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.)