Brinkmann's BBQ

With less than two weeks left in Germany, Alex and I are squeezing in as many Deutschland activities as possible. From now until the day we leave, we have some type of event or obligation planned, and that will make time go by faster than it already is. I've already said goodbye to two of my classes this past week with a cutthroat game of Taboo... Germans are very competitive. Our American Film Group is only meeting one more time, which blows my mind. We showed them 13 Going on 30 last Friday. The ultimate chick flick... it was probably torture for the one and only boy who came, but then... we was sitting among all girls. Maybe he planned it that way, and if so... not a bad gig. For our final film, we'll screen The Sixth Sense. Nightmares for everyone.

About a fortnight ago, Klaus Brinkmann invited us to his house for a farewell BBQ with him and his wife. I've noticed that Alex and I have been hanging out with people three times our age recently, but in Melle, you're either hanging with little kids or old farts. I guess I'll take the latter... besides, Klaus has been like our German grandfather this year. He really took us under his wing at the school and brought us to his hometown to see the Christmas Market with his family. Honestly, it's been solacing to know that we've had such a wonderful friend abroad.

All I've ever known were the classic 4th of July American BBQ's with hot dogs and hamburgers, so I was really looking forward to our double date with the Brinkmann's. They picked us up and brought us to Bad Laer's Historischer Markt, which was only a few minutes away from their house. One thing I will miss about Germany are the constant festivals and markets found in all of the cities. There is always something to celebrate here.

This festival was filled with tourists. Not quite like the shoobies and bennies we get down by the Jersey Shore, but they were notably from other parts of Germany, according to Klaus. The day was filled with dancing, old-time costumes, and ax throwing... Alex and Klaus both hit their targets.... and no, it wasn't me or Mrs. Brinkmann!

Mrs. Brinkmann was able to use her connections to get us an exclusive tour of the Catholic Church, Saint Antonius Remsede, first built in 700. It was my first time to ever be inside a bell tower, and I was lucky enough to be there for one bell to chime at a quarter past the hour. It's way more startling when you're standing next to the bells...

Rain showers were intermittent, but we were able eat dinner outside. My first German BBQ included cooked bratwursts wrapped in bacon and filled with cheese, chicken, steak, homemade potato salad, and vegetables. Alex and I brought a cake with us, but it was left untouched since we were utterly stuffed by the end of the night. Mrs. Brinkmann cut flowers from her beautiful garden for us to bring home, and then Klaus drove us back to Melle.

On the drive back, Klaus made a point to tell us what a unique experience we've granted his students and how much he and his wife have enjoyed spending time with us this year. It shocked me to learn that his English is self-taught, and he never spent any time abroad in an English speaking country. I would venture to say that his English is one of the best out of our colleagues, and his students are certainly lucky to have him as a teacher.

We were also very lucky to have him in our lives this year. The Brinkmanns offered us a room anytime we wanted to come and visit, so we hope to take him up on that offer one day. He promised to come to New York City to run the marathon after his retirement next year. I know he'll actually do it, too... and I'll be waiting at the finish line cheering him on because there is no way I'm running a marathon! I'm glad we haven't seen the last of Klaus. It will be nice to show him our neck of the woods one day.

Günther Makes a Comeback

That party last night was awfully crazy… and we were with the three oldest people we know in Germany. The Meyers invited us downstairs for dinner. There was no way we could get out of it since we live right upstairs and they would know we didn’t have any plans, so we were obligated to go.

Our old German teacher, Günther, was there! This is probably terrible to say, but we weren’t sure what his status was… we hadn’t heard from him or about him since November, so we had only assumed the worst. Good old Günther looked great, though.

Dinner was fish, which is my least favorite thing on earth to eat. It was the saltiest herring and smoked trout, and I somehow scarfed it down. I ate it fast and took big bites to get it over with as quick as possible. When they asked if I wanted more, I had to lie and say I was full. They also fed us three half liters of beer each.

So there I was, drunk and listening to three old German people talking about… I can only guess most of it. Günther and Alex translated most of the time, which was really helpful.

I’m pretty sure they invited us to back next weekend, too… but we were a bit intoxicated and they mumble in German. I guess this is to be continued… man, I love Melle.

The Sweetest Goodbyes and Hellos

Yesterday was the 10^th graders last day of school and will all complete internships for the remaining two weeks. Klaus invited Alex and me to his class to say goodbye to everyone. They prepared cakes for us and a poster with their faces and quotes on it which I fully intend on hanging up in our future home! It was really nice. Of course, we didn’t show up empty-handed. I made my famous Oreo truffles, and it was an instant hit. Sûphan emailed me for the recipe, and I received many compliments on my cooking abilities. Little do they know, it’s the easiest dessert in the world to make! The students asked Alex and I their final questions, and they all thanked us for having such great conversations with them all year. They probably don’t realize it, but I gained just as much from these lessons as they did.

Today, I was with Silke’s 6^th graders instead of 8L1. They all prepared questions for me beforehand, and had their dictionaries out on their desks all period. Each question was simple since they are so young, but I think it was good for them to talk to a native English speaker. They were curious if I knew any German, so I threw a few phrases at them. It’s been a while since I practiced, but they all knocked for my performance, so it couldn’t have been that bad. At the end of the lesson, we said some tongue twisters. I had them say “red leather, yellow leather” and “New York’s unique, unique New York” three times fast. It was a challenge for all of them, but they were having a great time trying to say it. They had me attempt a German tongue twister… and that was ugly. It was “Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid.” I could barely say it once!

Alex and I showed Heavyweights instead of The Breakfast Club at our first American Film Group meeting because my DVD wasn’t working. It almost felt immoral eating treats during this particular movie, but the kids still put a big dent in the snacks we bought them. They loved the German character, Lars, in the movie. I’m not sure what we will show for the next viewing, but we’re going to try and have subtitles.

Mailing Packages

I cannot believe that it’s June already. Alex and I actually mailed packages home today. We’ve accumulated quite a few things in the last 10 months, and after our packing-for-America practice run, we realized that we didn’t have enough luggage space to bring everything home on the plane. Both of us are sending two boxes home each, and mine are filled with clothes and scrapbooking materials. Each are about 10kg… wow, I’m actually using the metric system. Germany is rubbing off on me. Reverse culture shock in 25 days, here I come!

I Don't Know Why You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

Still running off adrenaline from the show, I was wide awake and ready for school that Friday morning. I grabbed the Oreo truffles and awards I made for my theater kids, and rode my bike to school.

Fridays are always fun because I have 8L1. I played Scattegories with them, which was a nice break from their usual lesson with Ingmar. It’s a great class, but they love messing around with me. One category was “Things You Would Find in a Bathroom.” One of my students argued “gravity” and “oxygen” as an answer with me to the point where my head wanted to explode, but at least they were doing it in English. I think they enjoy making my eyes nearly pop right out of my head every week. I’ll admit, they’re jokes are endearing.

When our lessons were over, Alex and I rode our bikes to Edeka to get two cakes, a 300g bag of paprika party mix, and two bottles of Coca-Cola in addition to the truffles I made for our cast party. We were thinking it would be plenty. There would probably be leftovers.

Everyone came to our usual rehearsal room, and dived right into the snacks. The Oreo truffles were a hit, but I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s just about the only thing I can make… a true Megan Brady specialty.

While they were all eating, Alex and I presented each student with an award we made for them all. They were tailored to every individual student, so we explained our reasoning behind the award and person, and then revealed the name. They all seemed to bask in their moment of glory. Once everyone received their certificate, Alex told them our big news…. Now that the American Theater Group has come to an end, we decided to start an American Film Group for the last three Fridays of school where we show one of our movies each week. I could really tell how much they actually liked being around us because they all rejoiced. One girl looked like she was going to faint. Our movie for next Friday will be The Breakfast Club, and we’re going to bring them in snacks, too.

Then, we showed the kids their final performance because our student brought us the DVD of the show. It was a great way to wrap up our group.

Our younger girls gave Alex and me a “danke” card and chocolate, thanking us for everything that year. This whole group is the best thing I have ever been a part of. It is really going to make going back to America very difficult for me.

As soon as we got home from school, Alex and I had several friend requests waiting on our Facebook accounts. We agreed to accept them because they made a difference in our lives, too, and they are people we want to stay in touch with.

That night, Pauline sent me a message:

“megan... in three weeks you will leave us. all the fridays would be so borring without you booth. we only have three weeks together before you leave i think everyone from the theater group is sad about that!! it was such a good time with you and i hope we will keep in touch :)”

The Grand Finale

School seemed to last forever. Thursdays are my long days. It was the last night of the show, so I was telling all of my classes to make an appearance if they could. Word got out that the first night went well, so we had high hopes for another big crowd. I was a little nervous that we hadn’t rehearsed in a week, but they had run through the show so many times, I was confident that they would do just fine.

When Alex and I let everyone into the theater room, we met the father of one of our students. He asked if he could record the show and offered to give us a copy. All we had to show for their hard work was a video from rehearsal taken on Alex’s Droid, so the answer was an obvious hell yes. While everyone was getting ready for their last performance, the younger girl who missed the show last week asked to speak with us. Her apology was combined with instant tears, and it was enough to make me melt. The poor girl was upset, and because she’s younger, her English isn’t as advanced. I’m not the most touchy-feely person, but I went in for a hug… actually, two. She’s the first German I have hugged. I told her that we weren’t upset, and since she’s here tonight, she will do an amazing job. I wanted her to walk away from the American Theater Group with a positive memory. The bottom line is that she was able to work on her English all year, and I have seen a noticeable difference. How could I be mad at her? Her smile told me all was well, and she gave us flowers and chocolate. Her apology was obviously accepted.

Alex and I started the show with our spiel, and scene one commenced. They all did another fantastic job, a show they could all be proud of. At the very end, our students brought us to center stage while our Red Chief and Cowgirl presented us with flowers and chocolate. Our oldest student told the audience what a great time they all had working with us and thanked us for the time we put into the American Theater Group. My heart just sank, and I felt truly touched. Then, two teachers presented Alex and me with flowers and said a few kind words thanking us for what we have done with the school this year. The two of us were honored, and thanked everyone.

On the verge of tears, I spoke with most of my actors. They were all very sweet and it made me happy that they had an emotional reaction to the show being over, too. The younger girls all said they would miss me, and I nearly lost my wits at that moment. One of the parents actually told us that the American Theater Group has helped to break his daughter out of her shell and make new friends. I had no idea what an impact it had on her, but I am honored to know what I difference I made in her life. I made sure that they would all be at the cast party, though, so it wasn’t time to say goodbye yet.

Our show made 91 euros. The American Theater Group really cleaned up!  

Münster Day

All of my female students complain that there is nowhere to shop in Melle for trendy clothes... well, they're right! Whenever I ask them where I should go to get my European fashion on, the general consensus is either Osnabrück or Münster. We've been to Osnabrück too many times to count, so Alex and I rode the train for an hour into Münster to explore this foreign city.

My girls didn't steer me wrong, the streets were lined with great shops where I could buy some new clothes and finally blend in here. About time, right? Alex even bought some mustard yellow jeans. We we're really turning into our German doppelgängers.

Apart from shopping, we walked around the very youthful city and sat in the park among every other college student enjoying the beautiful day. Bicycles are the way to get around the city, though. Everyone and their mother gets around by bike. It is allegedly the best way to see the city.

Alex and I also walked through the botanical gardens at the University of Münster/Palace... yes, yet another palace turned into a university. I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but it was a hot day in Germany. So hot that we actually bought ice cream at the end of our visit. I'm not a big cheese fan, so we opted for another dairy product instead.

Now, my next hurdle is to figure out how to pack all these new clothes....