Noch eine Woche schon vorbei!

So, another week of my year abroad is already over! I’ve been here for just over three weeks now. Lots of other people who are also on their year abroad have been telling me that it feels like they’ve been here for longer, but at the same time, that it’s all going very fast, and I tend to agree! I’m already feeling as though the year is going to be over before I know it!

Last week was my first full week in school…well, I say a full week! Wednesday was the German national holiday (Tag der Deutschen Einheit) so there was no school, and I have every Friday off any way, so I was only actually there for three days! Like I said in my last post, all of the staff are really friendly, and I’m getting on very well with all of them :) The pupils also seem very happy to have me around. There’s been more than one occasion this week when an excited stranger has shouted ‘Hallo Rebecca’ across the street! It’s nice to know that they are actually enjoying having me in their lessons. I didn’t have a fixed timetable last week, so I spent the week going into lots of different classes introducing myself and giving the pupils an opportunity to ask questions. Everyone loves hearing that I’m from ‘that village with a long name!’ I am slightly bored of having to write it on the blackboard every lesson, though!! The students have been asking some interesting questions (one of them being ‘What is the name of your Mum?!) but the most common one so far is ‘Can you speak any German?’ Naturally, I tell them that I am still learning and, despite most of the classes begging me to speak German to them, I’ve told them that I can only speak English with them in the English classes! However, my highlight of this week was when two of the teachers interrupted me when I told the classes that I was still learning German, and told the classes that I was already fluent! Although I don’t agree, it’s definitely a confidence boost and really nice to hear!

 On Tuesday, I also went to the school’s cross-country competition. The competition took place in the Stadtpark, which is about a half hour walk from the school. It was no mean feat trying to encourage the 10 year olds to talk less and walk more, not to mention trying to negotiate the traffic at the same time! I was very surprised to see how enthusiastic all the pupils were to take part in the cross-country competition. I know that when I was in school, everyone hated cross-country. I suppose it didn’t help that we had to run through boggy fields for 7 consecutive weeks in the middle of the winter! The winner of each year group got a sunflower, and some of the pupils even went round for a voluntary second lap! It’s nice to see the little differences between schools here and schools in Wales!

At the end of the week, I was given a fixed timetable from now until Christmas. It’s likely to change after Christmas ‘cause all of the English teachers want a chance to have me in their class. My timetable isn’t bad at all. Thankfully, I only have two 7.30am starts, and I have Fridays off, so I definitely can’t complain! I’m hoping to be able to attend a course at Jena university on one of my afternoons off- not least because I need a decent library so I can start my dissertation!

Last Thursday, I went out with my mentor and her two daughters. We went to a little café first for ‘Kaffe und Kuchen’- very German!- and then she took me on a little tour of Plauen. I was surprised to see how big it actually is and that there was so much that I hadn’t already seen. She took me to a place called ‘Bärenstein’ where there is a tower with a lovely view of the whole of Plauen. Despite the weather being horrible, the view was really nice and I had a lovely afternoon! We were supposed to meet up again on Sunday, but unfortunately, the weather was too bad to do anything, so we’re going to rearrange it for another time!

The view of Plauen from the Bärensteinturm

I went to Zwickau on Saturday to meet Sarah, the Australian girl who I shared a room with at Altenberg. We had a really nice day there :) First, we went to see the Herbstfest, but it wasn’t terribly exciting, so we decided to explore the town instead! One of the main reasons we were meeting was to try and find an amateur theatre group somewhere close by. It turns out there aren’t any, so I think I’m going to try and set up a theatre group in the school instead! Whilst we were there, we also visited the house where Schumann was born and got the chance to listen to a string/brass group rehearsing for an upcoming performance. All in all it was a lovely day, and really nice to see somewhere apart from Plauen!

Me at the Herbstfest

Well, today was a very exciting day, as my box FINALLY arrived! I was actually really lucky to get it today. Jon had text me when I was in school to tell me that he had been on the online tracker, and that the parcel was in the van ready for delivery. So in my hour break between lessons, I came home, hoping it would arrive. By the time I had to leave to go back to school, it still wasn’t there. However, as I was walking down the path, I heard the sound of a van, so I ran back, and it was in fact my parcel :) I was very lucky! I then had to run to school to avoid being late, only to be told that they were taking a photo of me for the school website… I wish someone had told me beforehand!! One of the German teachers has also brought me a desk today, and on Friday, I have a wardrobe and a sofa arriving! My room is slowly starting to fill up, and is feeling much more homely now that I have some pictures and stuff from home in it!

My new desk 

I think that is all that I have to tell you for now! I am still super excited for half term so I can see Jon and explore Berlin. I shall keep you all updated! :)

Bis Bald!