From Grain to Bread

    I have finally begun my long awaited student teaching- abroad! Simeon and I loaded up the car the first Monday of September, headed for Berlin. It was a decent drive, about 6 hours, but we were glad to do it together. By time we arrived it was 10pm and we had to get some basic groceries before heading to our apartment. Therefore, we arrived after dark but caught glimpses of the shimmering lake and shining stars before getting settled and heading to sleep. As a special present from Dad, we are able to enjoy the month of September together, at this beautiful apartment on a Berlin lake before Simeon heads back to his classes. It is a lovely suburb of Berlin and really feels much more like America than any other town I have visited in Germany. Maybe part of that is the many Americans who live here and the specialty foods we absolutely cannot find near Frankfurt- SYRUP, cheddar cheese, mini marshmallows, and even Betty Crocker cake mix! Of course, the prices are unfathomable, but I manage to fathom them when I am craving these oh so prized foods. Anyways, our apartment is right on the lake.. literally less than 100 feet through our yard, a bit more spacious than ours back home, and only about a 20 minute drive to school and 30 minute drive to the city (and that's with traffic!). I take the car each day and Simeon seems to manage fine here, as he is studying, and I usually arrive home around 2:30!! Which brings me to my teaching experience.. 
    A little background on the school I am interning at- it was started after WWII when the American Army had a large presence in Germany, however after the unification of East and West Berlin, it became a "normal" German public school. However, there are still many differences. The most obvious being that it is bilingual. The teachers all speak English and German, and the children are mostly from international homes- American mom/German dad, or really any combination of countries you can imagine.  They have such an understanding of the world. My favorite favorite thing about the kids is their language abilities. It is truly beautiful to watch them switch back and forth between English and German in a snap. They switch classes for "mother tongue" but speak both languages when playing and often in their homeroom class.  The most surprising thing to me- even though I had been warned, I did not believe it- is that the kids get out of school a little after 1pm each day. Of course, I often stick around for a while to organize, plan, attend meetings, etc. but if I were doing these extra things in an American school I would not arrive home before 6pm. I think it has it's positives and negatives but for now I am really thankful for it :)  Another big difference is that the students call all of the teachers by their first names, which I am totally not used to, but I think it has it's benefits- I'm certain most Southern teachers would be shocked to walk into our classroom and experience that :) One other thing, which I also found in Spain, is the emphasis on play. I don't think it is typical of all German schools, but I know where I am, the students have at least one 45 minute recess break, as well as a couple short 10 minute recess breaks throughout the day. I find it really helps to keep the children focused when they are in the classroom. In addition, the children have way more responsibility than in American schools- they transition to their different classes on their own, and do many daily tasks without being reminded (and it's only a few weeks into the school year!). I think that if children enter kindergarten knowing that they have to do some things on their own, and will not be reminded after a certain point, then they are 100% capable of doing so. Will some children forget? Yes. But their friends are there to remind them, which is a huge burden off of the teacher, as well as a great learning experience for the students. One challenge has been that the school has very limited technology in comparison to the schools I have been placed in previously. I rely so heavily on technology when I teach because it is a great way to motivate the students and it is often required by the University. However, this lack of technology has only pushed me to be a better teacher and find ways to grab the students' attention with simply a piece of chalk, which has been a great experience and I know I will use these techniques in the future. Anyways, enough teacher mumbo-jumbo.

    I'm very much enjoying myself. I simply find that I feel more nervous about teaching than I have in previous semesters. I feel like our topic of study right now, which is "From Grain to Bread." We are visiting a mill this week and have been learning about the very long process grain takes to become bread.  My entire elementary, junior high, high school, and college career have all been leading up to this.. and finally I am in the baking process, almost there, almost bread! Of course, teaching is a continuous process of reflecting and growing, but I am finally entering the stage of becoming an actual teacher, and I think that is a slightly intimidating, but exciting fact for me. Tomorrow I begin my ten consecutive days of teaching completely on my own. So I have been working non-stop over lesson plans and will continue to do so for the following two weeks. Which makes enjoying this beautiful area a bit of a challenge. Simeon and I hardly have time for one another, much less for going on adventures. However, we were able to relax a little this weekend with a movie and dinner at our local Italian restaurant (steps from our door and delicious), a chilly kayak ride Saturday evening (Simeon paddling, and me being a diva relaxing in the back.. which he insisted on of course swooon), dinner Saturday night with Simeon's parents at the same Italian restaurant, and of course the whooping of Arkansas by Alabama (however, we lost our connection before half time :(.  Sunday morning we visited a church in the city of Berlin but were about 30 minutes late because of 1.waking up 20 minutes before we had to leave and 2.the wrong address for the church!! So frustrating because their website led us somewhere totally wrong and confusing but in the end, we found it.. in a movie theater, so it was an interesting experience but great message. However, I think we will try a few more churches before Simeon leaves so I know for sure where to go when I am in Berlin alone.  After church Simeon cooked a fabulous pizza while we spent some time with his parents, which was a nice treat!  We then visited the "Haus der Wannsee Konferenz" where the "final solution" for European Jews was planned. It was a small building but packed with stories of individuals and families throughout the Holocaust. We were able to read the original, detailed plans  about sending Jews to Madagascar, and Hitler's revised plans to satisfy his disgusting desires.  I could have stayed for hours reading each bit of information in the museum but of course we had to return to get back to our studies.
   Another update is that I have begun to experience occasional, unavoidable, homesickness. It's not often and I'm honestly surprised it has taken this long- because of course I miss many, many things about home, but up until recently I was able to push those thoughts away and just be thankful for my special time here. Whenever it happens I just let it run it's course, and thank the Lord that I have so many people and things to miss so very much. Plus I am getting close to the 3 month mark until Christmas, so who cares about missing fall? What is better than December in America?!? But seriously, every day has been a blessing and I am still very much looking forward to so many things here in Germany.
  Tomorrow is the beginning of the end of my education, looking forward to it, and would appreciate prayers for calm nerves. Hugs to all :)