In contrast to my previous post, I'm feeling a lot better now. Going back to school really helped and after just a few days, the intense urge to go back home had vanished. As I begrudgingly pedalled my way to school on Tuesday morning, I knew that despite my best wishes, it was the best thing for me and within a few hours of being there, it was like I had never left!
Tuesday began with lots of handshakes and wishes of 'Gutes, Neues Jahr'. Almost every teacher made an effort to come and wish me a happy new year and shake my hand. Teachers I had never even spoke to suddenly appeared in front of me, beaming and holding out an outstretched hand. Everybody seemed really happy to be back and the friendly atmosphere made me feel at ease. I was also surprised to find a belated Christmas gift in my pigeon hole from the Headmistress. I expected it to be the usual German chocolates or sweets, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find a flashing light and two fluorescent, flashing armbands to wear on my commute into school. These really will come in useful, as it is often dark when I leave the house and coupled with the bike lights I received for Christmas, I will now be more lit up than a Christmas tree on my ride into school. It was a lovely gesture and made me feel very appreciated. It was lessons as normal on Tuesday and I helped out and assisted when necessary and answered lots of questions from both teachers and pupils about my holidays. On the way home, I stopped by at the Citizens Bureau in order to register my new address. Germans love bureaucracy and paper work, so this was a fairly painless experience. It felt nice to have an address that was totally unique to me.
Wednesday was a quiet day with very little to do, since many teachers are still sorting out new plans etc. I didn't do very much at all but I'm thankful for the nice, easy 'slide' back into being a Language Assistant. I'm actually very thankful I didn't have much to do on Wednesday in school, since the afternoon really was testing. I had an appointment at the bank and together with my landlady we would organise the deposit to my flat. Since it is technically illegal to just hand over money for property in Germany, we had to open a joint account into which the deposit would be paid and which can only be released when the landlady says so. The problem was that I actually leave Germany before my landlady was able to check the flat and release my money, meaning I will be in England when the money is released. This caused a problem and caused lots of 'umming' and 'arrring' from all parties. Now finance isn't my strong point, and finance in German is even further from my strong point, so even after half an hour of this intense meeting, my brain felt absolutely frazzled. It's not often that my brain actually feels like it turns itself inside out, but that's what it felt like. I had to concentrate extra hard on my bike ride home, because my brain was just so exhausted! But fortunately we had found a solution and all the formalities to do with my new accommodation are now sorted and I can relax a little.
Thursday was another fairly quiet day, but I did end up helping out with a Year 6 class, whose teacher was away. Seeing as though their normal teacher was off, and the teacher covering had no plan for the class, we decided that I could do a little talk about the UK and they could ask me questions. It was good and they were very keen. When it came to question time, the pupils wrote a question then put it in a hat, from which I would then pick a piece of paper and answer the question. This was fun and I got a range of questions "Do you have a Girlfriend?" "Do you like Call Of Duty: Ghosts?" "Do you like Germany?" "Do you have a Girlfriend?" "Do you play PS4?" "Do you have a Girlfriend?" "What's your favourite Band?" "Do you have a Girlfriend?" - You get the idea. Finally one boy at the back of the room asked me a question himself. "What's your girlfriend called?" Coincidentally I had seen this boy at the bus stop in Regensburg and had acknowledged him, when Lois and I were moving me into my new flat the previous Monday. "My girlfriend is called Lois." I replied. "Ahh" he said. "She is very pretty" - Aw, what a lovely boy and what a nice thing to say. Although he doesn't have to tell me ;)
Lois came on Thursday evening and we have definitely taken advantage of having our own space. We've baked our first cake since being here in Germany (which I'm sure will become a weekend ritual) and made some pretty incredible meals for ourselves, now that we have a kitchen completely to ourselves. It's such good fun having our own space, not to mention the fact that we can both chill in our onesies and not be afraid of the social consequences! On the topic of the flat, I really am so happy here. It's probably still a novelty at the moment, but it's so cosy and it's even more homey now that I've bought a few more bits. It's felt like quite an expensive week since I've had to purchase the normal necessities - bedding - the first night without bedding was awful to say the least, towels, cloths, a Bavarian flag to hang on my wall - you know, the usual stuff. But its really feeling like my place now. Having a TV feels like a real luxury and I've enjoyed watching some German films and reality shows. I'm really enjoying my ride to school and back and I'm getting used to strategically packing my shopping so that I can ride back with it. I feel as though we are both going have lots of fun and happy times here.
Another bonus to having my own place - I also get my own cleaner! I'm a very lucky boy!
A Yorkshire lad in...Oberisling. This is where my new flat is.
Schneeballen come in lots of different varieties.
You're probably all fed up with the sight of Christmas decorations so soon after Christmas, but the Christmas shop is worth a visit whatever time of year it is.
Woohoo! Bavaria!King of the Castle in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Beer, anyone?
Before coming back to my flat on Saturday evening, we stopped off at the supermarket to buy a beer each - it was Saturday evening after all, and now we had a cosy flat to drink it in. However after viewing the prices of various beers, the single beer each we had planned to buy, somehow turned into a crate of beer. But get this. The crate cost 8.90Euros, but then if I take the empty bottles back to the supermarket, they give me 3.10Euros back, as the bottles are then recycled and reused (See, I told you the Germans are efficient) So in essence, this crate of 20 X 0.5L bottles cost me 5.80Euros. That works out at 0.29 Cents a bottle. That. Is. Crazy. In England, if a young 20 year old were to step on a bus with a crate of 20 beers, you would immediately categorise him as a raging alcoholic or just some rough yob. But here, no one battered an eyelid as I stepped on the bus, straining from the weight of 10L of beer! In any case it should last a while and it means we don't have to venture out during the cold winter months when we want a tipple.
Sunday was another cold but this time, very sunny day. We made the most of this and went a lovely 2 hour stroll through the open fields around my flat. It was great to get some fresh air and explore the area. Sundays are always a little depressing, but the walk certainly helped. During the walk we chatted about how we were feeling one week on. We're both feeling 100 times better and genuinely feeling at home here in Germany. We would go as far as to say, that right now we don't actually want to leave (Wow! what a difference a week makes!). We're both aware of this amazing opportunity we have and are both very keen to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. We both now have a positive outlook, and whilst we know it's not always going to be hunky-dory, we're really going to make sure we have the best of times.
One thing that I'm a little disappointed about at the moment, is my German language ability. We're half way through our Year Abroad now and my German just isn't at the level I expected or I wanted it to be at. Yes, we've only been back a week, but I'm frustrated that I still struggle with the most basic of conversations. We both make an effort to practice, so much so that we've spent several hours this weekend just speaking German to each other. I'm hoping that in this second part of our Year Abroad, the language begins to stick and I really, really hope to leave with a really good grasp of it. I'm going to keep up my German conversations with the teachers and practise as often as I can. Lois and I are in the privileged situation of being able to practise with each other so we've agreed to make the most of that as well. Whilst May seems a while away, we know that it will come round ever so fast, so we need to carry on making the most of it.
I'm glad that this post is a lot more positive in comparison to my previous. I'm sure the positivity and the enjoyment will only continue.
Here's to the next one,
Tschüss!
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