And now.. the Visitor, becomes the visited!

To say that it has been a long time since I have posted on here may be an understatement! its been a hell of a final year at uni and im pretty pleased to be able to say that it is now all over!

I haven't graduated yet..  (after reading my blog, do you really think that it would go smoothly?!)   no!

I decided that a better way to spend exam week would be to be in Hospital for a few days. This meant that I missed a sports exam. I have re-taken, but Graduation is scheduled for December 2012.

I've applied and been successful for a new Job. Im now in the police force! (totally different!) and I start in November.


Im free all the way through September. Ill be dipping candles for a few weeks (im not explaining that!) but for one week, its all going on!

Im very excited to announce that 2 of my classes from when I did my year abroad are coming over to London for a week! This makes me very happy!

Its a shame that the lack of time in my life has meant that I haven'
I hope they are excited as I am! im sure that some of their excitement will be that they are going on a trip, and that they are visiting a different country etc etc..    But hopefully they will be happy for a reunion!

I don't think they realise how much I miss them, I still have all of the photos and memories posted on my bedroom wall. My desktop background is a slide show of all of my pictures from Germany. It may have been a long time ago, but Schlüchtern is still my 'Happy Place'

To been able to go and see them as much as I wanted to. Instead, im becoming a massive English 3rd wheel on their trip!

and so, for one week in September, I will be getting drunk and living it up with the students who became my friends!  what more could you want?

The Return.....

I told you so!

No matter which class you are in..   the last thing I said to you was "Ill be back soon, do don't do anything stupid!"


Well, I'm coming back!

Basically, those of you who know me well, will know that I am now back at Uni ..  I have SUFFERED 2 German lessons..  and I have decided that Its not as good as where I was, so i have to come back to speak more German!

Well, When I decided to come back. there were 3 major issues..

1) How am I going to get there?
2) When am I going to go?
3) How many German Lectures can I avoid in one go

Well, the answers are as follows

1)  KLM..  no other option really...  hopefully, they will remember my bag this time

2) When?? There is only one option really..  KALTERMARKT!
3) this is only a guess, but experts seem to think about 6


I have missed germany since leaving. I have had a hell of a summer that meant that I have not had much time to miss it, but there were times when I was all up for flogging my xbox and selling my brother to go back again. though that would only make me about £100 and the xbox is worth £99.   Still, It seems like every day at some point I think "what was i doing 1 year ago?"  or telling someone about what I did in germany - even if they don't seem to care!

After a lot of thinking - I decided that I deserve it. I worked hard over the summer and I am desperate for a break. So this is it. Admittedly, I want to put everything else on hold until it happens, but it gives me a chance to get over and have a real break


The best part so far, is that with all of my KLM miles..   It has only cost me £86 return!!





IMMA COMING SCHLÜCHTERN!!





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgu6EeyAz1Q

3 weeks back in the UK

So..   I'm Sitting at home right now. Its a Sunday and I have been home for 3 weeks. ( I think!)

Its been 3 weeks where I have literally not sat down!

Arriving home was a good feeling!  My dad picked me up from the airport after a nightmarish trip home! I got to Frankfurt and found that I was 3 KG overweight.  The weather was about 25 Degrees C and sunny.   I was already dragging a 26KG suitcase, a seriously heavy laptop bag and a hand luggage bag too (complete with Xbox :P) and I was wearing the Usual for me - a hoodie, T-shirt, jeans and I had even put my coat on as space was lacking somewhat.

I had to lose 3KG ..  FAST.    What did I do?  I dragged out another 3 Hoodies and put them on..  it was fine, for anout 6 seconds..  then, it was hell

The Heat was dreadful. I was like a fat person in a disco.   awful..  and then, things were made several times better..  because I was going through security

"hello sir, jacket off please and all electronic devices need to be in their own tray"
"thank you sir, could you remove that hoodie please?"
"and that one"
"and..  that one..."
"and the fourth one as well please"

I think even he lost count at how many questions he had.

THEN.. they asked me where I was flying to.   "home" was a particularly unhelpful answer, but after the hoodie- ordeal that was my answer.    I then answered "Manchester, via Heathrow" and they looked at my xbox.

The nice man with lots of questions decided that it needs to be scanned for explosive materials.  My response was :

"The only thing explosive about my xbox is my performance on Call of Duty"

This was not funny to the nice man with lots of questions, and no sense of humor...

Anyway. The pain was awful.. heat and heavy bags had taken their toll , but I was finally on the plane
I got to Heathrow and there was an announcement.

DELAYED!

Balls.   I was not impressed.
Then, at the scheduled time, we were all summoned to gate A1

We were nit delayed, so we were part of a cruel joke.. 

Anyway, in time, tired, 25KG lighter after serious fluid loss, I was in Manchester. I picked up my case, and went to find Dad.  I was back in the UK



Since this journey - one that only hobbits and wizards have had more epic ones- I have had weeks of being everywhere.

I have had to repair my car - this is a whole different story, and has resulted in a new car..
I have planned, prepped, sorted, run, come home from and tidied after a Scout camp for a weekend with 60 children.
I have run a stall, with the scouts at a church fete - which i have bitched and been pissy about since because me and my scouts were treated badly, (different story)
and I have continued to run scouts and beavers, as well as buy a new car - as stated before.

Its been tough.
Germany has been in my mind though. I have been Whatsapp-ing some people and still seeing the facebook statuses of the people there. Sadly, I did not make the Matinee, which was disappointing, but it means that I will go for Kaltermarkt!   Its been 3 weeks of settling in that have been spent doing all the above, as well as the usual things like tidying and also sorting all the issues that my mother had that she could not solve, like "the TV is broken" and "why does my phone not do that?"  

But maybe, it will slow down now?  I dunno..  we shall see! 

It was going to happen Eventually...

That time has come. In 72 Hours, Ill be back in the UK.

This time, it isn't for a trip to Sunderland, its not for a Football match, or over the Christmas Holidays... This time, its more permanent that that.

I have been here, in Germany now for 9 Months, and I knew that this time would come. My God, its tough.

Thinking back, If i tried to talk to myself from 9 months ago, I would probably think I was an idiot. My German has flown along. I can remember having to describe a bowl to a woman in a shop. That was a fail. (its Schüssel, by the way!)

When I was about to leave, I didn't imagine that I would get up to much really.   I was wrong, that's for sure.    Just through reading my old blog posts, I can see that I have done plenty, and half the stuff isn't even there!

Its been an Adventure.   I have done, seen and experienced things that some people can only dream of. I have lived in what is actually a fabulous country with people who are just as kind, friendly, funny, helpful and genuine and any other person possible could be .

Whilst being here, I have gained experience, knowledge of German, social skills, skills in other areas, laughs, cries, memories and friends.

A small town, that I had to Google not so long ago, a town with more Doctors in it than London has, a town with 2 swimming pools, 3 schools and everything else and a town that has now, whether it likes it or not become a very big part of my life.

A School, in this town, a school that thousands of people have passed through, and thousands more will pass through, of which, I am one of them has not become a place where I can go should I ever need anything, and I can be sure that someone, somewhere will be able to help me, somehow.

Though Thousands have passed, and thousands will come, I was lucky enough to pass through myself in this year. With these teachers and these students.  I don't think, that if I had hand-picked the people myself, i could have chosen a better group of people.

I have laughed every single day, I have smiles every single minute, and never would I have been able to do that without the amazing people that I have sent my time with, here in Schlüchtern.


I don't think I will ever live such an amazing academic year ever again. It has been a year that I dreaded, right up until the moment that I got here, and it has been the best year of my life.

I want to thank those who have made this year so special.  They can sit and be modest and say that they did nothing, but simply by being there have they made this experience totally amazing..

Though this may be a goodbye, its not goodbye forever. I will be back and It wont just be the once. There is too much here for me to only come back once.

I hope that my legacy here wont be forgotten. I hope that whatever I have done here has helped in some way, if it has changed the lives of someone for the better, and that the laughs I have shared with the people here, can be shared with those thousand, due to pass through too.  I hope that I am not forgotten, because I will never forget you.



So Germany: Its time for me to go, and for you to stay. Thank you for the Adventure, now go have a new one.

Not long left.. SO CRAM IT ALL IN!

Well, As Im sure that you all know by now, my time here is very close to the end. This time, im not going to be all mopey and complain about how the time has gone fast - not this time!  No, this time, im going to talk about what I have been up to of late.

Ill admit, that I have my diary in front of me here. This is not one of those "dear diary..." style ones, but one that keeps me and my life in order. Without it ..  the world would come caving in, and I would be curled up in a dark corner, muttering missed appointments to myself!

The last time I typed anything, was a while after Easter, but it was about Easter, So .. im going to start from there! :D

The first week back at work was hard work, because the Easter holidays were more "free time, that i filled up so much, that there was no free time anymore" So I was back after work after my "break", having not really stopped at all!  My friend came over from Scotland, and I was the typical tour guide! :P

However, I have written about that, so lets ignore it!

The first week back was also a new timetable. This was because of lots of reasons, and more than one day of about 70 pissed off teachers in a staff room.  Without going into too much detail though, I had to make my own.

Of course, I boobed it completely!

Here is a tip: If you are teaching in room 341 from 7:30- 8:20, you cant also be teaching in room 340 from 7:30- 8:20..  that (sad though it is) is impossible!

Still, according to my timetable, I was willing to give it a shot.

Guess what.. it didn't work! and. OF COURSE, there was no other lesson that I could move either of them to..  not one..  there are a total of 28 different lesson periods a week..  but one 1 would work...   great!   However, this issue has now been sorted...  by someone else! :D

The second week was emotional! I got some very good news, and in the same week, some very bad news from home. This was from the same person, and It sent me into worry-mode, especially with who it was exactly.  It was a week of sending   "are you alright?" texts, even though I knew the answer..   (yeah, I do that...   sorry!) but also a week of my brain trying to solve the worlds problems (yeah, I do that too!)

Im honest, I would not be like that if i was in the UK, where this person lives. But, being abroad, you feel a little detached from problems like this, especially when you are directly involved in some way.   It can be tough to take your mind off it (especially when you live the rock and roll lifestyle that I don't) and live alone..    so if you are going abroad, make sure you know how to distract yourself..

Luckily..  i do..  it involves organizing things that do not need organizing yet, walking around really quickly to feel important (a piece of paper in your hand usually helps!) and eating German sausages....


After the emotional week, it was a week of me , once again teaching Frisbee!! :D  Here is an example of harry potter, doing a hipster sport!

complete with University of Sunderland matching tracksuit..
'fashion' is my middle name...

I did about 3 double lessons overall, which made me feel like a true athlete (I even walked home afterwards!) one of which was with a 6 grade class! Luckily, their English was great, and they didn't question why I kept yelling "PANCAKE!" at them..   (its a way of catching...)

To top off this week, I went to the Opera!   Sadly without the small binoculars on a stick, I saw a Wagner. It was great, even if it was a total of 4 hours long (anything on you that makes contact with a chair hurts after that time!)  but i felt very cultured, which was great because I thought I needed a booster. I also forgot that it was written in OLD German, and was worried after 20 minutes that I had  lot of new words to learn..  This was cleared up..  I now know the words, and the modern version too!

We have had some nice weather (yeah, im from the UK! :D )  So here is Schlüchtern in the Sun! :D

a Lake

Sunset from my flat

A Nice view of a house that isnt mine..

Looking up the hill

The School

Looking down the Hill..

There was also an impromptu visit to wiesbaden! ..

Wiesbaden is really nice, and has its own natural (and hot) spring water. This water is said to contain healing properties, but don't drink more than a liter, as it contains cyanide, among other things.. It also has its own micro-climate, making it warmer than the rest of the area. This was great, as Dortmund were playing in the football, so we could sit outside, chill and have a few bets int he sun - wonderful!



The last week has been good too, Another frisbee lesson on Monday, and a Day off on Wednesday! Friday I was up early to go and drink coffee, but also.. I had to prepare..

Some of you will know, that I have an obsession with Motorsport, particularly 4 wheels - even my twitter name is mikee_F1 ..     so, when I got the chance to go and watch some, I bit the chance!!

yes, I am typing this now, still buzzing from watching the DTM at Hockenheim! :D

LOOK!!

The Welcome Sign

Out Seats

Me Standing on the In-field, after all the racing, you can walk the track!

The Lights!

Timo Glock

The Grid

The Grid Lights

The Train Station Sign

It was an awesome day. I would love to post all of the pics, but this is not a Motorsport blog, and not everyone cares about it!

So as you can tell, I have been busy, In 3 days, I fly home to go camping with Bear Grylls, and I also manage to sneak in a small leaving party too. Its all go here, which is weird, because its all go, just before the end!

Also, on a different note, I have had some really nice comments about my Blog. I thank those who have posted them! Its very much appreciated!

Have a great time! I may find time to post another soon!

Mike

Easter, The Holidays and what that all means

Yesterday, I booked my flights home.  Though this time, it was not for a trip to Sunderland to see my Mate, or a galavant to London for a Football Game. No. This time...  its one way.

It was painful, pressing the 'Confirm' on the website was tough, not for financial reasons, but because pressing that 'confirm' button also confirms the end of my year abroad.  At the moment, it is almost like knowing the day I will die..  i really, don't know what to do

However, over the last few weeks, we have had Easter, and the School Holidays. So I thought I would update you on all of that shabang!

The first week of the Summer Holidays, brought about some reasonably weather. It was nice to relax and have a pint on the Balcony, with some (not too nice) Strawberries and feel very spring like.  I used this time to relax, as it had been a tough few weeks in the school, with exams and the dreaded TIMETABLE CHANGE!  (dun dun durrrrr!!)

I think that My xbox was close to going on strike afterjust the first day.
The Formula one also started , so despite the holidays, I was up at silly O'clock to watch it on TV :D

The Easter weekend came, and I had been invited to go to stay with a teacher, so that I could experience a "German Easter"

On Good Friday, we woke up to some very unwelcome weather. It had been snowing. Opening the window was a stupid idea, because as soon as you did, your nose fell off with how cold it was.
Freezing.

Anyway, we drove for about 40 mins in total through some really nice German countryside, seeing all of the surrounding Villages  until we got to a car park. We were meant to walk for 3 hours, but weather had prevented that. so instead, we walked for an hour.. to a PUB!




We had a few drinks there, and then walked back. The pub was in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere, but I was informed that on a hot day, its heaving..  fine! but it was dead when we were there

Once we Walked Back, we went up the hill to a  restaurant, Pub, youth hostel combo that was just off the road. I expected it to be dead - good friday, up a snowy hill and off the main road..  WRONG! it was brimming with people!

There, we had something to eat and Beer..  lots and lots of beer. and then some more. We stayed overnight there and had breakfast. It was a great social night, and I got to practice the art of speaking a foreign language when hammered!  VERY acquired Skill!

When we woke up, which, after the amount of beer I had drunk, anytime was going to be too early.  Whoever had build the place needed to sort their act out because on waking up, i notice that the door (and everything else in the room) was moving..     although.. that MAY have been the beer..  I dunno.

However.. once it had stopped spinning.. this was the view...

anyway..  we gingerly got home and I was dropped off at my flat for a few hours, to get a shower and sort some clothes out. I was then picked up and was taken to this teacher house for the Saturday night and Sunday.

Saturday night was an insight. The amount of work that the Germans put into their Easter is amazing...  It is all about the children and pretty much on Par with Christmas.

First, they spend hours colouring Eggs. with Die..   its is a painstaking event that requires a woman. Nothing Sexist, but we were two blokes, and ours were..  frankly, Crap.   This teacher's Sisters' on the other hand.. well..  she must have had a slave or an egg-painting machine somewhere..  we managed to do 6 shitty ones.. she had 40.. and they were amazing!

Anyway, Easter Sunday in Germany is a very religious affiir, so whilst the Teacher took his son to church in the morning, I slept!   once back, I was on child distracting duty..  whilst the eggs that we had coloured, as well as chocolate and everything else was hidden in the garden.

I saw a car, and as a joke asked: "does the easter bunny come in the car?"
I was told, by a 5 year old, that I am totally stupid and he obviously hops..  

Burn

The kids hunted for the eggs, and checked and checked again, and after an hour..  it was time to go inside for dinner..  This was chaos.. but that good type of chaos that you love to be involved in. Children being children, who also get Presents for Easter, so they are opening them and enjoying playing with their new toys.  We had dinner, which was lovely. Then, Easter was over


A few days went by, and one of my Best friends came over. Not the Sunderland one, but the Scotland one! :D  Once again,we did all of the tourist-y things..  we went to Frankfurt, ate German food and..  drank beer!
I hadn't seen him for over 3 years, but it was amazing how easy it was to talk. Enough to discuss, and really, like we had never been apart !  Just how it should be !

Once he had gone, It was back to School. we have been back 2 weeks now, and its again, Business as Usual.

I think you are sufficiently bored! till next time! :D

Exam Season..

Exam Season has just finished here in Germany. It has been a long time coming for the students, who by the end really just wanted to sit their Exam.

Pre-exam season here is strange. Teachers are asking the students what they want to do. We would never have this in England, we would be told that we had to learn Grammar for the 200th time, and revise topics and stuff..

Im absolutely certain that one class I had, was helped by my idea of forced revision...  We watched a movie! :P

Emperor's New Groove!


I was invited to go and see the Exam questions during the exam. This confused me from the off, because teachers are not allowed in out exams in the UK. Here, there are no exam invigilators, the teacher do it. So I guess it must be ok for me!

The English questions were ok. out of the 3, I would have chosen the second set, but there were some that chose other ones too! (great for me, who has to mark some of them - its not as boring! :P)

I walked into the exam, and was baffled totally...

The exams are about 4 hours long- that may be crucial, before we get started!

Each student has their own table.

They all bring their own entire picnic of goodies and things to eat and drink. Cakes, Sweets, Fruit, Coke, Water.. everything.They just sit, do the exam and munch away! IN the UK, we have to take the label off the bottle of water we are allowed!!  Here, they just eat!

Second, they are very allowed to get up and strut around the room.  They have access to information which is at the front, so they are up, and off to go and have a look!   We would be killed for this!

AND - they can go to the toilet alone!  we have some creepy 70 year old guy follow us! but these guys here just get up and they are off!!!   (so, arrange to meet people! its aparantly, very easy! :P)


Its now Easter Holidays. 2 friends are heading to Germany right now. One comes today and will be here for a fair while, and the other comes on the 4th and is visiting me for a few days! :D   I plan to see the other one at some point in May: He is living in Koblenz!

Right. I think its best to do a better one later, when I have more to say!
After Easter! :D