crime busting!

On Friday I finished school at the ungodly hour of 8.45am, having taught only the first lesson. Tough life! I decided, instead of suffering through a four-day weekend, that I would take myself to Kassel to see Eat Pray Love at the movies, as I'd just finished reading the book. I arrived in Kassel at shortly before 11am, found the cinema opened at 1pm and the movie played at 2pm - I had some time. Of course, first on the agenda was treating myself to a fish lunch at Nordsee and then a lengthy browse in Thalia. Afterwards I decided to play tourist for a while and I walked along to St. Martin's Cathedral, which has two really impressive looking spires. Unfortunately, I discovered Kassel to be possibly the scariest city I've ever been in: literally half a block away from the main shopping area was like gangster-ville and I felt less than safe being on my own. Still, I perservered to the cathedral, which was jammed in between shops and apartment buildings quite unceremoniously. Up close St. Martin's looks really trippy - in WW2 the spires were destroyed, so it's another sad victim of being 'half ancient/half modern' as many buildings here in Germany are. In this case, the spires were rebuilt - you can't quite make out on the photo, but they're hollow with these cool gaps - kind of looks like a 'jenga' construction.

Once in the cathedral it took about 2 minutes before I was approached by a woman begging. She told me she came to see the priest but since he wasn't there perhaps I could help her with some money to buy bread. Oh damn, I really had to turn on my cold heart - and I HATE doing that. Who knows, perhaps she was genuine, but I just got the feeling she probably sat near the cathedral all day and preyed on tourists. I felt really uncomfortable as I was alone and we were the only two people in the building, so I told her I had no money (none that I could spare for her, anyway!) and waited until she had her back turned before running away. Literally, running. Until I got back to the 'safety' of the shopping street. I couldn't believe that I'd been accosted in a CHURCH of all places - obviously I'm a bit naive. There are a lot of beggers in Kassel; they line the main street in fact. I don't understand it, the idea of people literally begging is really foreign to me. I mean, in Dunedin we have buskers but it's not quite the same concept haha. I think I need to learn more about how and why all these people end up begging... it's so sad! I always think... "well, maybe I can just give 10c", but then I see lots of them smoking and drinking and think twice. I remember when I was in Austria in 2008, my host used to buy them a bread roll or something: perhaps that's a better solution.

However, I guess if I did get into trouble in Kassel I could always go to the 'Police Laden' (police shop)... haha. And they could chase the criminals away in their powerful Smart Car!

the dreaded GYM

Last night I finally got up the courage to put my gym membership to use. I signed up at the gym on my second day in Fritzlar, but until now had only been once to check it out. I put it off and put it off, making myself nervous with images of flocks of fit Germans leaping around and of me not understanding a word of what the instructor was saying. Of course, that guilty feeling had been plaguing me: the one that comes when you're a) effectively throwing your money away for nothing and b) being incredibly lazy. However, 6pm rolled around last night and I mustered the courage to crank out my gym shoes. I got to the gym (which is located in a beautiful fachwerk building - you would never know it was a gym from the outside!), and found the room. To my genuine surprise, once inside I felt less 'obvious' than I usually do just walking down the street. There were about 8 of us in total; all women, apart from one older guy. At home I went to a girls-only gym and had been worried about myriads of fit men, but turns out this wasn't an issue! Phew! I managed to get myself 'stuck' in the front row, but by this stage I'd done the hardest work of the night (walking in the door) so I was feeling reasonably confident. The room where the class took place was like a ballet studio - all mirrors, and there were disco lights! Ha. Seriously cool.

The instructor was really nice, AND my concerns about language were unfounded:

• "Laufen!" (run)
• "Marschieren!" (march)
• "Hoch" und "Tief" (high and low)
• "Einmal, zweimal, dreimal..." (once, twice, three times)

The moves were all exactly the same as at my old gym, including "step-touch". When the instructor yelled out "step-touch" (in English) I almost burst out laughing. What was I worried about? The gym class was DEFINITELY the best thing I've done in Fritzlar so far; I felt absolutely elated afterwards. I did NOT shower in the communal showers afterwards, instead walked home and felt totally justified in eating 'vollkorn' (mixed grain) bread, egg and fresh mozzarella for dinner, haha. I can't wait to go to the gym again tonight. Honestly, living in a town like Fritzlar where the most exciting thing is the gym (!!) - might make my fitness goals a reality. Then again (cheese... mmm...)... who knows?

fußball äpfel müde löschen ßßß

äääääääääää ahhhhhh
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ööööööööööö
ÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ
üüüüüüüüüü
ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ
ßßßßßßßßß

Look, smiley faces! ÜÜÜÜÜ
And little ones: üüüüüü

Just a little bit shocked... ö
WOW: ÖÖÖÖ

Pregnant: ßßßßßßßßß

ich heisse pip und ich kann auch deutsch!

I can barely believe it's been nearly a month since I flew a whopping 18,000kms outside of my comfort zone. There were a handful of reasons why I wanted to spend 9 months in Germany; the most obvious of which is that I want to improve my language skills: my German, which I've been learning on and off for the best part of a decade.

I absolutely love this language, it makes sense to me (usually), and it just sounds so ... crazy, harsh, angry, beautiful ... foreign ... I love it, love it, love it, but have to confess at the moment it's driving me mad. I constantly feel foreign here, like a strange and exotic alien. Sometimes I feel like people can tell I'm not German just by looking at me. As soon as I open my mouth I'm a goner. These thoughts spin around in my head, so bear with me as I vent. Please note, this is not a personal attack on anyone, just general thoughts and a my own experiences and opinions.

1. I am a language learner, not a 'vollidiot' (complete idiot). Sometimes I just want to explain that to people. German is my second language; sometimes I have to formulate sentences in my head before replying straight away. Sometimes I don't know the right word. Sometimes I make mistakes. That does not mean you have to talk slower, convert to English or stop talking. I can understand 99% of what is being said; I can follow conversations - I may not understand every word but I get the gist. Do not stop the conversation to ask if I understand what such-and-such means. Even if I don't, I won't necessarily ask unless it's appropriate. I am not in a language school, I am in real life. I am not stupid or slow, I am learning and I am trying.
2. Please, don't be afraid to talk to me. I want to talk German. I am not shy, just hesitant. I don't like making mistakes and it takes a while to 'warm up'. Be patient.
3. Not being understood is HARD. There are a million things I want to say, but sometimes I just can't formulate it in time, or indeed at all. Although I know I'm not stupid, sometimes it's easy to get down on yourself. Please know I have ideas, I have opinions - all of which I'm articulating in my head while the conversation goes on around me.
4. Praise me - but only when it's due. People tell me my German is perfect, which is NOT true. I know it. You know it. The cat knows it. I am not German, I'm not a native speaker, therefore my German isn't perfect. I make mistakes and have a funny accent. Sure, you can tell me it's not as bad as I think, haha. I could handle that.
5. Trust! This comes from my own personal, current experience. There are some people I have no issue speaking German in front of. I can just let go and talk. Other people make me ... nervous? Maybe not the right word. But it's just not as easy. If I feel confident and relaxed, then the language comes across that way too. Usually, haha.

Apart from personal issues, there are a number of language-based issues I face constantly in society.

1. Du or Sie? Oh my gosh, this does my head in. For the non-German speakers: du and Sie are both words for 'you'. You use 'du' with friends and in informal situations, and 'Sie' is reserved for more formal occasions or polite encounters. Sometimes the division is clear. I always use 'Sie' in shops or when talking to strangers, the school principal etc. Then there's 'du'... I never know when it's appropriate to use 'du' - like, with my colleagues at school? The ones I work with anyway? At school, even the teachers refer to each other as Frau So-and-so or Herr Whatever - excessively formal. However, when I addressed a fellow teacher as 'Sie' she laughed at me and told me to use 'du'.
2. On the phone. Germans answer using their last name. In NZ, we just say 'hello'. But, what do I say when I answer the phone at my host's house? Do I use her last name, or mine? For the record, I've just being saying 'hello' (haha) - she's lucky I even muster the courage to answer the damn thing!

So, there goes the musing of a frustrated language learner. I will persevere and keep in mind that over time things will get easier. I hope.

coats, cars, company - a weekend with a PLAN

So, another week has gone by. I'd been looking forward to this weekend, as I had PLANS. The absence of work on the weekends has been quite a hard pill to take and I've found myself not altogether looking forward to days of 'free time'. How to fill them?... Although I don't consider myself high-maintenance in terms of needing to be entertained, there are only so many books I can read, letters I can write or times I can wander through Fritzlar before I start wondering whether there should be more to life.

However, as aforementioned, this weekend I had plans. To be precise, Ingrid was coming to visit me from The Netherlands. I've been home alone all week, so it was extremely nice to have some company other than the cat. Of course, it was great to see Ingrid again full-stop! So, on Friday I discovered her little yellow 'foreign' car in the school carpark and we went from there. Friday was fairly uneventful - well, we walked through Fritzlar, but that can hardly be classified as an 'event' haha. It was over in 30 minutes. On Saturday we DROVE to Kassel (big thrill for me, just being in a car - oh, my sad life). We embarked on what I can only describe as the most successful shopping trip I've ever been on. I needed jeans: I found the perfect pair after 10 minutes. Ingrid wanted a certain top: we found that too. I decided I wanted some colour in my life: I happened across the most amazing coat I've seen. My coat was like love at first sight. "Hey, now THAT'S cool..." ... "try it on!" ... "but I don't need a winter coat" ... "but it's perfect and it's so you!" ... "OK..." What more can I say? 5 minutes later I was paying for it, and that guilty feeling that comes when you buy something extravagant never even came close. Damn it, I worked bloody hard for months to get here, why can't I treat myself? I'll only be wearing the coat every day for several months once winter arrives. And I can still get use out of the ridiculously expensive winter coat I already own, haha.

After hitting the shops, our next stop was IKEA. Now, 'spaghetti eis' might be culinary heaven, but IKEA is honestly, truely, seriously retail heaven. Walking through the little model rooms, going into raptures about all the furniture and accessories. I have to go to Sweden one day; the Swedes must be the coolest, most stylish people on earth. Anyway, I was there with a mission: my room at Inge's is (well, WAS!)... um... not my style. I needed something colourful to cheer me up; something bright and vibrant. An hour later I am the proud owner of a beautiful new red/pink duvet cover, and a few other colourful items. My room is still not amazing, but it's better. My bedding makes me happy. Cheap thrills.

Last night Ingrid and I searched online for cars. Now, I can't get my hopes up too far, but I'm really really really sold on the idea. Just a little cheapy that I can gad about in; nothing too big, fancy and especially not expensive. Within reason, of course. I don't want a car which'll crap out on the Autobahn - or anywhere, for that matter. But my lack of freedom has really been getting me down. I'm used to being able to do what I like and go where I want at home, but here I'm really feeling confined. There are a million things I need to investigate before I dip further into my savings (which are already descimated - damn Euro!)... insurance, taxes, costs in general, HOW I go about looking and finding a decent car. In other words, I need to find an expert. Well, at least it's going to give me something to do this week, haha.

Photos once again not uploading........................ so please look under 'moments' at top right of blog. My internet connection is as medieval as this town.

So anyway, it's been a wonderful weekend and I'm sad it's almost over... Although life is perhaps not as exciting as I'd like at the moment, there are so many things to remain positive about: nice coats, red bedding and best of all, great friends xox

heaven looks like spaghetti eis!

I had such a nice day yesterday! I caught the train to Sontra and spent the day with Katrin, who I had met earlier this year when she was studying in New Zealand. Talk about refreshing - spending the day talking English with someone not only familiar, but also my own age haha. Katrin drove to Bad Hersfeld, where we wandered around the town and shops and then the highlight: ate Spagetti Eis. Oh my goodness, I think I found heaven! A huge mound of vanilla ice-cream in strands like spaghetti... on top of cream, which freezes. On the ice cream is strawberry sauce and then white chocolate shavings. For an ice cream lover, this is like the ultimate. I seriously think NZ needs to import some Italians to open ice cream cafes. Nothing beats them!

Today I was back to school and got a nice surprise to find that I was actually scheduled to teach a Year 10 English class by myself - apparently this is my own class every week! (I find this out... an hour before class starts?) Thankfully, this is a 'conversation hour' so I decided to get them to introduce themselves to me and tell me the most interesting thing about themselves. Bingo, instant lesson! All I did was poke and prod the discussion, but they were happy to talk so it was hardly strenuous. They were amazed when I remembered all their names (oh thank you, special teacher tricks!) And, FYI, the most interesting thing anyone came up with was one boy who doesn't eat any vegetables. At all. What does he eat? Meat. Bread. Cheese. Pizza with Cheese. Doner with no salad (which exists, apparently!) That's all. Yum.

I amused the class highly by once again being a total prude (in the eyes of Germans, anyway!) As I was walking to class, all along the corridors I passed about 5 couples *ahm* in the throes of passion. Like, eyes closed, fully wrapped around. I was kind of horrified, but couldn't really avert my eyes as they were lining the halls. No-one seemed to care that people were watching or walking passed or whatever. In NZ we would call this PDA (Public Display of Affection) of the highest order. It just would NOT be done, haha. Certainly not in a school, anyway. Possibly in the privacy of your own home? I went into the classroom and told the class this, and they killed themselves laughing. Unfortunately AT me, not WITH me, although I did have a chuckle at their reaction too. "Oh Miss Wilson, OF COURSE that's normal!" (Oh yes, according to who?) I KNOW I'm going to like this class, they're full of life and crack me up. Next week they are giving presentations on New Zealand - (can't miss that lesson!) - and two of the boys asked me what I knew about the haka. After a lenghty discussion we have now shaken on the fact that they will both perform one in front of the class. Now THAT should be interesting.

mushrooms

I feel like I've been quiet for a while. Busy? Can it be?!

After a shaky start, which involved me spending an entire day sitting in the staffroom alone on Wednesday, school is picking up. I finally got my hands on some sort of timetable, which suits me at the moment. I would much rather have someone tell me "we expect you to be in X class on X day at X o'clock", instead of me having to sort of 'lend myself out' to the teachers, which is what I was expected to do. Not really the best solution for someone who is a) new in the school and knows no-one, b) is speaking a foreign language and trying to be understood, and c) not the most confident of people at times! So, on Thursday and Friday I had full-on days, and I even taught a class on my own on Friday - the school did seem quite pleased when they discovered I'm actually a trained teacher... under the table relief teaching, anyone?! In general the students are all really enthusiastic and well behaved - I believe they get graded for their participation in class, so whenever you ask a question it's like a vertiable forest of arms waving. Quite refreshing!

On Thursday I also braved the gym for the first time. I won't deny, I was so nervous of making a complete idiot of myself. Luckily, all the machines seem to function the same as in NZ (ha) and there were also only 2 other people there so no huge audience. I also voiced my concerns to the receptionist about going to the classes and she soothed my worries - so I'll just have to steel myself and turn up. I'm thinking Tuesday. The worst part of the gym? Um, the showers!! It's one huge shower room. I was the only one there on Thursday, but I still couldn't face it - what if someone walked in? Apparently the Germans don't mind? I hurridly showered in my knickers. Methinks I'll be working out and showering at home in the future, haha. Does this make me a prude? :D

The weekend. I was preparing myself for a quiet one, but it was actually not as boring as I thought. On Sunday I went off mushroom picking with the Gurkes. I have to confess, I wasn't overly sold on the idea. The Germans seem to love this concept of 'walking in the forest', which doesn't do much for me. However. I take it back. It was peaceful and quite nice poking around for mushies, even though all the ones I found were highly poisonous. Apparently there are varieties growing there which would only take one mushroom to finish off your entire family. Eek. After a while we turned back and went to drive to the next top-secret location. All fine and good, until the car got stuck whilst being driven over a large amount of felled branches (I will say no more). At this point the day got really interesting, haha. A good half hour of pushing, shoving, trying to give the tyres something to grip onto... and the car finally came free. Only to slide into a muddy ditch 50 metres away and we had to do it all again. In times like this I guess one can only laugh, and actually I found the whole situation quite good fun, haha. Schadenfreude? The fantastic German word which means 'to take pleasure in the misfortune of others'... Although I think we were actually all laughing.

We were invited to the Gurkes for dinner to try out the fruits of our labour. Or the mushrooms of our labour, I should say! I don't normally like mushrooms overly, but I have to say, they were absolutely delish. Yummy... It was a really nice evening, nice people, nice food... perfect.

a sad city

Apparently uploading photos is going to be an issue. It took 20 minutes to upload the above image, so I'm going to have to come up with another solution. Anyway, at least now you can get a sneak peak at just how pretty Fritzlar is. I took this on the 'Marktplatz' (market place), and honestly, if you turned the full 360 degrees then all the buildings are like this. I think I will die and go to heaven when it's Christmas time here... dark, cold, snowy, a cup of mulled wine. But I digress.

Yesterday I skipped school (sports day, haha, some things never change!) and went to Kassel, which is the nearest big city with ... 200,000 (ish) people. The bus cost the earth, but was actually worth the money as it wound in and out through several cute little villages en route, which was quite interesting in itself. Once I got to Kassel I worked out how to get myself into the town centre, and off I went. I had been told that Kassel isn't a pretty city, and turns out that sentiment is very much true. In fact, so far (apart from the shops) I was struggling to find a redeeming feature. Of course, there ARE surely nice parts (Till and Malte tell me there are great discos there, haha...) - and over the course of my 9 months I will surely explore further afield than the 'Hauptstrasse' (main street). Kassel had the life bombed out of it in WW2, and was apparently before that also a 'Fachwerk' city, like Fritzlar. I felt sad when I heard that, as Fritzlar is sooo pretty and Kassel obviously was once as well. The city felt lifeless; it was grey and basically a big concrete jungle. But, I'll go back.

What WAS fun about yesterday was shopping. I tried my credit card out (on the off-chance), and it worked! I hurridly withdrew enough cash to last me until my next trip to the same ATM, in case I can't find another one that works for me. I had a few presents to buy, so I went into Thalia. Germany has the BEST bookshops in the world, I'm absolutely convinced. I could browse for hours... and the books themselves are much nicer quality (and cheaper) than what's available in NZ. Afterwards I treated myself to lunch in my absolute favourite German fast-food restaurant, Nordsee. They make the most delicious fish, chips and remoulade... mmm. I'd really been hanging out for some fish, my favourite! It's quite good that there's only a Nordsee in Kassel, so I can only treat myself every now and then :) So, I wandered around Kassel for the afternoon - next time I go I'll plan an inventory as there are definitely things to see, I just didn't know where. One thing: Kassel is home to the Brothers Grimm (as in, the fairy tales!) There's a museum and 'Brother Grimm Platz', which might be worth a look.

Photos of Fritzlar etc are now under 'memories' (thumbnail pics on right-side of blog, at the top). Click on a picture to get to the album.

O.M.G (Oh Mein Gott!)

No people, I am NOT dead!...

Back to the start - on Thursday morning all the assistants were bussed back to Cologne, where we then dispersed out across Germany. I was naturally worried about the whole train situation, given my experience a few days earlier, but thankfully everything went to plan. Travelling on the ICE (super-fast) trains is an absolute b**** with a 25kg suitcase, as they didn't seem to factor in that people may just have luggage with them. Consequently I had to sit with my legs scrunched up on top of my suitcase - luckily for just an hour until Frankfurt, then I changed to a slower and much less busy train. In Frankfurt I attempted to look for a cellphone shop, but directly outside the station is apparently Frankfurt's VERY red-light district and I felt a bit 'obvious' walking around with my case, another bag and also cash, passport, camera etc. Mission aborted. I probably would've looked a bit harder if I'd've known how hard it would be to get anything done in Fritzlar.

So, I finally arrived in Fritzlar, where I was met by my mentoring teacher (Stefan), my host (Antje) and Antje's mother (Inge). I'm happy here, and am sure I'll remain happy here :)

On Friday morning I went into school for the first time. At 7.30am, none the less. There are some aspects of starting so early that I like - such as being finished by 12 - 1pm. However, it's just too damn early! I feel like if I force my brain into action it's just going to rebel and eventually wake up at 9.30 - 10am, by which stage the school day is half over. Anyway, on Friday I had the school tour (if I write 'typical German 1970s style school I probably don't need to elaborate), met 1000 colleagues, got introduced to the principal etc - all of which now fades into a blur. I went to a few classes too, but for some reason I seem to be only a few actual English classes, which I find a bit odd. Something to remedy, although I told myself I'd wait a week or two to see how everything pans out. So, school is OK I guess. I don't have to go today as it's sports day (or something), so I'm off to the 'big smoke' (Kassel).

I have to admit, I am excited to go to Kassel - Fritzlar is... sleepy. I wouldn't've thought I'd mind so much, but there really is not much here, and also not many people under the age of 70. If I didn't know there was a large school here then I'd be concerned. However, it's not all negative - Fritzlar also has to be the most beautiful, picturesque little town I've seen in Germany. The 'Fachwerk' buildings are in adundance (think, the whole town centre - about 500 buildings in total, I read somewhere). Oh, and there are also 'rules' in Fritzlar - for instance, between 1-3pm every day is 'ruhe' (quiet) - that means shops close, you can't mow the lawn or make any noise really. It's also 'ruhe' from 7pm every night AND the whole day on Sunday. I don't mean to be critical, and I say everything with love (as despite all this, I DO love Germany)... but I think this is just a tad OTT!

On the weekend I met one half of the twins (quite glad to meet one at a time, in the hope I can pick up on even a subtle difference in their very identical selves!) Anyway, I met Malte and his girlfriend Anna, who were kind enough to entertain me not only on Saturday evening with a personalised city tour (MUCH better than the official one - I now know where McDonalds, the cinema and the pool (haha) is); and also on Sunday we went on a long walk in the forest, which seems to be a favourite Sunday passtime here. So, overall a quiet weekend but a nice one!

I met Till, the other twin, yesterday. Who knows how I'll tell them apart. At least they don't dress the same, although after a while I started second guessing myself ("crap, which one was it wearing blue?...") Isn't it cruel enough to have to meet and memorise 1000 new names/faces, without having to distinguise between two identical twins?! (haha) So, my lesson in twin psychology is ongoing.

Yesterday I also FINALLY sorted the internet and phone, and also got a gym membership (the trainer looks like rambo - I think I'll miss Configure... however, got to do something so I can continue eating cheese!) The internet/phone was the biggest stress EVER. There is one phone shop here in Fritzlar and I went in FIVE times (over 3-4 days) before I finally got served by someone who knew what he was doing (a nice Dutch man). Even then I had to walk to and from town twice more as it wasn't working. I gave up eventually, then woke up this morning and it functioned straight away. Perhaps there is a god. Being here without connection to the outside world (especially when the earthquake hit NZ) was honestly like missing a limb. I was about to pack everything in a resign myself to a life of boredom (dramatic, but Sunday was a bad day for me!) Isn't it pathetic? That I can't survive without internet... I convinced myself that if I were at home then it wouldn't be such a hardship, but here it's been really hard. I feel instantly better!