ENGLAND
I am about to embark upon a great crusade, the eyes of the world are upon me. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with me. In company with my brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, I will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peop-
No, wait.
That was mostly whored from Eisenhower's 1944 D-Day speech. I guess comparatively, a years teaching in Neuerburg doesn't have a lot in common with a fortified Normandy beachhead, but at the moment, it kinda feels like it. Plus, most of the stuff in that speech is probably still valid, though I doubt that nazi tyranny is proving to be a key issue in a little town where the currency is probably vegetables.
I fly out on sunday, on a flight which will inevitably charge me soundly for the excess baggage that will no doubt arise, but the financial situation at the moment should make this only a minor issue.
The first stage of the year is a few days training; presumably combat techniques, how to dig a good trench, how to operate a mortar, that kind of thing; mixed in with basic classroom etiquette. This takes place at Haus Altenberg, which from the official British Council descriptions makes Neuerburg look like a sprawling metropolis. We get picked up from Cologne on monday, then driven back on the 2nd of next month, and from there we wave a tearful goodbye before jetting off to our respective towns.
I've had quite a stroke of luck when it comes to reaching Neuerburg itself; as I discovered recently, public transport is a bit of a misfire in this area of Rheinland-Pfalz (ha, and so many of you thought I was joking).
After an initial plan which involved a 4-hour long local service buses and trains journey peppered with little walks inbetween, the Schulleiter Gunther offered me a lift by car from Bitburg-Erdorf, about half an hour away. As nerve-racking as the prospect of making small talk in German for half an hour is, it still beats the aforementioned regional transport clusterfuck that I'd planned initially.
I'd also like to draw attention to the fact that I am on speaking terms with a man called Gunther, and you should be righteously jealous.
And thats it so far.
Theres not a great deal I can add pertaining to the town or its inhabitants, though a very nice German girl who I met the other night pretty much laughed in my face when I told her where I was bound. I guess only time will tell.
Next entry should be from Germany. Wish me luck you ingrates.
I am about to embark upon a great crusade, the eyes of the world are upon me. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with me. In company with my brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, I will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peop-
No, wait.
That was mostly whored from Eisenhower's 1944 D-Day speech. I guess comparatively, a years teaching in Neuerburg doesn't have a lot in common with a fortified Normandy beachhead, but at the moment, it kinda feels like it. Plus, most of the stuff in that speech is probably still valid, though I doubt that nazi tyranny is proving to be a key issue in a little town where the currency is probably vegetables.
I fly out on sunday, on a flight which will inevitably charge me soundly for the excess baggage that will no doubt arise, but the financial situation at the moment should make this only a minor issue.
The first stage of the year is a few days training; presumably combat techniques, how to dig a good trench, how to operate a mortar, that kind of thing; mixed in with basic classroom etiquette. This takes place at Haus Altenberg, which from the official British Council descriptions makes Neuerburg look like a sprawling metropolis. We get picked up from Cologne on monday, then driven back on the 2nd of next month, and from there we wave a tearful goodbye before jetting off to our respective towns.
I've had quite a stroke of luck when it comes to reaching Neuerburg itself; as I discovered recently, public transport is a bit of a misfire in this area of Rheinland-Pfalz (ha, and so many of you thought I was joking).
After an initial plan which involved a 4-hour long local service buses and trains journey peppered with little walks inbetween, the Schulleiter Gunther offered me a lift by car from Bitburg-Erdorf, about half an hour away. As nerve-racking as the prospect of making small talk in German for half an hour is, it still beats the aforementioned regional transport clusterfuck that I'd planned initially.
I'd also like to draw attention to the fact that I am on speaking terms with a man called Gunther, and you should be righteously jealous.
And thats it so far.
Theres not a great deal I can add pertaining to the town or its inhabitants, though a very nice German girl who I met the other night pretty much laughed in my face when I told her where I was bound. I guess only time will tell.
Next entry should be from Germany. Wish me luck you ingrates.
