Lost in translation, BethAnny visits, and St. Paddy's

March 10-17th

Monday I worked on my bike again. I bought a new tire and changed it all by myself. I was quite proud, seeing as I had never done this before either. When you're on your own, you have to learn how to do things yourself and can't be dependent on others, plus I didn't want to have to pay someone to fix it!

Tuesday evening there was a meeting with the parents of my 11th graders about the Prague trip and so I was invited to come along by the teacher I'm going with. This ended up lasting all night, as there were other topics on the agenda. I found out the week prior, that some of my Czech friends will be able to meet me while I am in Prague. One of them happens to be working there now and another told me that one of the days we're there is a holiday and she will be able to see me then! I'm really excited to see them again because it has been two years since I last saw them and that was when I went to visit them in their university city. It's going to be an amazing time, I know that already!

Wednesday, Herr Meyer was sick and I was the sub for his two classes that I normally have on this day. My sixth graders once again asked me some of the same questions that they have asked me a thousand times. Every time it's still funny. How old are you? Are you a real teacher? etc. Then they asked me “where's Herr Meyer?” I told them that Herr Meyer was sick. They didn't understand this and said “what?” So I repeated “Herr Meyer is sick.” They still didn't understand until I said Herr Meyer ist krank (German translation) Then the kids said “It's called: Herr Meyer is ill!” I had to laugh hysterically about this. They haven't learned the word sick yet, so to them he is ill (British influence). I got a new student to tutor today too and now he makes number 4.

Not much happened Thursday besides class, school, and tutoring as usual. I found out that Beth Ann and Bethany will be able to make it from Munich up to Kiel this weekend. They found a ride through Mitfahrgelegenheit. People who drive from one city to another in Germany sometimes offer to take people with them for a small fee for gas. Yes that's German for you. You can say all that in just one word! Anyway, it's almost always cheaper than than trains and they will be arriving tomorrow night in Hamburg and I'll meet them at the station there and bring them back to Kiel on the train.

Friday, I went to school to have my teacher that I am replacing, while she is on leave for family matters after spring break, look over the lesson unit that I prepared on interviews. Hopefully it will be ok as is, because I did put a lot of though and effort into it.
I left here around 7 to get to Hamburg by 8 p.m. I wasn't sure exactly what time Beth Ann and Bethany would be coming but I figured it would be around this time. Unfortunately it took a little longer because of the weather. It was funny how we found each other...Beth Ann had tried to call my cell phone and for some reason it doesn't always work for people. Of course this was one of the times that it wouldn't work and so they were trying to find me and we just ended up running into each other. This may not sound strange to you, but if you knew how large the station at Hamburg is, then you would understand why it is! Anyway so we had just missed the next train and had to wait for the following one, so we decided to wander around for a little bit and I showed them the main attractions of Hamburg at night. We caught the next train which put us back in Kiel around 12 and then we walked back to my place and arrived about a half an hour later. We didn't get to bed until at least 3 a.m. Because we were sharing stories and had a lot to tell each other. It was great to see them both and it made me remember a lot of fun times we all had at Bethany College. The two of them of course are still there, but studying abroad this year in Europe.

On Saturday, we got up early ate breakfast and then packed a lunch and headed off to the beach because the weather looked as if it would hold out for us. We spent the afternoon there walking around and taking pictures and then we headed back to my place to gather our things and head to Rendsburg for the St. Patrick's Day party that my friends had planned. Beth Ann and Bethany got to meet all of my friends up here who are assistants and they fit right in with us all. It's hard to explain, but I think with all of us, it is easy to get to know us and we all seem to fit well together. I'm really happy that we have such a diverse mix of assistants here and that we all get along so well together and know how to have a good time. The party consisted of a large meal (as usual) when we get together. Rebecca made a Brunswick Stew, which is popular in the south of the U.S., together we made fried zucchini, and she also made homemade mac and cheese,. Black-eyed peas and a peach cobbler for dessert. After dinner, the three of us headed back to Kiel and Martin came along and I put him up here.

We woke up on Sunday, had breakfast and then were off to the beach at Laboe. We had wanted to take the boat there, but unfortunately it only goes in the summer season and that doesn't start until March 31st. So we ended up taking the bus to Laboe and going up in the Marine Ehrenmal. We used the 40 Euro jackpot that we had found in a cell phone card machine the night before to do this and then went for cake and coffee afterwards! It was nice for the three of us to not have to worry too much about spending money this day. We must of just had a little St. Patty's day luck in finding the post of gold. We cooked chili together in the evening and watched a movie.

Monday morning we woke up and headed to the bus station so I could send them off to the airport in Hamburg since they had found a really cheap flight from Hamburg to Munich. I sent them off, headed to the library to return and check out some books and then attempted to climb the Rathaus tower unsuccessfully. Apparently it is only open on Wednesdays and Saturdays and you have to schedule a tour in advance. I was really disappointed about this because the weather was perfect and it would have been a fabulous view, but o well, I guess I will have to call and make an appoitment!

I spent the rest of the day shopping and cleaning because I am recieving another visitor on Wednesday evening. Kathrin is coming for a few days before Natasha gets here. It's been almost a year since I have seen her too. I know we'll have a lot of fun exploring Kiel!

In the evening, a teacher from Dee's school had told her about a play at my school and had asked her to come along. Dee told her teacher, that the name of the school sounded familiar and could be mine, so she called to ask me and sure enough it was. Dee asked me if I would like to tag along too, since it was at my school. This is an interesting way of finding out about something at my own school...finding out from a teacher of a friend who works at another school! Anyway, I agreed to go and we biked to the school together. The play was "Die Welle." It was a great performance by the students and was also really interesting. The play is based on a movie made in the U.S. and the movie is based on a true story. The plot deals with a teacher who is trying to explain to his students about the Holocaust history of Germany and how Hitler came into power and was so good at convincing people to believe and support him. The kids don't understand how Hitler was able to do this and so the teacher ends up doing an experiment on his class (without them knowing) to demonstrate how easy it is to follow a leader. The experiment gets out of his control and finally he is forced to end it. I won't tell you the end of the story because you might want to watch the film or read about it. It has a great and unexpected twist. The movie is called "The Wave" in English for anyone interested.

After the play Dee and I biked to a restaurant near her place where we met up with the three teachers from her school again. We had drinks with them and a nice evening together.