What a strange feeling to be surrounded by a language I know nothing of. German, though slightly similar to English, is proving to be difficult for me. Yes I am taking a course, I live with a German speaker, the German border is a 2 minute walk away, and I go a few times a week across the border, but still I am floundering.
Example: Last night, at a bar in Saarbrucken I decided to overcome my fear of ordering in German. I went to the bar, ordered 2 beers for my friend and me and went back to the table to wait for my order, satisfied with myself and excited for my beer. A couple minutes later, what I had ACTUALLY ordered arrived: One beer and a croissant.... At least I got the one beer, unfortunately for my friend. :-/ I didn't even know bars had croissants!...welcome to Europe. Better work double hard on the German this week.
As for work, it is going well. I have started teaching, and my experiences are completely different every day, especially between the Collège and the Lycée. It has been fun playing games and talking about things like American recipes, music, and Halloween. I sometimes feel like a celebrity walking around town and hearing shouts of "Hello!" from people on the street who are my students. It really is a small town and I usually see them around semi often, however I have about 12 different classes so I don't know all the students yet.
I have found the forest, and I love it. It is beautiful this time of year, with the leaves changing colors and the early morning fog. The trails are perfect for hiking, biking, running. I have been running and going to the pool pretty often to cancel out the amount of bread and cheese I eat and just to get in shape again. Last weekend there was a 10k run in Sarreguemines. At the Collège we had a "team" of people who all participated and there was an all around good ambiance. I'm sure the good weather that day helped. :-)
Next week the school has a vacation in celebration of All Saints Day. We get a week and a half off, so I will be doing a little exploring and traveling!
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