Yay!
On Saturday - after watching a very corny German show about a pregnant Brazilian model and her Italian German Searches a Super Star winner husband, I decided to take the plunge and buy a ticket to Boston for my fall break.
This is very exciting because I have not been stateside since Christmas! Too long.
Here are a list of reasons why I am excited to visit my home stomping grounds:
-I was feeling guilty because I told my grandpa I would be there for his 99th birthday party and I thought I couldn´t make it. Now I get to celebrate.
-I want to eat so many things that I cannot eat here - I will be chowing down. The restaurant list: Bertucci´s, Emperors Choice, Fajitas and Ritas, Bear Rock Cafe
The food list: Trader Joe´s everything, in particular French Onion Soup and mini quiches, Mrs. Maughn´s bean dip, lasagna (ok, I could make this here - but this is my mom´s lasagna!), black beans, and maple sugar candy if I can find it!
-Of course to see my wonderful family members, all of whom will be there!!!!
-I get to watch On Demand television endlessly (maybe they will have the whole season of Big Love!!!)
I also plan to go to the mall, go to Barnes and Noble, visit friends, maybe get a haircut, and walk around the lake.
Sounds like heaven to me.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Recovered - Sort of
So my cold was short lived. I did the right thing, took two days off, slept, and Jan made sure that I wore socks the whole time.
But the bad news is that instead of just feeling like I am about to throw up, I am actually throwing up!! Very miserable.
I have a fear that I will throw up at some inopportune time. Like in the train, or in the middle of the crowded train station, or walking down the street. I mean, I am already gagging at these places...
Then I got to thinking about how people would react. It is pretty disgusting to see someone throwing up...
And why do I never see any women randomly throwing up. I mean you would think it would happen.
The mysteries of vomit.
But the bad news is that instead of just feeling like I am about to throw up, I am actually throwing up!! Very miserable.
I have a fear that I will throw up at some inopportune time. Like in the train, or in the middle of the crowded train station, or walking down the street. I mean, I am already gagging at these places...
Then I got to thinking about how people would react. It is pretty disgusting to see someone throwing up...
And why do I never see any women randomly throwing up. I mean you would think it would happen.
The mysteries of vomit.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Shaking Hands
So, this year my first cold came two weeks earlier than last year.
A bit of background - I spend my days in schools. First to teach and then to learn. Schools are notorious for being sickness inducing places. So many people! So little hand washing! Such confined quarters! Such horrid air circulation!
I have a suspicion.
In my school, students and teachers shake hands. We shake hands quite often - when I get to a classroom. When the students leave the classroom. I have always found this habit a bit strange - I am not used to shaking hands so much. But if the students want to shake my hand, of course I let them. This is part of our relationship, and in its own way is nice.
However, I am pretty sure that there are many many Germs living on those little student hands. And one of those Germs made its way into my body and is causing a nasty cold.
When I start thinking about where those hands have been, the frequency of supposed hand washing, etc, well, I should not think about this.
P.S.
Thinking about this hand shaking stuff...it is actually quite interesting. Every handshake has a personality. Some are limp wrist-ed, I don´t really mean it hand shakes, some are nice firm confident handshakes, but, shockingly, 1 or 2 having been bone crushing, I am asserting my dominance hand shakes! From my students! My male students! This is not a good sign! Are they doing it on purpose? Is it just an overdone confident handshake? Once I actually had to tug my hand away and yelp because it hurt! Oh, the confusion of what is going on in the brains of adolescent boys. It is a strange and mysterious zone that baffles me every time.
A bit of background - I spend my days in schools. First to teach and then to learn. Schools are notorious for being sickness inducing places. So many people! So little hand washing! Such confined quarters! Such horrid air circulation!
I have a suspicion.
In my school, students and teachers shake hands. We shake hands quite often - when I get to a classroom. When the students leave the classroom. I have always found this habit a bit strange - I am not used to shaking hands so much. But if the students want to shake my hand, of course I let them. This is part of our relationship, and in its own way is nice.
However, I am pretty sure that there are many many Germs living on those little student hands. And one of those Germs made its way into my body and is causing a nasty cold.
When I start thinking about where those hands have been, the frequency of supposed hand washing, etc, well, I should not think about this.
P.S.
Thinking about this hand shaking stuff...it is actually quite interesting. Every handshake has a personality. Some are limp wrist-ed, I don´t really mean it hand shakes, some are nice firm confident handshakes, but, shockingly, 1 or 2 having been bone crushing, I am asserting my dominance hand shakes! From my students! My male students! This is not a good sign! Are they doing it on purpose? Is it just an overdone confident handshake? Once I actually had to tug my hand away and yelp because it hurt! Oh, the confusion of what is going on in the brains of adolescent boys. It is a strange and mysterious zone that baffles me every time.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Mrs. M, You´re Mean
Ouch! One of my stuggles as a teacher has always been finding the balance between being strict and showing students that there are clear boundaries for behavior and being too nice and relaxed. This leads to the constant pushing of boundaries and for much less productivity than I would wish for.
So as time goes on, I have become more and more strict and much quicker to let my students know when they are crossing the line of acceptable classroom conduct. I am proud of myself about this.
However, the other day I was teaching my students about symbolism and theme - I typed notes up and they copied them off of the projection screen.
As I was walking around to check that the students had their notes - one girl - who I must say is a little less than focused, had about half of the info written down. I say, not in a mean way, "Make sure you get all of the information down, including the examples." The girl says, "But I have no more space." Half of her paper was blank! Clearly this was an excuse. I point to the paper and say (perhaps a bit sarcastically), "Look - what is that, lots of room!! Please write down the notes."
Thus eliciting a, "Mrs. M, you´re mean to kids!" OUCH!!
Do I want to be mean? No. Do I want my students to learn something? Yes. Someday the perfect balance will be reached.
So as time goes on, I have become more and more strict and much quicker to let my students know when they are crossing the line of acceptable classroom conduct. I am proud of myself about this.
However, the other day I was teaching my students about symbolism and theme - I typed notes up and they copied them off of the projection screen.
As I was walking around to check that the students had their notes - one girl - who I must say is a little less than focused, had about half of the info written down. I say, not in a mean way, "Make sure you get all of the information down, including the examples." The girl says, "But I have no more space." Half of her paper was blank! Clearly this was an excuse. I point to the paper and say (perhaps a bit sarcastically), "Look - what is that, lots of room!! Please write down the notes."
Thus eliciting a, "Mrs. M, you´re mean to kids!" OUCH!!
Do I want to be mean? No. Do I want my students to learn something? Yes. Someday the perfect balance will be reached.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Zetifikat Deutsch
I have signed a paper committing to take the Zertifikat Deutsch on October 24 and 25! This is very exciting. It means that my year + long Integration Course is just about finished and I will have my Mon, Wed, and Friday nights back to myself.
I have the modest goal of getting a 1. I am fairly certain that I will. If not, perhaps a 1.5.
In other news, I am feeling much better, despite the fact that I must return to Basel in an hour for a dreaded Eltern Abend. I though I escaped parents nights after leaving the public school system. This time, I will not have hysterical parents crying about their children, but it is possible that the class teacher will speak for over 2 hours. (I hear this is what happened last year.) Then I can schmooze with the parents for a while, and maybe be home by 10:30. (Which is past my bed time.)
I have the modest goal of getting a 1. I am fairly certain that I will. If not, perhaps a 1.5.
In other news, I am feeling much better, despite the fact that I must return to Basel in an hour for a dreaded Eltern Abend. I though I escaped parents nights after leaving the public school system. This time, I will not have hysterical parents crying about their children, but it is possible that the class teacher will speak for over 2 hours. (I hear this is what happened last year.) Then I can schmooze with the parents for a while, and maybe be home by 10:30. (Which is past my bed time.)
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