In a few, unrelated matters....

This may turn out to be quiet annoying for some people, if it does - well tough... :P

This month has been Great. It is now the last weekend in November and in total, I have racked up nearly 90 nights under German Stars - in fact Monday will be my 3rd complete month here..   

The fact that is is November, means a few things right now.

1) This is all going WAY too quickly!  Christmas is , annoyingly,  the half way point of this.  Im pretty shocked at how quickly the time is going, and and how Christmas symbolizes that , although 4 months is a long time - Don't really have all that Much time left!

2) This is pretty important. In fact, apart from only about 3 other things in my life (and food and sleep come below this)  This is the final F1 weekend of the season.

From this moment onward, my weekends are empty, bare and spent looking forward to March 17th , when it all starts again!
Some people do not understand how I can be so obsessed with the F1, and how I plan weekends around it. Well - I argue the same for football, or whatever you guys like. I don't know what it is , but whatever it is - I love it!

Im posting this now, before the qualifying on the Saturday, because this season can go 2 ways. One guy I want to win, and the other I would rather see his car bogged-down in a gravel trap.
if it goes that way, you'll hear from me again, and if it doesn't - Then I wish you all a happy Christmas - for all until 2015!

Im also excited about march for another reason - It is under wraps a bit at the moment - Once confirmed, THEN I will reveal all! :D

3) Germany is preparing for Christmas.

These are some comparisons to the way that Germany prepares for Xmas, against the UK  

There are some lessons for the UK here...  which include..

- The coke advert DOES NOT meant the start of Christmas, nor should seeing it make the top 10 on twitter..  Its an advert - every other advert annoys you!

Clearly, I am a pro a Photoshop

- Christmas songs - If it is not Christmas, don't play them - Germany is saving my sanity in that respect

- Christmas lights - your house is not meant to attract the attention of other planets it, therefore, does not need to have enough bulbs to keep a large block of flats lit up for 3 years.  a few, tasteful lights will be fine - even then, you do not need to put the up in October

- Though, yes, this is a busy period in the shops - you do not need to queue outside of the shop, nor when you are in the shop, must you act like a TOTAL tit!   There is no pushing, no fighting and you can breathe. Nor do you go into a shop with 400 customers and only 3 members of staff on duty..

These are just a few things...   UK - this is how Christmas should be ... 'Tis the season to be Jolly!!  NOT Jolly pissed off!!

A generic Christmas Market Picture

As part of the Christmas preparations, I have been asked to go to a Christmas Market in Bayern (Bavaria) on December 9th.  Im looking forward to it - and if you are some of the (Very) few people I but Christmas presents for - it could be that you end up with something very German and bought from this market. Even still - you will be able to spot the tourist at 20 paces - because it will be me , with my camera asking completely stupid questions.


The other thing about this time of year is that is is now the 24/11/12.
This means that in 28 days.. I go home.
Im not desperate to , far from it. In fact I think that i could easily spend Christmas in Germany, given how nice everyone is.
However, there are some things that I am beginning to , not miss as such, but would love to be re-acquainted with again.
some things are a bit sad
- Irn Bru, My xbox and a TV that talks to me in English would be lovely! but there are the other things too.

I miss this stuff!

Family are in short supply in Germany.  They annoy me at times, but they are almost contracted to do that - but no one understands you better than your family. 
Also, My dads sense of humor is desperately needed.  I usually refer to his thoughts as "dads 'professional' opinion" He always has one - and the way he conveys is is fantastic. my dad also is the type of bloke that doesn't need to SAY anything..  the face usually says it all!

My flight is on the 20th December.  This is to Manchester from Frankfurt, and it was pretty cheap because I took my dads advice and booked early.
When I booked it - I was going to book for the Friday, but chose not to.   
This was because of something I saw on the website I used to book them. I thought that it was so fantastic, that I was going to take their advice and run with it

"please note - some flights on 21/12/12 may not fly, due to the supposed 'end of the world'"

It was a Joke, the website was clearly taking the mick, but I thought that it was brilliant!
So I booked my flights earlier.

Anyway, having explained a few things, I may as well let you know what I have been up to.

Yesterday, I went to Frankfurt and met up with the 'Hessen Mannschaft' which are the other language assistants that are based in Hessen. we had a few drinks, a good laugh and it was great fun!   more to the point, I didn't miss my stop, after - Once again - falling asleep on the train.
Again though, I payed for a ticket and it wasn't checked. I have considered not paying -but that is tempting fate! I have also been invited to go to a performance of "A Christmas Carol" in Fulda!
So - im off to go and see a performance of "A Christmas Carol" in Fulda. looking forward to it actually. Its another chance for me to feel cultured!

Ill check in again sometime soon..   I think December is going to be busy!

What Im here for

ODDLY - half way through this the formatting changes...  I dont know why and cant be bothered to change it...and..
In a brief moment of being pathetic, I would like to say before I start, that after having a mate over for just a few days the other week.. It made me realise how BORING living by yourself can be..  !  so, if you ever want to come back mate? :D

Well, 
I have decided that I am going to do a post on the reason I am here :

"To improve my language skills and to gain necessary cultural experience by living in the foreign country"
according to my module guide!

I have (luckily) begun to dream in German now... which must be good...   I still get people in school saying
"you speak English all the time"
well yes - Im here to teach it - to students and the teachers - so I kinda have to -But the rules are
1) In school - English with the students all the time, unless necessary clarification is needed...  (its never necessary)
2) After school, German with the students, unless they speak in English first - then they have decided to have that conversation in English it is therefore their fault if it becomes difficult... they had the chance!
3) Teachers - either or, depending on the situation - if its general chat, German - complaining about other staff or students, English !
4) German all the time to non-school Folk..  don't assume that this shopkeeper can speak English.. go for German every time (excluding the Irish bar!)

I guess that this will mean, that to certain colleges, I only speak English  but tough!!   Im here to help them too! :D  
To my wonderful students who read this...   forget number 2 please..  if i know you have caught on to this you will get English 24/7!!  :D

  
Anyway!.. I have been here now long enough I think to have enough experience to deal with it, so here goes.

 The Culture
During our second year at Uni, we had a module (MFL111) which I know that all Sunderland students are now sniggering at, that was supposed to prepare us for coming abroad, and dealing with different situations that may arise
some of which were:
- going to a party - etiquette, should I take something and how long should I stay for
- out and about - dark places, new people and whole new surroundings
- what is that? - discovering the differences and how to deal with them.

well..  I paid £3320 for my tuition last year, and did 7 modules.   that makes £474.28 per module. 
MFL was a waste of £474. (there were some useful aspects, hence, not a waste of 28p)

We are all put together, German, French and Spanish, so it would be tough to do, but this would have been SO much better if they had brought a former Erasmus student from each language to tell us what they found shocking/ hard/ new/ different.

It meant that I was not prepared for some things in Germany, and I have had to adjust myself to certain things.

- Germans are really direct. There is no beating around the bush like in English. They are not rude with it, just to the point!
- Sorry is not said at every slight inconvenience, whether it was you or someone else that caused it
- "danke" (thank you) is not used as often.  basically, you only use it when someone has gone really out of their way for you, and not moved their trolley so you can get passed!
- The word 'sofort' (immediately)   that stereotype about it - its true..  sofort means sofort!

but there are other things too..

- Shopping - if you want pickled stuff, you are in luck!  if you are looking for a 13 min microwavable lasagne for one...  tough luck..  but also, in Germany, shopping is done by type of food...   meat from the butcher, break from the baker etc etc  so you cant just nip to one shop!!   also   DON'T FORGET YOUR BAGS!!  only very few places offer plastic bags, and the cheapest I have seen are 19 cent paper ones 

I Love tegut...

- to further that note - shop etiquette. 
"Schonen Tag noch" or 'have a nice day' is said really often..  reply "ebenso" or "gleichweis"  (likeways, or back atcha!) because that's the thing to do! and not doing it appears really rude..  you can see it on people's faces if someone doesn't say it! 
- saying Hello...  if you read my post about the German Health system (opens new window)  then you will get a good sense of how that works through an emphasised point of view..  but also see the point I make about people saying 'hello'    - but its not just at the doctors.. its everywhere!  pizza shops.. wherever.. people walk in an announce themselves with a "hallo"
once place I went the other day - the person didn't get a response the 1st time, so cleared their throat and said it again, louder. to get a response! 

- Sarcasm...   well...  when on form, I can be VERY sarcastic.. this should only be done with people who have spent time in the UK..  otherwise, they are likely to take you seriously..  because everyone is direct
I was joking the other day saying that if my students spoke German, then I would throw them out the window..  she then asked me "is that allowed?"  -_-

the other major thing.. is this 'du' and 'Sie' thing,  Both ways of saying 'you', but one of them is formal...
whoever invented that needs to be strung up! For  person who's mother tongue only has one form, this gets confusing..  I didn't use the 'sie' form the other day in a shop (I was very tired, and not feeling 100% -better now though, thanks for the concern) and I was treated like I had just shit in their kettle..   I didn't realise it at the time... but I do now.  I realise that it is like me going up to a person in Tescos and saying   "you, chips, where, now?"  but I didn't at the time realise the gravity of it..  and now - im over using it great!

my last major point for now.. is recycling.
Pfand is amazing..
(watch the format change!...)

basically, a bottle of coke or whatever will have a price show like this

€1,00 + 0,25 Pfand.

you pay a total of €1.25 at the till.  BUT when you take it to a recycling place, you get the 0,25 back, to encourage plastic bottle recycling!

a machine to collect your 'Pfand' back

This applies to plastic (and I think glass) bottles...

BUT.. you also have to sort out your rubbish int bins, like the UK.. 

oh dear..    its even coloured to help me!

however.. here .. is it treated almost like a life and death situation..

sort them wrong and suffer the wrath!!    I have obviously been doing it a few weeks now.. and all of a sudden, a very stern notice has appeared on the door to the bins telling us how to do it!

I think its aimed at me!



This is a long one eh?
Now the language..

There will be another blog on both of these topics, im sure, so this one is about the one thing I find most stark

ENGLISH
Centuries ago, English was made..  not the most creative language.. most of it was stolen from other people.. 
but , now, it appears that the other countries are taking stuff back.

there are so many words that have been derived from English that know about.. most are technology or new advancements.. but they even have phrases that they use..

for example

Ich werde es googlen - im going to Google it
Ich habe es gegoogled - I googled it

Man muss das im Facebook liken - you need to like that on facebook
dass habe ich geliked - I liked it

I mean really - geliked? that is taking an English verb and making it VERY German, grammatically!
other words - geaddet (added) / gestalked ( I mean c'mon!)

but there are loads - some can be found here (new window)

My favourite English word made German is 
angepissed - to be pissed off

du siehst ein bisschen angepissed aus - you look pissed off!!

but also phrases...

Germans will actually say

"you don't Say" as a phrase!    as a response to something shocking..    
someone used it to me (Jerome!) and I was like.. OK English now!!..  He was totally baffled...  because Germans use it!!

The video below below is in German and English combined (called Denglisch)

It doesn't matter if you don't understand as an English person... because to be fair, you will see how many English words and phrases there are! some words have been changed to make them conform with german grammar, but when you hear them, you will know which ones?

I will warn you - the song is average, but may get stuck in your head
This is called 'Denglisch' by a band called 'The Wise Guys'...  they use no instruments, so everything you hear is done by mouth



So.. ill put another language and culture blog up sometime.. but now yet eh? I think it will be about German TV - that is 2 birds, one stone!

A week of Expereinces

Before I Start, I would like to say Hello to the lovely students of mine that read this !!   HI! :D
Anyway...
Nearly a week an a half ago days ago, on Thursday 1st November, I was on my was to Frankfurt Airport to pick up a friend who was arriving from England.  I got their pretty much as his flight took off, so I had a fair while to wait whilst I was waiting for him to arrive.

His flight was on the board.. but the 2 hour flight from Heathrow seemed to be taking a long time!

I had a few beers, a coffee, a sandwich and still had about an hour left to wait. But then, at that moment - it got much more exciting, with the arrival of a coach load of Police.

Yes, a coach dropped them off. blue lights, sirens and a whole heap of noise. But they got off calmly, more like a load of pensioners at Llandudno and then walked into the terminal.

They walked in  line, to a part of the terminal, turned around and then one police officer (with 3 start on his shoulder) Shouted "ladies and gentlemen, please leave the building immediately"  (but in German first)

there was a pause.. people who were waiting for friends, loved ones or colleges just ..stared...  and questioned..  I half expected a man to appear from nowhere with the phrase "yeah, right!"

The policeman rolled his eyes, and with the look of a guy about to give up yelled (in very clear English)
"There could be a bomb, get out!"

The Cordon

People understood that!  but this is Germany.. there was no running, screaming or tripping over, no crying children that had been separated from their mother - NO. Everyone, as if they were now walking to the shops shrugged their shoulders and began to walk silently away from the cordoned off area. The shops along the side of the airport started to roll their shutters down and we were out of the 'effected area' within seconds.

There was of course the odd person who argued the case, but the police soon taught them the meaning of the words "bomb scare" and soon 'assisted' them into the safe area!

We stood, watched and waited...  no news was coming through, no radio communications from the police, just about 400 sets of eyes watching to see what was going to happen

What  did happen?

A thumb up...

The airport was open again..   and that was it ..   after 15 minutes of a scene that would only be in the 'deleted scenes' of an action movie, everything was back to normal in seconds.

This happened twice. The second time, was conveniently as my friend was coming through the arrival gate:

"Welcome to Germany: We have a Bomb scare"

Anyway, I picked him up, we headed to the trains, and to be fair - it was like the last time we had seen each other was yesterday...

There was a race on (so I thought) to catch the last train from Frankfurt to Schlüchtern - as I was not willing to spend a night in a shitty hotel in Frankfurt..  anyway, it turns out that we had enough time to get a Mcdonalds! Win!

Friday (so exactly a week ago) we went to Frankfurt.  This was odd..   Not for any other reason, but that for all the touristy things I had been doing not 6 weeks ago, I was now the tour guide to a bloke who had never set foot in Germany...

We did the typical...
Main Tower

Town Hall

The boat ride was not running, annoying - because if you have read my previous blogs, you will know how much I liked it!

Shopped a tad

Food

Sightseeing.

The Daytime Main Tower View - Richtung: Hauptbahnhof

It was a good day - the only slight issue was the weather.  But - as people from the UK, we could manage a bit of crappy weather! It was howevera goo day.With another citizen of the UK being won over by Germany. I was pleased that my freind felt this way!

Throughout the previous week however, My little hometown was being destroyed by Pikeys, turning up with their funfairs and sweet-selling stalls, causing road closures and keeping the shops open late. But, at the same time.. they were creating one of the biggest events in Schlüchtern's Year

Kaltermarkt.

Basically, the cold market - and I wouldn't call it a market, but the chance to eat every possible food going, get hammered and then throw it up on the fair!

Still. It turns Schlüchtern into a nice place, with all the lights, sounds and smells of a typical market!

Kaltermarkt in the dark

Kaltermarkt

The Fair at Kaltermarkt

Me and my Friend went on the Saturday. 

Well, it was pretty good!  When I say "pretty good" , I mean i liked it - but im conscious that for those who go every year, its just the same thing.. over and over again...

Well, my friend speaks no German - he can say a few words, but only because I forced him to! so we were sampling the wears of the market, everything from the food, to the beer to to chocolate! We met up with 2 colleges  and had a chat etc etc  and it was all very enjoyable!

I am an Air rifle instructor. I earned this title about a year and a half ago. So I am now pretty well practiced.

There was, at the fair, an air rifle stand, and of course, I wanted a go.

I had 61 shots over the weekend..  I hit all of them... accept 1.  I was gutted! (and still am, as my mate will tell you!)  But, never the less - I won some Fish (they are stuffed ones, not real ones!)  At the bottom is a video of me hitting 15 of the targets...

Me on the rifle range!

Fireworks

So much so that we ended up going on Sunday too! Sunday had a slight difference, however - which was the firework display! 

The kaltermarkt was handy..  especially because we could go at any time. This meant that we could watch the Formula 1 too! :D 

Anyway, all too soon, Monday came around, and it was the day when I had to take my friend back to the airport...

It took the usual amount of time and I saw him off (more to make sure he had gone! :P) and got home at the ripe old time of 3PM, where I bumped into some of the teachers from the school

I ended up in the Handball tent.. downing pints of beer...  

and that..  is what I remember of Kaltermarkt..

Anyway, a week past at work, as per..   On tuesday, I inadvertently managed to accept an invitation to a 'class meeting'.  Again, Germans know the meaning of a "meeting"

We has steak. Argentinian, to be exact  and it was big enough to hang off the plate!  Cooked to perfection "englisch"style (or Medium rare to english folk) it was awesome. The chips and everything were bliss!
I had:
A steak that hung off the plate
A huge pile of chips
Salad
2 Beers

Total:  €16.80...
BOOM!   Germans can do steak too,it seems!


Now, though Friday's steak adventure was great, and Saturday was a (well needed, though I say so myself) rest. Sunday was a day of peculiarity.

Sunday was 11\11\12 - or Remembrance Day in the UK

As a Scout, I have spent the last 15 years getting up early, ironing my trousers and my shirt, and heading out to church.
This was not the case.
Germans do have a day of remembered, but its in March, as is not on the scale that it is in the UK.

I had to remember the time difference, so actually  my 2 minutes were going to happen at 12 which was the first odd thing. But the second was when I actually did the silence.

I had the TV off..   But I could here:

- Next doors TV

- a car alarm

- people talking walking the dog

- Police sirens

- a man on the phone

- someone coming up the stairs

Though I am fully aware that it is not the day Germany has set aside for this event, It was very strange, realising that a whole country, frozen for 2 minutes of reflection, with people pulling over in cars, people standing up from a seated position, and hundreds of war veterans from every generation were standing, paused in thought, whereas the other - went about its business ..

I don't really know my true feelings .. I guess that Germany's view on the whole period is different to the UK's.. but I cant get my head around it...  and .. somehow   don't think I ever will..

On a different note: My time here.

- I am beginning to 'gear up' for the wind down to Christmas. Though it pains me to say that word in November!

I see statuses on Facebook and Twitter about Christmas songs and the Coke advert and Im kinda glad that Germany's attitude isn't so materialistic, so we don't have a toys'R'us advert every 2 minutes, or the next cheap wifey offering me some shite that Iceland are selling..

What I am realising, is that 80 days ago today, I was spending my last night in an English bed, and that since then I have managed to survive pretty well.

I am in (as near as) full time work here, I have a flat and friends, and most of all,I am doing the job that I want to do in the future.

It has made me realise, that I am absolutely pig sick, of being a student.

Every year, just by signing on to the uni, I spend near enough 4K, and then there is grants and loans as well.  Its not hard work, but at times, it can appear pointless work.
I constantly have to battle with exams and stuff, when here I know that my German has improved, a damn sight faster that it would have done if I have spend the 3 months at uni. Its not free..  But it wont land me in student debt!

Ill be honest, getting back to Sunderland will be bitter-sweet. I like Sunderland  don't get me wrong, but I enjoy working too much to go back to studying. At least it will be my last year before I actually start my full course on teacher stuff. I hope, that by doing the teaching course, I can find some enthusiasm to carry on.

Though oddly, being here has made me realise that I really do waste time in the UK. German can* be learned from a textbook.  What that also means is that , as long as I have the textbook, I can probably use the time in front of the TV to revise grammar.. It takes minutes..   Writing out is a different matter.. but , you don't have to write it out all the time!

*can - one has the ability to - im not commenting on quality,mind

 I am fully aware that I "wont get these years back" and all that Jazz... and I am not going to let all enthusiasm die because I have decided Im fed up of it all...  I just think that when I get back to Sunderland, I need to find a new attitude to it all, especially as it is the final year.

So.. this entry is a mixed basket of Eggs...

nevertheless, Christmas is less than 7 weeks away for me!  Im sure its going to be great fun flying home on the 20th December!  but we shall see!!


below is my Kaltermartk Rifle video....    Enjoy!