I’ve been remiss about updating this, even though last week I said there would be another entry coming soon (soon is a relative term, though, right?)... which makes me think of a great scene from The Office.
I’m going to try my very best to post regularly, especially since my track record for blogs while abroad isn’t so great.
I’ll make the recap of my first week in my new apartment short and sweet. Honestly, I haven’t done much since I don’t start work until Monday, and therefore I've had loads of free time to laze around. Accomplishments of the past week: I registered my address, opened a bank account, signed up for a German language course, and got the forms to apply for my visa. I also took advantage of a flyer I found for the gym next door and signed up for a free week of gym usage, starting today! The people and facility seem really nice, although the fact that they have a fitness class called "Pimp My Ass" is a bit concerning...
All of the above I did on my own, with varied levels of confidence and success - ranging from the woman at the bank asking me if I was going to bring someone with me to translate b/c she was very unimpressed by my German, to the woman at the gym not realizing I was from the US until I told her…. I haven’t done myself any favors since I haven’t picked up a German book for about two years, but being dropped into Germany, alone, is the perfect (and nerve wracking) way to jump back into things.
On Monday I met one of the teachers that I’ve been communicating with from the school. We met in Rheinfelden and she showed me around the school grounds, as well as introduced me to the secretaries and the principal. Everyone seems incredibly friendly - I’ve been invited to a teacher’s meeting this Saturday, so I’m hoping I’ll figure out my schedule and meet the rest of the staff then. The school has about 600 students total from grades 5-12, but I don’t know what age level I’ll be working with yet.
I’ve also been obsessively taking pictures of the sunset every night, but unfortunately I can’t post many of the photos yet b/c of all the things I love about my new laptop, I don’t love that it doesn’t come with a reader for my memory card… so for now, iPhone pics are what you get!
I’m going to try my very best to post regularly, especially since my track record for blogs while abroad isn’t so great.
I’ll make the recap of my first week in my new apartment short and sweet. Honestly, I haven’t done much since I don’t start work until Monday, and therefore I've had loads of free time to laze around. Accomplishments of the past week: I registered my address, opened a bank account, signed up for a German language course, and got the forms to apply for my visa. I also took advantage of a flyer I found for the gym next door and signed up for a free week of gym usage, starting today! The people and facility seem really nice, although the fact that they have a fitness class called "Pimp My Ass" is a bit concerning...
All of the above I did on my own, with varied levels of confidence and success - ranging from the woman at the bank asking me if I was going to bring someone with me to translate b/c she was very unimpressed by my German, to the woman at the gym not realizing I was from the US until I told her…. I haven’t done myself any favors since I haven’t picked up a German book for about two years, but being dropped into Germany, alone, is the perfect (and nerve wracking) way to jump back into things.
On Monday I met one of the teachers that I’ve been communicating with from the school. We met in Rheinfelden and she showed me around the school grounds, as well as introduced me to the secretaries and the principal. Everyone seems incredibly friendly - I’ve been invited to a teacher’s meeting this Saturday, so I’m hoping I’ll figure out my schedule and meet the rest of the staff then. The school has about 600 students total from grades 5-12, but I don’t know what age level I’ll be working with yet.
I’ve also been obsessively taking pictures of the sunset every night, but unfortunately I can’t post many of the photos yet b/c of all the things I love about my new laptop, I don’t love that it doesn’t come with a reader for my memory card… so for now, iPhone pics are what you get!