GERMANY
Well, things are wrapping up quickly here. Maria left yesterday, I'm juggling clothes and odd bits and pieces and the students are finishing the remnants of their last assignments. The end really is nigh. Like I said in my last post, all things said and done, it's quite bittersweet. I've made massive progress in some areas, fallen back in a fair few others, made a point of pushing myself to reassure myself that I did something worthwhile and yet I'm still finishing up with a bit of remorse where it counts.
Friends came and went, connections were made and rekindled, some of them a little better than others; lessons were planned, finished successfully, some rushed, some left as-is, brought up a notch, and some pushed over and kicked because they were so weak and crap, sometimes all in the same day. There have been more highs than lows, I learned a little bit about humility and humanity, oscillated between feeling like I was 17 all over again and then damned near 20 years older than I am. It was a tour de force in every respect, one that I used to barely believe could be recovered from in a mere couple of days doing nothing and relaxing only to end up feeling pangs of wanting to hurry up and return to the action.
So what did I gain in these last 9 months? Did I get my money's worth (remember kids, the year abroad is essentially free, but it only counts if you pay the £9000 for the other 3 years) when I consider my general work output and improvements and whatnot?
I'd say so.
I'm a lot more interested in teaching abroad, specifically in Germany, which is fucking amazing considering my ignorant disdain for the idea that I had when I was shipped out oh so many months ago. It's given me some kind of direction, which is something that I've been desperately hunting for. I've made mahoosive language improvements, as well as learning a lot of slang.
I'm still terrible at using certain fairly simple yet multi-contextual verbs properly, but at least now I'm functioning disabled in that regard, as opposed to dead in the water. Despite that though, fuck adjective endings. Seriously. 9 months on those cheeky little bastards and all I've learned is that I. Can't. Remember them.
If nothing else, I learned more about the types of people to avoid, which is a valuable thing to get right and proper, and that I love living by myself. Failing that, I saw 9 new countries, which has done nothing short of encouraging my travelling buzz.
These are pictures I took from a balcony waaaay up in the woods which I've searched for all year. Went down well with a fat cigar and some Jägermeister I was given as a present.
I guess it's also worth showing a few more pics of school.
Main building of our school. The whole thing is just a square with rooms going round the edge on two levels. Not being able to find classrooms was never really an option.
And the staffroom. My usual workplace is 2nd PC from the window in the middle picture.
German Year Abroad, SEG-Neuerburg 2010 ~ 2011, I raise my glass to you in remembrance.
Well, things are wrapping up quickly here. Maria left yesterday, I'm juggling clothes and odd bits and pieces and the students are finishing the remnants of their last assignments. The end really is nigh. Like I said in my last post, all things said and done, it's quite bittersweet. I've made massive progress in some areas, fallen back in a fair few others, made a point of pushing myself to reassure myself that I did something worthwhile and yet I'm still finishing up with a bit of remorse where it counts.
Friends came and went, connections were made and rekindled, some of them a little better than others; lessons were planned, finished successfully, some rushed, some left as-is, brought up a notch, and some pushed over and kicked because they were so weak and crap, sometimes all in the same day. There have been more highs than lows, I learned a little bit about humility and humanity, oscillated between feeling like I was 17 all over again and then damned near 20 years older than I am. It was a tour de force in every respect, one that I used to barely believe could be recovered from in a mere couple of days doing nothing and relaxing only to end up feeling pangs of wanting to hurry up and return to the action.
So what did I gain in these last 9 months? Did I get my money's worth (remember kids, the year abroad is essentially free, but it only counts if you pay the £9000 for the other 3 years) when I consider my general work output and improvements and whatnot?
I'd say so.
I'm a lot more interested in teaching abroad, specifically in Germany, which is fucking amazing considering my ignorant disdain for the idea that I had when I was shipped out oh so many months ago. It's given me some kind of direction, which is something that I've been desperately hunting for. I've made mahoosive language improvements, as well as learning a lot of slang.
I'm still terrible at using certain fairly simple yet multi-contextual verbs properly, but at least now I'm functioning disabled in that regard, as opposed to dead in the water. Despite that though, fuck adjective endings. Seriously. 9 months on those cheeky little bastards and all I've learned is that I. Can't. Remember them.
If nothing else, I learned more about the types of people to avoid, which is a valuable thing to get right and proper, and that I love living by myself. Failing that, I saw 9 new countries, which has done nothing short of encouraging my travelling buzz.
These are pictures I took from a balcony waaaay up in the woods which I've searched for all year. Went down well with a fat cigar and some Jägermeister I was given as a present.
I guess it's also worth showing a few more pics of school.
Main building of our school. The whole thing is just a square with rooms going round the edge on two levels. Not being able to find classrooms was never really an option.
And the staffroom. My usual workplace is 2nd PC from the window in the middle picture.
German Year Abroad, SEG-Neuerburg 2010 ~ 2011, I raise my glass to you in remembrance.
