I was eased back into the routine on Monday (thankfully! Even with only 5 weeks left it still takes a lot of effort to muster my motivation). I just had the Year 5 afternoon class and they behaved well for me this time. I taught together with the teacher, which involved us both standing at the front and taking it in turns as we went through various exercises and answers. This dual teaching is something I very rarely do. Often I find myself teaching alone or standing at the front of the class on my own whilst the teacher sits at the back. But I enjoyed this new format and it seemed to work. Monday was important for another reason though. On Monday I finally submitted my 'Year Abroad Project'. This was an essay we were required to write for university and goes towards our final degree mark. I started it as soon as I returned after Christmas and it has involved a lot of work so it was a huge relief to print it off and post it to university as well as sending an electronic copy via email. Whilst I'm not confident about securing a good mark, I know I did my best and I really have tried. The dissertation that we're required to write for our final year at university will most likely start taking shape as soon as we're back at university in October, so right now I just need to enjoy being essay-free!
Tuesday was a fairly quiet day with me helping out in the usual classes. One of the teachers broke the heart-breaking news of my departure in just 5 weeks time to his class, to which the class responded with a long and heavy 'awwww'. I'm not sure if this was out of genuine sadness or sarcasm (probably the latter) but it made me smile. Tuesday also gave me opportunity to speak German with some of the teachers. The previous day I had struggled in trying to make conversation after the two week break which involved me speaking lots of English and not much German, and I found myself doing the usual thing I do when unsure and confused - nodding and smiling. But on Tuesday I felt a sense of reassurance as I managed to slip back into 'German mode' and hold a conversation again. As you know we're now getting towards the end of our time here, but I'm finally starting to feel that things are beginning to fall into place in terms of my German and I feel a sense of achievement and of relief. Although after what will be 9 months spent here, this really should be as expected. (However in my defence I would like to point towards a quote by Mark Twain, which illustrates just how long it does take to master German - "I never knew before what eternity was made for. It is to give some of us a chance to learn German.")
On Wednesday I once again had little to do. After my weekly conversation class with the referendars (trainee teachers) and with a gap of a few hours before my next lesson, I wandered into the city. I spent my time browsing in the shops and I visited the library where I like to read the daily newspaper (This way I don't have to buy it - cheeky!). After my final class of the day which was with the Year 10 students and involved lots of football talk about Bayerns disappointing performance the previous evening and also involved questions about alcohol related English vocabulary, I cycled back to my flat. A few hours later I was back in the city meeting Lois, who, thanks to Thursday being a national holiday, had come a day early and this made us both really happy. We did a little food shopping (forward thinking - since the following day was a national holiday there was no chance we would be able to buy food - living in Germany makes you very organised!) returned to my flat for an early tea and then caught the bus back into Regensburg and went to my school as it was the schools 'music evening'. This had been in the pipeline for several weeks and I was really keen to go along and see just how talented some of the students I teach are. And we weren't disappointed. It was sort of like a talent show, taking place in the school gym, and the place was full with proud parents, teachers and other students. I was spotted by some of the students who got very excited at the prospect of performing in front of a real 'Engländer'. The acts varied from singing, to magic tricks, from dancing to acting, but they were all really impressive. Seeing students who are normally fairly quite being able to sing perfectly or others being masters of musical instruments was surprising but really impressive. My particular favourite was my favourite Year 5 class (the good ones) performing a typical Bavarian song, including the accompanying dance, and complete with some Bavarian leg-slapping. The whole evening was really entertaining and it made me realise just how much talent there is at the school (and how little talent I have!). All the songs sung, except one, were sung in perfect English, so I will no longer accept any students trying to tell me they cant speak English!
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| The 'Musikalischen Abend' |
Due to a miserable and grey few days, Friday and Saturday were also pretty uneventful. We went on a few short walks to get some fresh air but apart from that spent most of the time inside. We watched plenty of German TV and also a German film and we like to think that this counts as German practise. We also did a little lesson planning, but we're both relieved that we only have another 3 weeks that require this type of planning.
On Sunday Lois and I ventured into town in the hope that we could watch a little bit of the Regensburg Marathon that was taking place. Disappointingly we were too late and the marathon had already happened. The Marathon had taken over the city for the morning but by lunchtime the barriers had been cleared, the super-fit runners had already completed it and everything was back to normal as if nothing had happened - German efficiency at its best! With only 5 weeks left and still so many restaurants to sample, we decided to visit one of the few Indian restaurants in Regensburg and take advantage of their Sunday buffet. We enjoyed a delicious spread of various curries and were stuffed following our meal. As it goes, Indian food doesn't have a particularly good rep in Germany, but after this experience we really can't understand why. It really was delicious and the buffet style meant we could try a selection of different curries. It was great value too and it's just unfortunate that we are unlikely to be able to go back in the short time we have, especially with so many other restaurants to try! We enjoyed a walk back in the sun and then a chilled afternoon sat out on the balcony (we were so full we couldn't do much else!) But after I had taken Lois to the train station and in an effort to make the most of the glorious evening sunshine, I went on a little jog. Now I'm sure you're aware that for many Germans Sunday is a day of rest. However for many more it is a day for exercise! I can guarantee that if you go out of the house on a Sunday in Germany, within a matter of minutes you will have seen four different types of people - people jogging, people cycling, people power walking with hiking poles (oh, they love their hiking poles!), and at least one person wearing roller skates (if they too have hiking poles, you get bonus points). So on Sunday evening I fitted right in as I jogged through the beautiful open landscapes that surround Regensburg. It really was very pleasant.
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| A tasty selection of curries |
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Now that May is here, the end is in sight. Our contract with the schools ends officially at the end of May, so we really don't have much time left. We're very much looking forward to going home in early June, but we really want to make the most of our final month here so we have lots planned for this month and we're excited! I'll keep you all updated.
Until next time,
Tschüß
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