into the city. We didn't have long before our coach back to Munich, but we did have time to take advantage of the free brownie voucher we had received the day before. We found the café and it was indeed pretty classy. Our brownie would have cost 4 Swiss Francs each, so not bad at all for a freebie. We changed our money back to Euros and got back on the coach as soon as we could, in an effort to stay warm as it was even colder than the day before. On the way back we went through snow storms, heavy rain fall and even more rain before arriving in a cold and wet Munich. We have to say that we were impressed with the coach service and would definitely consider it again. As for Zurich, we think it is a nice city, but unfortunately we didn't experience it at its best. Because of its lack of history, lack of things to do and because everything is so expensive, we felt a day there was perfect. Any longer would have been too long. One thing that I haven't mentioned is the dialect. Since Zurich is so close to the border with Germany, they speak German. Signs etc are all in German (Elsewhere in Switzerland they speak either Italian, French or Romansch). But they speak with a very strong, often for us as learners of German incomprehensibly, accent. Nevertheless we spoke in German and tried to get along. We wouldn't go back to Zurich but would like to visit other cities in Switzerland - maybe when we've saved up a little bit!

We left each other in Munich station and went out separate ways. We're already looking forward to next weekend, since one of our friends from university, who is also doing a Year Abroad, is coming to visit, so we're hoping to show him the delights and wonders of Bavaria. I have a few exciting events which I will be partaking in this week with my schools so I'm looking forward to these too. I will update you next week!


Until next time,

Tschüß

Language worries, sunshine and another 'first'

The first week back after time off is always a struggle, no matter who you are or what you do. So for the first few days of this week I was feeling pretty fed up. After a week of being with Lois, I felt lonely being on my own again. I feel bad for complaining, seeing as though most people do a Year Abroad totally alone and I know this is probably one of the hardest parts, and often one of the most overlooked parts, of a Year Abroad for many. I don't particularly like the idea of school (it's always fine when I get there though)and I find myself thinking about summer back in England more and more and looking forward to being back. I'm by no means hating my time here, but I think by the end I will certainly be ready to go home. Anyway, here we go. Here is the week that was.

On Monday afternoon I was with the Year 5 class once again. I again did most of the teaching which I actually quite like. One thing that does grate on me however, is the constant repetition that I'm required to do. I tell them what page they need to turn to in their books and maybe one or two students will listen. Others are talking, other are day-dreaming. I say it again. A few more turn the pages. I say it again, but those talking aren't listening. I begin the exercise, when all of a sudden students start asking what page they need to look at! It's pretty hard work. In the lesson we were practising manners and phrases used when in a shop situation. Phrases like 'I would like..' and 'here you go..' etc. One highlight of the lesson was when everybody was able to put this into practise in a mock shop situation. One boy had baked a big cake for the class and while one student played shopkeeper another student was the person buying some cake. It was good motivation for them, and of course, I also made sure I played the role of 'buyer' and received a piece of cake.

Tuesday involved more speaking practice with various age groups, from the Year 6s to the Year 10s. In a lesson with the Year 7s I presented a short presentation I had prepared about a celebrity, which would then act as an example for them since they will be doing the same shortly. My final class of the day involved me giving feedback on a mock speaking exam done between two students. I was really impressed and tried to give as much positive feedback as possible, but also of course had to find mistakes for them to improve on. The mistakes the students seem to make are always the same ones and when I hear them it does make me realise how complicated parts of the English language are. I still find it difficult to properly explain why something is wrong - I frequently find myself saying 'It's just the way it is!". However listening to others learning English makes me proud to be an native English speaker. After the class I had a chat to the teacher and towards the end of the conversation was surprised when she asked me "are you tired today?" "No" I replied (I was actually pretty awake!) "Oh" she said "You're German is pretty bad. You seem to be struggling to find words." (I told you the Germans don't 'beat about the bush') Great. I explained that a week away from school had taken it's toll, but I was disappointed. Disappointed because I know she's right. Despite feeling a little more confident in my German skills than a few weeks ago, I now feel worried about them. We're over 6 months in and by this point I should have a much better grasp than I currently do. I really don't know what more to do though - I speak German as often as I can. Despite all my moaning, if I could re-do a Year Abroad, I would without a doubt choose to be a Language Assistant again, but I cant help but wonder how much more my German would have improved had I been working in a German company, speaking just German day in day out. Oh well. I know that I'm not going to return to England anywhere close to fluent in German (which before this Year Abroad, I had hoped would be the case) but all I can do now is crack on and keep practising.

On a very positive note, the weather here this week has been stonking! I've been cycling to school without my coat and still been warm. Pretty amazing considering it's still March if you ask me! I know I've said it before, but I really do love cycling to school. It wakes me up and I feel refreshed on my arrival. In an effort to make the most of the great yellow ball in the sky reappearing, I enjoyed Tuesday afternoon sat out on my balcony watching some cycling on my laptop. I didn't last long because I actually got too warm! But I'm certainly not complaining and I just hope it lasts.

Sat out in the sun watching a bike race - perfect!

 

 

Recently I wrote an article for my other school which has now gone up on their website. (If you remember I already did one article for one of my schools). I was asked by Annette to send a picture of me which could be included in the feature. I have very few pictures of me, as most of them are of me with Lois. However, there was one picture I had which I sent to her. Annette replied saying that because there was some beer pictured with me in the photo, it wasn't suitable for the school website, which I totally understand and completely overlooked when sending the photo. (She was however proud that I was becoming a real Bavarian!) Consequently I ended up having my picture taken by the school photographer especially for this feature. There is one in English (aimed at the students - Annette asked me to do one separately for the students in English as she doesn't want them to find out that I know German!) and there is also one in German (for the parents).

English: http://www.asr-regensburg.de/index.php/fuer-schueler/austauschlehrkraft
German: http://www.asr-regensburg.de/index.php/fuer-eltern/marcus-Begley

Following a good day at school on Wednesday, I was feeling better in myself and more positive. Since the speaking exams for several year groups are fast approaching I was doing lots and lots of speaking practice this week. Teachers have been arguing about who gets to have me and have been rushing to the board to 'hire' me out for their class. I like this and I do enjoy school more when I have more do to. (Yet I still find myself complaining when I find I have more lessons to do - I'm hard to please) But I prefer having things to do, than not. Honest. I was part of a lesson with the Year 5 class. They are always loud and full of energy and can be quite a handful. As the class returned to the classroom after break, I noticed one boy tipping sachets of sugar (the type you add to your coffee at Costa or Starbucks) into his mouth. Whole sachets! I told him he shouldn't be doing that and he was persuaded not to carry on. But I think it was too late. He was super hyper throughout the lesson. Although with that being said, the whole class was. I felt sorry for the teacher who had to constantly tell them to be quite or listen or stop fighting or sit down. I knew how he felt - Teaching can be really hard, frustrating work.

My plan at the school I go to on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The teachers 'book me' for whichever lesson they need me.
It works really well

 

As you can see from my plan, Thursday involved lots of speaking practice. The lessons went well and I even found myself covering for a teacher who was ill, which as an Assistant, I am strictly not allowed to do. I knew the class and I really didn't mind, so it wasn't a problem. I'm pleased that they feel I am responsible enough to cover a class on my own. The class were louder than they normally would be, which is to be expected when they have a new, different and young teacher, but they did listen when I told them to be quiet and I had lots of students come to me to ask me what certain words were in English, so I like to think I proved helpful for them. In my weekly afternoon conversation class, I found myself in a new situation. I asked the class to get in pairs. No one moved. I asked again. Nothing. They were looking straight back at me. Maybe they didn't understand. "Can you get into groups of two please?" I rephrased. Still nothing. After what seemed like an age, they began shuffling into pairs. I'm not sure why, maybe they were tired or just seeing what I'd do, but this had never happened before. After the lesson I wondered what I would have done had they not listened to me. I'm still not sure! Despite the shaky start the lesson went well and we did a full run through of the exam they will be taking in 3 weeks time, so I like to think it was useful.

The view from one of the classrooms at the school

 

 

Thanks to the gorgeous weather, Friday was a very enjoyable day. Wearing just t-shirts (ok, maybe not JUST t-shirts, but you know what I mean), Lois and I walked into town and once again admired Regensburg in the sun. I've been here for over 6 months now, and the city and the buildings are not at all getting old. They are still as spectacular as the first time I saw them. It's so great to see the ice cream parlours reopening now the sun is shining again, after being closed for winter. We did our usual browsing of stores and wandering the cute little cobbled streets before stopping at our favourite lunch stop, doing some food shopping, and finishing with a slice of cake before walking back. Normally we catch the bus back, but today we wanted to walk and what a pleasant walk it was! Back at the flat we sat out on the balcony and relaxed. It was really nice.

We awoke on Saturday morning to a grey and miserable looking sky. Like many, the sun appears to have weekends off too. As we got ready to walk to the local shop, rain started to fall. We turned back and returned to the flat but unfortunately, even after trying to wait it out, it was still falling. Cue SuperMarcus to the rescue. I hopped on my bike and cycled through the wind and rain (not quite as dramatic as it sounds) to the shop to buy our lunch supplies. We were house-bound in the afternoon so passed the time watching some interesting TV.

Sunday was much of the same since the sun seemed to be making the most of having the weekend off. However on Sunday I did enjoy another 'first' experience, one to add to the many other 'firsts' I've already experienced on this Year Abroad. I voted. For the first time in my life, I voted. And it wasn't even in my home country! There were local elections taking place all over Bavaria on Sunday and since I have lived here for over 6 months, I had the right to vote. I made my way to the local 'Wahllokal' in the morning, put a cross by my choice and slipped it in the box, satisfied that, whilst I personally wasn't really going to gain much from many of the new policies the candidates were campaigning on, I was doing the best for Regensburg. On departing, I was told something by one of the women overseeing the voting which I didn't understand. Well I got the gist of it, but I didn't get everything. Just like every other time this happens to me, I smile, nod, laugh a little, agree and move on. Lets hope it wasn't anything too important!

Ready to vote for the first time
 - Passport and voting card at the ready!

Next week we're off to Zurich for the weekend so on Sunday afternoon we searched online for some things we can do and see whilst we're there. It seems it's very 'arty' and musical, neither of which really appeal to us. However we're looking forward to seeing what Switzerland is like and adding another country to our list of countries visited.

As you can probably guess, the next school week involves lots more speaking and I've also been tasked with doing a few of my own lessons, so I'm sure to be kept busy.
                                                             

Thanks for reading, and until next time,

Tschüß

Half-term in Nordrhein-Westphalen (NRW) - Karneval, chocolate and sights

As I explained in my last post, Lois and I were spending our week off school in Nordrhein Westphalen. I'm writing this on Sunday after getting back late last night. And well, what a week it was. (Long post alert!)

Day 1 - Regensburg - Düsseldorf

Our week started last Sunday at around 5:30 when we caught the bus to the train station to start our 'epic' journey to the north. In an effort to save precious funds we always travel using the cheapest option possible (that, and the fact that the other options are ridiculously overpriced) but this unfortunately limits the choice of trains you can travel on. Basically you can only travel on the 'Regional' trains or 'slow' trains, as everybody else knows them. This being the case, the journey to Düsseldorf took us over 9 hours, with 6 changes in between. The journey wasn't actually as bad as I had been anticipating and obviously we had each other for company, as well as Lois' iPad for entertainment. Our last leg of the journey was spectacular, as the train chugged alongside the Rhine, passing through picturesque towns, villages, countryside and past amazing castles. The weather was promising and I think the excitement made the journey go quicker. It was a relief to arrive in Düsseldorf and this is where our few days of 'craziness' began. This time of year 'Karneval' is celebrated in NRW, amongst other places. It's basically a week of hard partying ending on the Monday. It's a regional holiday so everyone gets the day off - that's how serious they take it. And it's not just for the young people - Everybody takes part. Everybody. It's a long standing tradition and it's a celebration of identity for the people of this region, who get to show how proud they are to live here. I believe it stems from when the people would express anti French / Prussian feelings during times of occupation and has grown ever since. But enough with the history...

As we stepped off the platform onto the main concourse of the station, we were met with huge crowds. Huge, loud, colourful crowds. And when I say colourful, I mean really colourful. Every single person was dressed up. Most were holding a beer and all walking towards the town. We had to dodge these partygoers as we too made our way out of the station in an effort to find our hotel. After some now very well practised Lois and Marcus navigation, we found our hotel and checked in. It seemed good, so we were pleased. We then made our way into the city for some tea and an explore. We found the main street and it was alive. It turns out that this is where all the people we had seen in the station we heading. The street was lined with different groups of people, usually all in the same fancy dress, and enjoying alcohol and blaring out music from homemade hi-fi systems. Everyone was happy and the atmosphere was electric. We were shocked by the amount of litter and mess on the streets however, and it seemed as though the parties were coming to an end. Or so we thought.

We entered the Altstadt, or old part of town, and got even more of a surprise. If the main street was electric, the Altstadt was on fire! Bars were overflowing, the music was deafening, we had to squeeze our way through crowds of jovial revellers. People in onesies were dancing on tables, superheroes walked past us and doctors and policeman (fancy dress - I hope!) were drinking like there was no tomorrow! It's a good job we kept moving, because even as we walked through this area we found our feet sticking to floor. And this was outside! It was chaos. Actual chaos. But it was fun. And the atmosphere was happy. But our chances of finding somewhere for a drink and some food were immediately dashed, as every single bar was full. And there really are a lot of bars in Düsseldorf. Fortunately we managed to find a respectable bar to escape the chaos for a little while. After catching our breath we decided to head back in preparation for the next day, and also to escape any further 'craziness' that was almost certainly going to happen that evening. We bought 'tea on the go' and went back to the hotel.

Day 2 - Cologne

Our day in Cologne also began early as we wanted to get there early to beat the crowds. 'Rosenmontag' is the last day of the Karnval celebrations and also the highlight of Karneval. A huge parade takes over the city and people spend the entire day celebrating. This is why we were here. If you want to experience Karneval, in Cologne on Rosenmontag is the place to experience it. We had been warned but no amount of warnings could prepare us for what we were about to see.

We arrived in Cologne station shortly before 9:00 and the place was already buzzing. Like the previous night, the station was full of people dressed up and being very loud. We made our way into the city and the crowds grew and grew. As we looked around we soon realised we were receiving odd looks because we weren't dressed up! We passed groups of clowns, a family of zoo animals, cavemen and I also noticed a Pope wandering through the crowds. People really do go all out. To our surprise we noticed that all the shops had been boarded up. This was to keep the store fronts safe from the craziness of Karneval - This shows exactly how mad it is! We found a good spot on the parade route that wasn't yet too busy and decided to set up our camp. The pavements alongside the parade route were fast filling up, but we had a good spot. The parade wouldn't start for another 2 hours, but we were kept entertained by all the colourful costumes and intoxicated people staggering past us. Opposite, a group of clowns had set up there camp, including beer kegs taped to lampposts to allow the beer to flow freely. Shots of liquor were being handed down the lines of people stood aside the road and more homemade music boxes blared out German party music. The atmosphere was great and as Lois commented, every single person was smiling, laughing or dancing. There were old women, also dressed up, old men dancing down the road, mums and dads with young children, all in fancy dress, we even saw a baby dressed up as an elephant. Karneval really does attract every age group. We laughed a lot, as hilarious and ridiculous costumes passed by. The pavement was now pretty full, but thanks to our planning and early arrival, we were at the front and had a great view as the parade began.

The costumes in the parade were impressive and the bands sounded great. The floats were often very clever and most of them had a political theme. Facebook privacy settings, Merkels phone being hacked, Obamas' political policies and the Ukraine crisis were all mocked in the form of weird and wonderful floats. The floats were approaching serious topics in a light hearted and jokey way and made lots of people laugh. People spend all year planning and making these floats and you can certainly tell. Now to the best bit of the parade - the sweets. Each float and each group that comes past throws sweets into the crowd. When I say throw sweets, I really mean throws sweets. And not just a few. At first I was stunned at the amount of confectionary falling at my feet, but after a while you become used to it. Sweets, chocolates and biscuits were falling around us and everybody was suddenly on their hands and knees grabbing at whatever they could find. Often the parade would come to a standstill and at this point, the crowd would cry 'Kamelle' (Sweets in NRW dialect) and even more would come flying out of the parade. I found myself becoming increasingly greedy and trying to get as many sweets as possible. My favourite float was a canon which was filled with sweets and then fired them out in batches of hundreds at a time, into the crowd. It really was wild. It was insane. It was mad. Before long we had a carrier bag full and at this point decided we had better calm down. But even then, when you weren't looking for sweets, you couldn't help but find them. On several occasions I was hit in the face by flying sweets and I was actually severely injured by a chocolate bar thrown in my direction. Lois was also lucky enough to receive a few flowers from several of the men in the parade. The parade was just endless. Before we knew it, we had been stood watching the parade for four consecutive hours and it was still in full swing. At this point, we decided we wanted to move on, so then the task of getting away began. With us surrounded by numerous revellers and with the entire city on 'parade lockdown', we found ourselves IN the parade in an effort to find an exit. We walked along side a band, past the screaming crowds until we found a sneaky exit and darted down it. After trudging around and getting lost amongst more crowds, we finally made it to the main station. We caught the U-bahn to the zoo just outside the city and spent the last few hours of the afternoon there.

 Angela Merkel as the Mona Lisa

 

 

Cologne Zoo is big and has one of the largest collection of animals in Germany. Obviously since the parade was on, the zoo was pretty quiet, so it was a great time to go. It's only a few stops out from the city centre and I was surprised at just how good it was, to say it's close to such a big city. We saw all the usual zoo animals and managed to watch the penguins being fed. The elephants, giraffes and hippos were particularly impressive. After seeing all the animals and visiting the aquarium as well, it was time to find some tea. We returned to the city centre, where to our surprise the parade was still going! It was now 18:00! The floor was a crystallised mess of broken bottles, party streamers and bits and bobs of various costumes. We were able to find a small Italian restaurant offering a pizza and pasta buffet which suited us perfectly and we enjoyed our meal. All that was left was for us to make our way back through the endless parties, past all the overflowing bars, past all the mess and to the station to return to Düsseldorf. We were pretty exhausted after a whole day of being on our feet - and this was only day one!

 

 

                                                   The aftermath of Karneval

Day 3 - Bonn

Following our tasty buffet breakfast at the hotel we caught the train to Bonn. At Bonn train station we met with our friend Matt from university who is currently working in Frankfurt on his Year Abroad. As we sauntered into town, it was immediately clear that the people of Bonn had also celebrated Karneval since the town square was also strewn with remnants of last nights parties. Bonns claim to fame is being the birthplace of Beethoven, and to be honest that's about it. We found the house in which he was born, which is now a museum but with none of us being classical music fans we strolled on.

 

 

 The man himself

 Beethovens birth house

Maybe I lied when I said Beethoven is Bonns only claim to fame. Much more importantly for us, Bonn is the birthplace of Haribo. (Haribo was founded by Hans Riegel from Bonn - hence the name Hans Riegel from Bonn) Unfortunately you're unable to tour the actual factory, but they do have two stores dedicated to Haribo. The one in the town centre has every single Haribo product produced available to buy. You can buy bags, tubs or help yourself to the pick & mix, which we obviously did. There is also loads of Haribo merchandise available for purchase, from toy bears to haribo cutlery, it's amazing to see just how big the brand is. We also visited the factory outlet store, where you can buy all Haribo products in bulk. It was mouth-watering to wander round and see boxes and boxes of sweets at very reasonable prices. People had trollies stacked with enough Haribo for a year! It was hard not to do the same! In the afternoon we partook in the Germans' favourite thing to do when you have no other plans... beer drinking. We sampled a few different bars before heading to a traditional Bavarian restaurant for tea. That's right, we spent 9 hours on a train from Bavaria just a few days earlier, only to end up eating Bavarian food in a Bavarian restaurant. But it was good food and it was really great to catch up with Matt and spend the day with him. Whilst we were disappointed with what Bonn had to offer, we're glad we visited (if not only for the Haribo!) but another day was soon over and it was back to Düsseldorf for us.

 Lois made a new friend

 We had a great day with Matt

Day 4 - Dortmund

Another major city in NRW, Dortmund is home to the world famous BVB football team, second best in Germany after Bayern München (of course!) We began our day in Dortmund with a visit to the Museum of Persecution and Resistance. A little depressing, I hear you say, and you wouldn't be wrong. This museum is actually located in the former headquarters of the Dortmund Gestapo and was a prison for opponents to the Nazi regime. It was in German, so we found it pretty intense but interesting non the less and we left with some additional knowledge we didn't know before. We then made our way to the centre of the city and we were both shocked at the size of it and what was on offer. It turns out Dortmund is a very modern city with loads and loads of shops. A huge great shopping centre houses all types of shops (even a Primark - the first one of which we have seen here in Germany!) and the main street has even more. It was nice to browse for a little before we had a coffee break and relaxed. Late afternoon we met Anna, also an Aston student on her Year Abroad, and had a drink with her. It was once again lovely to share stories about our experiences and talk about how excited we all are for final year together. Following a recommendation from Anna we visited Italian chain Vapianos for tea. At this restaurant you get given a card, order everything yourself at the kitchen, watch your meal being freshly prepared and then enjoy. The cost of the meal is put on the card and then you pay for whatever you've had at the end. It's a great system and seeing your food prepared is really different and special. The food was delicious, well priced and the restaurant ambience was really nice. A lovely meal out and another place we hope to revisit.

 The museum that we visited

 

 

Day 5 - Cologne (again!)

Cologne really is a super city and there is quite a bit to see there. Seeing as though our first day in Cologne was dominated by craziness and the parade, we wanted to go back and see the city in a different light. As we arrived, it was almost as though nothing had ever happened. The majority of the streets were clean and empty. The stands where people sat to view the parade were still up and underneath there was still lots of mess, but the majority of the city had returned to normality. The cathedral is naturally the most popular sight in Cologne. We have seen it from the outside, from the inside but never from the top. So the first thing we did in Cologne on Thursday was climb the 533 steps to the top. It really was a long way up but the views at the top were impressive. The Rhine below looked lovely, yet the city wasn't anything special to look at from above. After this, we went to the famous Lindt chocolate museum. This was really interesting and it had heaps of information about everything to do with chocolate. We saw cocoa plants, did chocolate quizzes and even watched workers and machines producing real chocolate. It was a really good way to spend a few hours. After the museum we went and walked on Colognes famous love lock bridge. The bridge has over 40,000 love locks padlocked to it. It is estimated that the padlocks have added an extra 2 tons of weight to the bridge, which is a little scary really. It's quite amazing to look at and the way they all sparkled in the sunlight really was quite romantic. Tired from all the walking we'd done we settled down by the Rhein and enjoyed a cold beer. The sun was out and everybody was enjoying it. It was a very picturesque scene. We visited the 'Eau de Cologne' museum but decided against going in. Lois did however get to sample the original 'Cologne' fragrance, which is definitely a cool thing to say you've done. Cologne, like Dortmund, has also got a huge variety of shops which we enjoyed browsing. It's a really bustling city and has a good feeling about it. For tea we visited a Chinese buffet, which was disappointingly average. Another day over and we were really worn out. Back to Düsseldorf before our last day out.

 Nice views from the top of the Cathedral

 

 The love lock bridge

Day 6 - Aachen and Düsseldorf

 

Our last day in NRW was spent in Aachen. For those of you who don't know, Aachen is in fact the twin town of Halifax (my hometown) so I was keen to visit. Aachen was also the first place in Germany to be liberated by the allies in the second world war since it is so close to the border. We were really surprised by Aachen. We hadn't expected much, but the city was beautiful. Very old, historic and with some fantastic buildings. The sun was once again out and it made the city look lovely. After exploring the city, we enjoyed an ice cream whilst sat in the sun in the park. This is the first ice cream of the year and hopefully the first of many! After this we hopped on a bus in search of the 'Dreiländereck' or 'three-country-corner' and made our way to the border. We had already heard French and Dutch being spoken in the city and the city really is right on the border. Upon disembarking from the bus, we walked just a few yards down the road and found ourselves in the Netherlands. No border to cross, nothing to warn you, all of a sudden you're just surrounded by Dutch signs! We hiked through some forest on the actual border itself and carried on up and up. The walk was strenuous and we didn't really know where we were going, but soon enough we came across it. The 'Dreiländereck' is where Holland, Belgium and Germany all meet. We were both expecting huge signs, fanfares, flags and basically for it to be a big deal. But it's not. It's just a stone marking the point where the three countries meet. Nevertheless, we find it really cool to say we've now visited Belgium and Holland on our Year Abroad (Yes we only went a few metres over the border, but that still counts, right?) We descended the mountain we had earlier climbed and the scenic walk back to Aachen was wonderful. It was so peaceful and everyone we came across was so friendly. Once back into Aachen we caught the train back to Düsseldorf in an effort to explore a bit of the city we had been staying in all week, but which we really hadn't seen much of!

 I'm stood in three different countries here!

 Seeing as though Aachen is Halifaxs twin town and seeing as though I was representing Halifax, I wore my flat cap like a proper Yorkshire lad!

We didn't get into Düsseldorf until early evening and seeing as though it was Friday, the place was again buzzing. We found what appeared to be 'the strip' - full of bars, restaurants and clubs and it was packed. Düsseldorf seems to be a mix of old and new. The Altstadt has some really old 'German' buildings whilst the inner city had lots of shops and funky nightlife. It seems a really nice city. We enjoyed a drink in one of the bars before heading out of town to a Mexican we had found online. The cute little restaurant was small but cosy and we just managed to get served before people who had already reserved began to arrive. One tasty burrito later and we headed back to our hotel via one last bar to reminisce about fun packed week. Honestly, we were pretty exhausted by this point. The stairs to our room had become increasingly difficult to climb as the week progressed because of all the walking we'd done. But we wouldn't have changed it and we definitely got the most out of the week.

Day 7 - Return to Regensburg

All that was left was the small matter of our 9 hour journey back to Regensburg. And unfortunately Deutsche Bahn let us down. Our second train didn't arrive. That's right, it just didn't come. How can a train just disappear? How can they just cancel trains? We were pretty annoyed by this as it meant our whole journey now had to be changed and consequently, the new journey was longer. But there was nothing we could do but accept it and get on with it. With the help of '24' on Lois' iPad the journey wasn't as bad as it could've been. We rolled into Regensburg at 2000, dashed into the shop to get some supplies for tea (we were the last transaction so we made it just in time!) and then finally got back to my flat. Tired but happy to be back and with lots of great memories from our week away.