Köln was, in short, awesome. I was not expecting to have as much fun as I did, or that hearing about all the other teaching assistants’ similar experiences would be so reassuring. As I’ve already had quite a bit of teaching experience, the lesson part of the week was interesting and good practice, but didn’t really put me in a new situation. What was really helpful, though, was hearing my work group’s teacher speak about what she does in the classroom that she thinks is the most important and the implications of the differences she’s noticed between German and American schools. We also learned more about the bureaucracy we’ll be dealing with, so that was good too.
What surprised me the most was how much I enjoyed the social element of the week, which is not typical for me. We were separated by the areas we’ll be working in for our working groups to help us meet people we could potentially see frequently/plan lessons with/travel with, and I think that was really a good idea. There are only three FSAs (Fremdsprachenassistenten) in Saxony-Anhalt, but there are also many people in Leipzig, which is in Saxony, but isn’t so far away. Overall, the people seem nice and are also dedicated to our work here, and I’m so excited to continue building the relationships I started this week. For the first time, maybe ever, I felt like I was in a group of people who are like me, and being that I’m alone in Germany it was comforting.
Two people there were particularly easy for me to relate to: one of my roommates, a girl from Texas who will be working in Leipzig, and one of the others from the Saxony-Anhalt contingent, a guy from the D.C. area, who is actually the closest FSA to me location wise. I’m really looking forward to seeing them again soon, as well as the other girl who’s working in Saxony-Anhalt (I didn’t get to talk to her as much, but I think we could be good friends.).
In case you’re wondering, the train trip was uneventful...I went alone, but returned with good company. It was a good thing that everything went smoothly since I was locked out of my phone for the return trip since my attempt to change my pin number malfunctioned, and I didn’t have the original with me to turn it back on...oops!The orientation took place at the beautiful Haus Altenberg...here’s a picture.
Deine,
N*
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