Endlich da

My first two weeks in Germany have been pretty crazy. I feel like I've barely stopped for a second! There's been so much for me to do and see, and as I write this lying in bed contemplating making french toast, I'm delighted to finally be able to just relax for a bit.

I haven't had a proper chance to settle in in Halle yet, as last Sunday meant a train journey across Germany for training week near Cologne. Sitting on a train isn't my favourite way to spend five and a half hours, though I have a feeling it's something I'll be getting used to this year. When I finally got to stretch my legs I found Ross Anne and Emma in a coffee shop abusing the WiFi and we traipsed to our hotel for the night. Evening meant McDonalds (ouch), cocktails and Koelsch (yum) as well as talking absolute nonsense til the early hours with our bottles of beer. Needless to say it was a painful coach trip to Maria in der Aue the next day.

At Cologne Cathedral with Ross Anne.

Induction week was pretty intense, despite the constant food breaks. We were all paired up with roommates who were going to be working near us, and I found myself sharing with the fabulous Eliza who will be living just north of Halle. Our little working groups were also area-based and I have to say, us Sachsen-Anhalt ladies are pretty fabulous. I also got to meet a few people who will be based in Leipzig, which is pretty great as they're only half an hour away, and another girl from Glasgow, Emma, who is living in Jena! There was so much information to take on board it got a little overwhelming and tiring, despite the PAD's best efforts. We also had to prepare mock classes, with the others in the groups acting like the pupils, which was very nerve racking, especially when we realised a beautiful Bavarian would be assessing us. But we had fun making the others play charades and acting like primary school kids learning the colours in English!

Naturally we all found our way to the bar every night which made for some great fun, as well as some ill-advised hangovers. The last night was especially great, I found myself at a room party paired up with an Irish guy trying to teach the Gay Gordons to uninterested English people. The coach trip back to Cologne wasn't so much fun, but a traditional lunch in a brewery type restaurant helped a lot! I'm not sure what I made of Cologne. It was very modern, and I felt a little guilty complaining about how ugly it is when I realised that was the Brits' fault! I think if I visit again, I'll need someone who lives there to show me where and how to have fun.

Glasgow girls in the bar!

This week has been my first in the school, which has been interesting to say the least. I'm teaching in the Realschule classes and as English is a compulsory subject, naturally some of the kids aren't so interested. Can't blame them - I felt the same about maths! Hopefully I can do a Sister Act 2 and make them super enthusiastic by the end of the year! It's very strange being back in a school atmosphere, especially as it's one I don't feel particularly comfortable in. But I think I'll get used to it and it's nice being in the staffroom for a change, even if some of the teachers have mistaken me for one of their senior pupils!

I'll be back soon with another post about my recent "cultural" (read: alcoholic) experiences, as well as my ill-fated attempts at emulating the Germans and riding my bike. Bis dann! x

Hallo, Halle!

While I was in Barcelona the email arrived that I'd been waiting for since finding out my Bundesland. Since finding out my application had been accepted. Since applying to go, even. I might have been shaking a bit when I opened it. What if I was going to a little village miles from proper (read: urban) civilisation? With two buses a day and no trains? Where everyone would know everything about everyone else because they all lived on the same street? This was the nightmare that had haunted me for months. But it was not to be! A letter from Saxony-Anhalt's education department revealed I'd actually been placed in a school in Halle an der Saale! To be honest, this was even better than I'd hoped for. I'd been gearing myself up for a medium-sized or small town. And instead I'm going to a university city, still small compared to Glasgow, but full of people my age and bars and shops. Perfect, as my Stevenson scholarship requires me to enrol at a German uni during my assistantship and Halle's Martin Luther University is huge.

I'm so excited to be going to Halle. It looks like a great city, small enough that I won't get lost but bursting with people to get to know. I've already begun looking for flats and they're all gorgeous and CHEAP. I can't believe the price difference between the flats there and what people pay for in the UK. I've had two skype 'dates' with potential flatmates, and I'm currently quite stressed but excited to finally fly the nest and hopefully land on my feet in a lovely flat. Preferably with a balcony, because that is the essence of the year abroad, is it not? Sitting in the sunset with a glass of wine, wondering how many people in Scotland can do the same. Though in my case, the glass will probably be replaced with a bottle of beer.

The school looks good. Quite normal, I suppose. It's a kooperative Gesamtschule, which from what I can figure out is pretty close to a British comprehensive school. It's in the Neustadt area of Halle, separated from the rest of the city by the river Saale, but by the looks of things still very reachable by tram or bus. From what I can figure out, HaNeu (amazing nickname, isn't it) looks a bit like Cumbernauld. Though, as my friend pointed out, perhaps Cumbernauld just looks like socialist East Germany. I'll be teaching kids from 10 to about 17 or 18, I think, and my lovely contact teacher Anka has informed me that the school is holding its first ever Highland Games this year. Interesting.

Is this an ex-Eastern Bloc country or a Scottish new town? You decide...

I'm doing work experience at a local newspaper this week and in every spare moment between jobs all I've been able to think about is Halle. Besides finding a flat, most of the worries I had are gone, and now I just can't wait to get on that plane and see what Germany's all about! I'm so happy for my friends too, as everyone's finally found out where they're going and everyone seems pretty happy! I can't wait to make Deutsche Bahn my best friend and travel around to see them all.

It's going to be a good one, I think!