Here it comes.
During the week of Thanksgiving (that's American Thanksgiving, which takes place on the fourth Thursday of the month of November, for those of you internationals who weren't sure), I took part in a seminar for area teaching assistants in Düsseldorf. All assistants from the Bezirksregierungen (governmental regions) Düsseldorf and Münster were required to attend. Even though I live a mere 7-minute bus ride from the youth hostel at which we were housed for two nights, I decided to pack up my backpack and camp out there, as well, as I hoped it would provide a good opportunity to meet and network with area colleagues.
And, boy, was I right.
On the first day, we arrived, ate lunch together, then headed to the Landestag, the government building for the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. There, we were greeted with coffee and about seven different varieties of cake, followed by a presentation by the guy who pays us, a short tour of the building, and a Q&A with the Schulministerin (Minister of Education) of Nordrhein-Westfalen. Really a cool opportunity when I stop to think about it; it's amazing how many things I take for granted here.
My roommates during the seminar,
two Russians and a Brit.
The second day was spent driving around the area, taking a whirlwind of tours, and learning about the industrial history and the continuing consequences thereof of my region, the Ruhrgebiet. We went through a regional museum housed in a former coal washing plant in Essen, visited an outer space exhibit complete with the "world's largest sculpture of the moon" in a former natural gas storage tank (that looks like an 11-story oil drum), and took a night tour of a former blast oven/iron smelting plant.
A few notes on the blast oven plant, since I think it is super interesting and deserves a bit more detail: as mentioned, this tour took place in the dark. We're talking pitch-black dark. Clambering up and down seven stories' worth of slippery metal stairs on the outside of giant old coal ovens in the cold drizzle. Did I mention pitch-black? Oh, except for the bright colored lights that blinded me as I attempted to see the next step in front of me on my way down said slippery metal stairs. That is forgiveable, though, as the light exhibition was designed by the same guy who used to design lighting for Pink Floyd concerts.
Not even the dark side of the moon tonight.
Such a tour would've never flown in the U.S. Not without signing your life away for insurance purposes, anyway.
All in all, though many people whined about the cold and the dark, I thought it was awesome.
After our activities each night, we were given free time to socialize, eat dinner, wander around the city, et cetera. This proved to be a great time to get to know people better. We spent the first night wandering around the Christmas markets and dining in a fantastic Lebanese restaurant. The night capped with a large group of assistants meeting in an Irish pub for a drink. The second night, we were exhausted after all the running around, but I still managed to eat pizza for dinner with my Russian roommates, then had a later-night drink at the hostel with one of them.
Enjoying Glühwein at the Christmas markets
with four Spaniards, an American, a Brit, and a Russian.
After a discussion about our experience thus far and a city tour (oh yay, of my own city) the next day, the seminar ended, but the three days really did help give me a better perspective on my time here. I met a lot of great people who live in the area and who are going through similar emotions and experiences as I am. I have determined since then to really step up my efforts in reaching out, being friendly, and making opportunities for myself, not just waiting for them to come to me.
I am attempting to get more involved in my school, by volunteering to take on parts of classes and even entire lessons to teach. This week, I am presenting a short bit on Thanksgiving (as my eighth graders have been studying Pilgrim/Native American history, and I wasn't at school during Thanksgiving week). Next week, I'll be doing a whole section on 9/11 conspiracies for my grade 13ers.
In my social life, I am also trying to push myself a bit past comfort. On Thursday, I went to Oberhausen to visit a friend/colleague, Alicia, and we had a great afternoon wandering the giant American-style mall and watching "The Big Bang Theory". (Didn't accomplish any Christmas shopping, but I've never been good at planning ahead in that area.) On Friday, my friend/colleague Katherine came to visit from Dortmund, and we spent the afternoon eating pasta, knitting, and watching Home Alone 2. (Man, I love holiday movies.) Saturday evening, I accompanied my friend Marine to an international dinner one of her friends was hosting in Aachen. I am so glad I went - I was able to enjoy raclette (see last paragraph under link) with a group consisting of four Germans, a Frenchie, a Portuguese, a Brit and a South African, and an Algerian. English, German, and French were spoken freely around the table, and not only did I understand all the conversations, I was even able to help translate some of them!
I think life here is getting better, or at least, I can say that I'm starting to develop a comfortable network and routine. Although it's a shame, in a way, that I'll be uprooting and relocating again in a few short months, I am trying to constantly remind myself that this really is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the things that I take for granted (like people from so many different countries being all in one place at one time) are really quite unique and cool.
