Also

Hey guys... I see you creeping on my blog. Leave a comment once in awhile, let me know you're here! Thanks for reading. :)

Starting to find my place

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Though I am proud to say that I'm still in the once-a-week update schedule. Go me.

Work

This past week was the second week of my Hospitationsphase at my school. This means that I have spent the last two weeks just visiting and observing various classes, to discover which teachers and classes I with whom I would enjoy working.

The Hospitationsphase has been nice; it was a smooth ease into getting to know the school, my colleagues, and the overall feeling of the students. However, it's been getting bit frustrating, just sitting around, smiling a lot and explaining that my name is Amanda, I'm from the U.S.A., and no, I have not met Barack Obama. There really hasn't been a lot of use of my brain. However, in the past few days, I've worked with some great teachers who have immediately welcomed me into their classes and allowed me to team teach and lead the class all on my own, right off the bat. One of the teachers in particular wants to meet with me once a week and discuss how I can take over a grade 13 class all by myself for a particular amount of time each week.

In summary, it's getting exciting. At first, I thought I'd be best suited to grades 7-11, those grades right in the middle of the Gymnasium, or German high school, as they had enough knowledge of English to hold decent conversations, yet could use more input. The grades 5 and 6 are so young, are new at English, and are so energetic. The 12s and 13s are already working with texts like Emma Lazarus's The New Colossus and Walt Whitman's Pioneers! O Pioneers! Scary.

As it turns out, though, I made myself a schedule with a mix of grades, from 5 all the way through 13. The older classes will be a challenge to keep up with, while the younger ones I've found are just adorable and excited and a breath of fresh air. They are a challenge in themselves in just figuring out ways to keep them engaged and attentive and not bouncing off the walls.

Ironically enough, for someone who didn't have a whole lot of interest in teaching this age group, I've found myself lately thinking, "It wouldn't be such a bad profession..."

Bureaucracy

I took the day off on Wednesday to attempt to register at the university... again. Long story short: foiled... again. Apparently my Sprachpartnerin is only there Mondays through Thursdays from 9 to noon... but not this Wednesday. Come back tomorrow. Well, some of us work, and 9 to noon tend to be particularly popular working hours. Guess I'll try back next week... again.

On another note, supposedly I will receive my PIN-number for my bank card today. It'd be nice to actually be able to use the bank account I so effortlessly opened.

As for my legal residence permit, I finally had a chance to get to the Ausländerbehörde today. I took my number, expecting to wait behind quite a queue. Surprisingly, it wasn't even a ten-minute wait. I entered the office of a loud, but rather kind woman and explained that I am a Fulbright Stipendiatin, and I need my Aufenthaltserlaubnis. She asked me a few questions... and made an appointment for me to return on October 26. At 7:30 am.

So, I guess that'll have to wait a bit, too. At least I have an appointment. And my tourist visa doesn't expire until December 1. Thank goodness for good German-American relations.

Social Life

I fell apart to a friend last week - it was the typical culture-adjustment, just-need-to-collapse-for-a-few-minutes sort of thing. I knew this time around would be harder than last time - that I wouldn't have the cushy automatic living space, automatic help with bureaucracy, and automatic group of friends that is a benefit of studying abroad.

The living space, however, was resolved (and, thank goodness, as I've heard of some Fulbrighters who are still searching), and the bureaucracy goes slowly, but I was fully expecting that and still have time. As for the social life aspect of being alone in a foreign country... well, I guess I wasn't completely braced for that. As I was having a pre-leaving freak out back in Minnesota, a good friend told me that it seemed I'd just become very comfortable in my situation, and I needed to let go of that.

He was completely correct. One of the strangest and hardest stumbling blocks to crawl over has been attempting to build something of a social network here in Düsseldorf. I don't have that friend whom I can call to just go grab coffee, I don't have that group who'll go out on the town.

Once I realized that this is what I am missing from my life, however, I spent an entire afternoon searching out expat groups in Düsseldorf and e-mailing fellow ETAs in the area. The response has been positive. On Saturday, I met with an Irish girl who was a fellow exchange student in Trier. She is currently working in Düsseldorf, and, though she's leaving in a week, she introduced me to a co-worker, an Irish lass my age who lives only four blocks from me. She invited me to dinner at her place, after which we went out on the town together. It's a mutual happiness that we've found each other, as we're both new to the area. On Wednesday, the weather was beautiful, and I randomly e-mailed a Kiwi with whom I was going to meet on Saturday. We ended up grabbing ice cream and walking around the Altstadt. This afternoon, I'm to meet with an Irish guy in the Altstadt, and tomorrow night, a British girl invited me to her place for drinks before going out. Slowly but surely, I think I'm making connections and finding mutual support.

Apartment

My roommates are incredible, and my apartment is beautiful. I live with two sisters from Bolivia, whose father is deutsch, so they are able to legally live here and attend university. They've been here for 4 and 6 years respectively and are great inspirations in working on language skills. When they got here, they knew no German, and now they both speak better than I do.

Oh, and one of them was Miss Bolivia 2001. Just sayin'.

The other roommate is a younger woman from a small town in Germany. All of them are great, happy, outgoing, and kind people. Between Esther's parents, who kindly hosted me for about two weeks when I first arrived, and my roommates, I have more furniture in my room than I had in my last two apartments in the TC. Really, I have no reason to buy any room furnishings... though, I couldn't help visiting IKEA and picking up a €3,99 lamp, some extra hangers, and a brand new feather pillow, just because. (Strangely, IKEA has a very comforting, homey feel to it... and they serve hotdogs. Real, American hotdogs. Good to know.)

I'm sure I will still buy some more furnishings, as ten months in a foreign land can seem long when you're craving more light for your desk/work area or hate your bedspread. I'll happily pay €20 for a cute duvet cover (which will also NOT be silky... man, that stuff makes you sweat!). However, that said, not knowing when your paycheck will arrive really makes you aware of your spending habits. I'm very proud of the fact that I've managed to cling on to a nice little nest egg (which will magically disappear come October rent time). I also have been impressed with my own self-control and my ability to shop, admire, and accurately assess if it's a need or a want, or if I could sleep on it for a few days and see if I really want it. Not that I've ever been overly frivolous with money... I just feel really good knowing that I have a super thrifty side, too.

Look, Ma - I'm (sort of) all grown up! (Kind of.)

The Pied Pedophile

Also, for those of you Hamliners (or Hamline supporters) who have always wondered about our creepy Piper mascot, here is the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, as written by a fellow Fulbright ETA in Hannover.

True story.

LOCK UP YOUR CHILDREN! IT'S HIM!

Adventures in Babysitting Bureaucracy

Due to the delightful language of my contract as an English Teaching Assistant in Germany, I am allowed (almost required) to take one full day a week away from the school for my own time. I chose Fridays. (Who wouldn't?)

Thus, today, I had the privilege of sleeping in. Because I am now old and my body is used to getting up at ridiculous o'clock every morning, I slept in until the beautiful hour of 8:30 am.

This means that I can Skype with friends at 1:30 am Minnesota time, while they are still going strong. One Pro for the list, I guess.

All was well, though, as I still have a list of bureaucratic crap to get through. I had intended to go to the Ausländeramt of the city of Düsseldorf (for you Anglophiles, that is the Alien Registration Office) to wait in line and attempt to convince officials that I would be a gracious and appreciative recipient of a visa that would allow me to legally live in Germany until next July.

Following such an adventure, I planned to find the Akademisches Ausländsamt on the university and attempt to persuade them to let me register as a student without making me pay tuition. I'm told that Fulbrighters often are exempted from tuition fees, though we still pay the 200€ student fee... which I will happily pay, as it allows me free public transportation throughout the entire state of Nordrhein-Westfalen until the end of next March.

Of course, being Germany, both offices closed at 1:00 pm and 12:00 noon today, respectively. Furthermore, the university office closes at noon every day. As a productive member of society, this does not work well with my schedule.

So, I decided that the visa could wait; after all, my American passport gives me tourist status for three months, so another week won't hurt. I hopped on my bike, praying not to get lost, and set off for the uni. Turns out, it's a mere 8-minute bicycle ride from my apartment. Beautiful, really. I found the correct building without a problem and headed in, rehearsing my words in my head.

"Hi, my name is Amanda. I'm a Fulbright grantee in Düsseldorf until next July, and I would like to register as a student at the university."

But, alas. Germany has foiled me again. I explained my request to staff members, only to be told that my particular person only has office hours from 9 am - 12 pm Monday through Thursday. And, she'll be out until next Wednesday. Come back then.

Germany: 1.
Amanda: 0.

Umziehung und Arbeit

An update for yoooou, though I'm exhausted, so it's going to be short and not very interesting. (Though I'm certainly not implying that my daily activities are ever interesting.)

Today was my second day at the school. For the first two weeks, I'm taking part in my Hospitationsphase, which means that I am visiting and observing various classes to see which classes and students I enjoy and would like to be a part of for the entire semester or year. (But I'm pretty sure I've already explained this.)

So far, everything is going great. (Minus the fact that I took the wrong train this morning and was twenty minutes late to school. Hey, who makes a route that goes in a CIRCLE? This makes the end destinations the same. Awfully hard in that case to figure out which direction you should take the train, in my opinion.) The students are all surprisingly well-behaved (possibly because I'm a new person?), and my colleagues are all super friendly. I even attended a Lehrerkonferenz today, in which the entire faculty had a meeting about important things.

Speaking of important, I've only been in Düsseldorf for about five days, and I already have seven keys. This includes a key that opens pretty much all doors in the school, and one for the teachers' room. As Andrew said, that's something I should put on a résumé. I feel exceedingly privileged. And kind of old.

Yesterday, I moved into my apartment. I'm not completely in yet, as one of my roommates is on vacation in Spain, and it is her former room that I will be moving into. Thus, I'm currently based in the living room/her future room until she returns on Friday.

My life overall, though, is awesome. I finally have a home base, I'm making and eating real food again (not just bread, noodles, and cheese), and I like my school. Time is already going fast, which is both a blessing and a bit scary.

Life is good.

Dining with Dutcher

Dear Readers,

I am pleased to announce to you my authorship in a second blog.

My dear friend, Haeyoon, who has personally experienced the frustrations of attempting to cook in the processed-cheese-less, condensed-soup-less, any-sort-of-spice-less country of Germany, has revamped her cooking blog for the year. Topic: how to keep Amanda from starving by providing delicious, cheap recipes modified for the Deutschland.

My part in this blog, in addition to having the pleasure of receiving and testing the recipes (and getting my name in the title... hells yes), is to issue Haeyoon a weekly recipe challenge, so that she does not bore of her task.

I now present to you:

Dining with Dutcher.

Postadresse!

Hey all. My mailing address will be as follows. Letters and packages herzlich wilkommen; they make my heart fuzzy!

For every letter I receive, a reply is guaranteed!

Amanda Dutcher
Erasmusstraße 15
40223 Düsseldorf
Germany

P.S. For future reference, my address is also listed in the sidebar. -->

First day of school!

So, school is back in session, and I'm about to experience it from the other side.

I had my first day at my school today, and it was a great experience! Really, it was a very long day, as I got up early in the morning and became an official citizen of Düsseldorf, complete with my own German bank account. In Germany, if you rent or live somewhere, you are required to register with the city as an Einwohner, or citizen. Then, every time you move or obtain another living space, you are required to reregister. When I leave, I will have to ausmelden, or essentially "log out" from the city. Unregister, if you will.

The registration process was really rather painless, though, I must say. The governmental offices were easy to find, being very near the train station (which I did not realize until I was already there), the wait was short, and the person who registered me was very friendly. I then got a little welcome box full of Düsseldorf pamphlets and info... and tea. Hmm. I'll take it!

I then went to a nearby Sparkasse, where I effectively set up my own student checking account. In Germany, checking accounts have monthly fees - unless one is a student. Luckily, the man who helped me was very kind and accepted my International Student ID card and allowed me to open a kostenloses Girokonto (free checking account). As he took me through all the paperwork, we also had an interesting conversation on the U.S. government and its role in Europe, particularly Eastern Europe and Turkey. Unfortunately, the conversation was rather one-sided, as Herr Vatim expressed his opinions, and I was not well-informed on the topic. Current foreign politics along with the population of the U.S. are two things that are now on my list to research and about which to inform myself.

I then picked up a mozzarella and tomato on ciabatta (I love the capri sandwiches here... I've been living nearly exclusively on them; hey, at least I'm getting some fruit/veggies!) and made my way to my school, which will be about a 40-minute commute for me, once I am in my new place. A bit far, yes, but I am very happy at the moment with my location in the city. Furthermore, I find public transportation interesting, and as long as I don't have to drive, I don't mind taking the train and bus to work and back each day. I am also planning on becoming a university student here in Düsseldorf, which will provide me with a 200€ Semesterticket that is good on all public transportation in the entire state of North Rhine-Westphalia until the end of next March. Rock on. Being a student in Europe has so many perks!

My school.

I arrived at the school without problem, having been met at the bus stop by Hedi, the tutor and support for all language assistants in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. We took care of some official paperwork, which will allow me to get paid as soon as possible (always good). She then introduced me to a number of teachers and showed me around the school. I was then passed on to two of the English teachers with whom I will be working, and we created a schedule for my Hospitationsphase, which will commence next week. For two weeks, I will observe classes of all levels from grades 5 to 13 and with various teachers, after which I will decide upon a fixed schedule for a certain period of time.

The front foyer, facing outward, of Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium.

All of this took place in the teacher's lounge, which is an interesting and wonderful place in Germany. I will tell you more about this in a future post.

The main stairwell in my school, which is organized into a square with an interior yard.

All in all, my first formal day on the job was a great experience, and I am very excited to get into the swing of things at my school.

Me, happy.

Orientation breakdown

Orientation

I have arrived back from Haus Altenberg, a former cloister and current youth center outside of Köln, Germany with a head full of information, a bag full of paperwork, lungs full of crud, and a bunch of new friends.

The entrance to the Hof, or yard, inside Haus Altenberg

I must admit that I hadn't very high expectations about the orientation before I left. I was not super excited to hang out with a huge group of Americans and attend sessions beginning with breakfast at 8 am. The last scheduled activities for each day began after dinner, around 7:30 each night.

And what a huge group of Americans it turned out to be. I arrived at the Kölner Hauptbahnhof around 3:00 pm, a half hour before we were supposed to meet to board buses to Haus Altenberg. As I walked toward the meeting point, all I could hear surrounding me was English. It was almost sickening to hear so many loud Americans with their piles of luggage. I stepped outside only to encounter another massive group of Americans. I'm talking groups of 60 or more. I stood by the train station entrance, observing, and happened upon a kindred spirit, a fellow English assistant from Britain. We shared our doubts and skepticism about the upcoming week before getting swept in the crowd to the buses.

As it turned out, we needed three huge coach buses, one a double-decker, to transport the 160 American Fulbrighters + about 40 Brits, Aussies, and New Zealanders to Haus Altenberg, a little gem of a 13th-century church hidden in green hills. Admittedly, it didn't take long to change my attitude about the orientation. Set in a beautiful place, it didn't seem so overwhelming.

The 13th-century cathedral from the outside of the cloister.

At our greeting session, we were told that we'd be locked in to the cloister at night (more to keep others out) and that alcohol was not allowed anywhere on the premises... except, they had made an exception for us, and there would be beer and wine for sale every night. How German. Plus, what a great way to motivate young Americans to get through the day.

Where we socialized (networked? ...and drank) each night.

Overall, it was a great experience. We truly did get up for breakfast each morning at 8 am and spent the entire day attempting to absorb oodles of official information as well as tips for teaching. Fulbrighters, as a rule, have little to no experience teaching, so it was much like a crash course in Lehramt.

On the first full day, we were divided into groups, with whom we created a simulated lesson. On the second day, we had to teach our lesson to "classes" of our peers. The lesson had to be an actual hour long and incorporate good teaching techniques. It was a challenge and scary at first, but it was honestly a blast to execute. I feel much better and more confident going into my school and teaching, and I'm excited (though still a bit scared) to create my own lessons and have people actually listening to me and engaging. (Hopefully these high schoolers will engage... or at least some of them.)

New friends who were members of my group and "class".

The one unfortunate part is that I taught a simulated lesson for Grundschüler, or elementary students. I am personally teaching at a middle/high school. Ironically, our group was the only one in our "class" to have nearly exclusively rave reviews, and many of my peers commented on how well-suited I would be teaching young students. I guess we'll see if I can up it a few levels. :/

The ride back to Köln was unfortunately a dreary, rainy busy ride starting at 7:30 am. I nearly lost my breakfast, but a short train ride back to Düsseldorf and a few hours of sleep have put me back right, I believe.

The church at Haus Altenberg.

Apartment

As for the apartment, I chose the one with three other girls. I signed the lease on Monday before taking off for Haus Altenberg, and they were kind enough to allow me to pay half the security deposit now and half when I receive my first pay. "We all have money issues sometimes," were the words of my new roommate. Amen to that, sister.

No one will be there this weekend, so I will be hopefully moving in next week. Meanwhile, I can save a little money by staying with Esther's family, so it all works out very well.

Work

I start officially at the school tomorrow. It'll be another long day, as I take off for the middle of the city early in the morning to attempt to register myself as a citizen of the city as well as open a German bank account before taking care of some paperwork at the school beginning at noon.

I hope all goes well. Until next time, dear Readers, thanks for keeping in touch.

A quick update, so as not to leave you all hanging...

Today, I pounded the pavement and the tracks and streets of Düsseldorf, searching for a suitable apartment into which I could move. The short version of the story (as I am tired, have a cold, and need to leave for Cologne for nearly four intensive days of orientation training tomorrow) is as follows:

1) 12:00 noon: walked to first showing, very near where I am currently a guest. Cool young guy, very small place. Only a few chairs for furniture. Very cheap, but very far from my work.

2) 2:00 pm: too a bus and a train to second showing, met landlord; great guy. Beautiful place in an old building with some gorgeous renovations happening. Two male roommates, one of whom I met. He is awesome and is a English and Spanish teacher of sorts. Very friendly. VERY expensive rent. In the Japanese quarter of Düsseldorf; cool area.

3) 3:30 pm: took a train way the arse up into the middle of nowhere in northern Düsseldorf. (Ironically, very near my school's suburb.) Met creepy old dude who wanted to rent me a room in a house that smelled like onions. Entire part of the city was beautiful, but very suburban and old-peopley. Guy was creepy. House smelled like onions. I'll pass, thanks.

4) 6:00 pm: come back to Esther's in the middle of rush hour, decide to check e-mail. Received an e-mail from a girl in a 4-person, all-girl apartment that had very much interested me. Encouraged me to come check it out. Called her sister, got an answer, set up a viewing for 7:30.

5) 6:30 pm: rush back out the door to catch a bus and a train to the next place.

6) 7:30 pm: AWESOME apartment. AMAZING roommates. Two sisters from Bolivia, a girl from Germany. Wonderful people. Talkative, my age, fun. Great rent. A deposit that's going to destroy me and leave me with a total bank account sum of $41 to live on until I receive my first paycheck in 6-8 weeks.

***SHAMELESS PLUG***
If anyone out there wants to send me an early birthday (October 2) or Christmas (December 25) gift of money or food or money and food, I would certainly be incredibly grateful and bring you back something awesome.
***END SHAMELESS PLUG***
***IS EMBARRASSED BY SHAMELESS PLUG BUT POOR ENOUGH TO LEAVE IT POSTED***
(I have PayPal, and, as of tomorrow, I will have a mailing address.)

7) 8:10 pm: leave awesome apartment with incredible tenants and head home. Exit train to see that I'd have to wait 40 minutes for a bus. Decide to walk rest of way back to Esther's. Get somewhat lost, but nice Germans help me when I ask for directions.

8) 8:30 pm: Gaga rings forth from my telephone. Awesome Bolivian sister calls me to inform me that they would like me to move in. Arrange lease signing for tomorrow, before I leave for Köln for orientation.

9) Since then: life is good.

10) Apparent to me: Felix's habit of making everything into lists has rubbed off on me.

I likely won't be updating until Thursday again, when I am back in Düsseldorf... getting ready to move into my AWESOME apartment! Until then, dear Readers, I love you all, comments are highly encouraged and rewarded, and have a good night.

Adventures in Communication

How do you like the new design? I figured, new year abroad, new look. Feedback welcome.

Today, I made it to my destination city: Düsseldorf. Esther's parents are gracious enough to let me crash here (and use their Internet until all odd hours of the night) until I find a place. Wonderful as it is (and, trust me, I do not take their hospitality for granted), it will be a great stress off of my mind and a huge sense of relief when I can finally set my bags down in one spot and call a place home. Even if I only call it home for a month, it will be relaxing to stop feeling like an eternal guest.

The search for a telephone was interesting. Felix was kind enough to shuttle me back and forth three separate times to the mall to acquire a mobile connection to the world. Here's the summed-up version:

1. Attempted to use phone from last trip to Germany. Because not reloaded in two years, SIM card unreadable.
   
2. Trip #1 to the mall: Prepaid SIM card I'd chosen to buy does not function in old phone, as phone is SIM locked. Go to Vodafone, where they tell me I'd have to go back to the shop at which it was purchased in Trier to get an unlock code. (I call bullshit, but I digress.)
3. Go back to Felix's and pick up my American phone and Felix's mother's old phone to try. Obtain an unlock code from AT&T, which, together with an Internet tutorial, successfully lead me to unlock my phone.
4. Trip #2 to the mall: Mobile provider decides to tell me now that I need a passport to purchase a damn SIM card.
5. Go back to Felix's and get passport.
6. Trip #3 to the mall: Finally successfully obtain SIM card for 15€, and it functions in my phone.
7. Go to Media Markt to load money on my phone and find same SIM card for 5€, with no need for a passport.

FAIL.

First days in Frankfurt

It's nice to be back in Germany, though there's an awful lot to take care of.

I arrived in Frankfurt yesterday morning at the crack of dawn. The flight went reasonably well, especially considering that my seat got changed and I was placed next to a baby. Luckily, little Joshua was superbly well-behaved; he didn't even cry the entire flight! I didn't get much sleep, as cramped coach conditions and a happy burbling baby weren't conducive to crashing, but, all in all, I have nothing to complain about.

As a sidenote, mad kudos to Dallas/Fort Worth airport. They are clean, easy to navigate, well-decorated, and polite. Thanks for not being Chicago O'Hare.

Felix picked me up at the airport, and we immediately stopped to pick up beer. How German. What I most enjoyed, though, was the breakfast of Brötchen and fresh Leberwurst and Bierschinken. And, yes, Leberwurst = liver wurst. Sooo good. I had forgotten how amazing German bread and sausage is. So many bologna-like substances.

After crashing out for about four hours, I apartment hunted online before heading to a lounge to have a drink with a group of Felix's friends. Overall a good day, though I did have a mini-breakdown in the evening. Like I said, it's great to be back, but it's also strange... I've uprooted my life many times in the past three years, but I always forget that each move is accompanied by emotional turmoil and reacculturation.

On the plus side, life is moving along nicely over here. I head to Düsseldorf tomorrow, where a friend's parents have kindly allowed me to stay with them until I find a more permanent residence. I have two apartment viewings scheduled for Sunday, after which I take off for teaching orientation in Altenberg Monday through Thursday. Friday will be my first day at my school.

This is your German correspondent, signing off for now. Until next time.