It’s the end of
the first week back to school after fall break, and our schedule is
still MIA. Alex and I are hounding teachers to give us hours, and
some are more helpful than others. We’ve met our hour requirements
for the week, at least. On Tuesday, we both went to Ingmar Brunn’s
8th grade class. As soon as we walked in, all of the
students stood up and said the Pledge of Allegiance… hands over
their hearts and all! It was a really precious moment, and I was so
impressed with how proficient their English was at such a young age.
Alex and I talked to them about Hurricane Sandy and how it was
impacting our friends and family member back home in Jersey. I won’t
lie, I’m glad I missed that one. We also discussed the presidential
election, and Alex taught them about the Electoral College. Imagine
explaining that concept to a bunch of German 8th graders…
I don’t even think most Americans fully understand how it works, so
I’m pretty sure a lot of it went over their heads. Overall though,
it was a fun lesson and Ingmar is going to give us more lessons with
his class.
We repeated the same
lesson in a few other classes. Klaus Brinkmann and Matthias Beck have
agreed to make us a permanent addition to their classes. I will be
with Matthias’s 7th graders, who are the most energetic
group of students I have yet to meet. It’s amazing to see the level
of class participation with the younger students because they all
raise their hands to answer a question in class. Their genuine
eagerness to learn motivates me to go to school each day. Klaus will
have Alex and me speak with his 8th graders and 10th
graders in conversation groups. His younger students visit us in
groups of three, whereas his older students must engage in a
one-on-one conversation with us. The concept seems to intimidate
them, but once they have finished our discussion, it’s obvious how
proud of themselves they all are for maintaining a dialogue.
Today, Alex and I
held auditions for our Christmas show. Auditions were far more
relaxed than the ones I was used to in high school, but I think it
was better this way because we had such a wide array of age groups.
Everybody auditioned in front of each other as I took notes on their
performance. Alex and I plan on writing the show by next week and
divvying out parts to each student by then. We’re not sure exactly
how we’re going to do this in a week’s time, but I’m sure it
will get done.
We also bought our
plane tickets home today! I’m so excited to see my family next
month. This has been the longest I have been away from home, and I
miss them terribly. Until then, we have a lot to do, so I am sure
time will go by quickly and we’ll be home for the holidays before
we know it.
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