Guten Tag Leute!
Sooooo I have officially completed/survived my first week as both a teacher and a student. Hooray! so I thought I'd celebrate by telling you guys alllllll about it. Aren't you lucky :)
Most of you know that the reason I managed to be able to afford to come to the University of Florida is because they offered me what is called a Graduate Assistantship, meaning that in return for a small wage and agreeing to waiver the exorbitant tuition fees I teach beginners German to the Undergraduate students. This was something I must admit to not being thrilled about. I've never had any desire to teach, nor did I think I'd be any good at or enjoy it in the slightest. The fear was increased when I discovered I was to have an office....so GROWN-UP....check it out...and the beautiful building it is housed in....
I'm not going to lie, it's very scary teaching something you do not know everything about. For example on my first day one of the students asked me what the German for squirrel was....why on EARTH would I know what squirrel is in German? I'm not a native speaker, neither am I a walking dictionary....luckily Leo the online dictionary saved the day and they didn't seem to mind me admitting I didn't know :)
So yes, anyway, first day was extremely nerve racking, I have no doubt the students could see my hands shaking when I turned the book pages!
I have about 20 students in my class and I'm luckier than some because there is a language requirement at the University of Florida, meaning students have to have studied a foreign language for at least one semester in order to graduate (awesome idea if you ask me) leading to students not really wanting to be there, but because German is a little obscure for them, for example most students just do French or Spanish and keep quiet about the fact they studied it High School, the students in my class actually want to be there, they are all extremely keen to learn German for various reasons.
After the first week I must admit it turns out teaching is actually pretty fun and whilst I now realise how bad my German grammar really is, in some ways I think it is actually easier for me to teach them than the other Teaching Assistants who are native speakers because I've had to learn it the same way the students are. My students seem awake and alert, which for a 9:35am class is pretty impressive...to be honest it is probably all the you tube videos I keep showing them....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ottXQrKm068
I only wish my own seminars were like that! This semester I am studying classical and romantic (yes romantic, don't laugh!) German Literature, it has lots of history involved, discussion the influences various historical events had on the emerging literature of the 19th century...most of you are probably already asleep just reading that bit but to my inner geek this awesome!....well...it would be if I could understand the Professor! He has decided that because the rest of the class are German and I speak German he can now deliver this course in German, (don't worry, you can still write in English he says) so yup, in a 3 hour seminar I probably understood about 65% :)...I can tell you all about contracts for investment banking trades or the inner workings of a Belkin router in German but late 18th Century historical terms....I'll admit I'm at a loss...fun times a head involving lots and lots of reading me thinks!! teehee!
Don't worry, surely I'm still having some fun I hear you cry....of course I am!! You probably all noticed a slight negative undertone to last week's entry, I must admit the 1st week here was tough, very lonely and very intimidating but this week has improved no end...largely thanks to this lovely character...
This is Madeline, who I mentioned last week. She is a fully fledged Floridian and has gone out of her way to make me feel welcome. On Saturday she, along with her boyfriend Reggie and a few other friends, took me to Poe Springs. A beautiful spot where you can swim without fear of getting eaten by an Alligator :)
Along the way we discovered, much to my excitement, that Madeline and Reggie are fellow rum drinkers.... on route to the springs we stopped by a store and Reggie appeared with a treat for us....needless to say I was all smiles....
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| A bottle of Kracken bigger than my head!! |
Last Sunday I also went to my first ever Pep-rally....I'm not going to lie, it was a little disappointing but getting to see the stadium was amazing, such an impressive space, especially when you consider it is on a University Campus...certainly beats our Astro Turf pitches eh?
If you all remember I was having problems getting Randle anywhere. I have managed to tackle that problem (in a slightly naughty way if I'm honest) by registering him as a "service dog". He is now all official and on Wednesday night we successfully took the bus to the local dog park - hooray! Randle was his usual superstar self and played his service dog role perfectly....the boy should've been an actor! He seems a lot happier in himself since the air-conditioning has been fixed as he now has a retreat from the heat. There has also been some cooler mornings this week (19/20 degrees at 7am as opposed to 29/30) so he's been running about like a loon whilst he can. He's met some of the neighbours and as usual he's built up a bit of a fan club already.
On Monday Madeline brought her Pug, Charlie, round to play, unfortunately Randle took a bit of a disliking to poor (slightly insane) little Charlie and refused to play with him at all. Charlie persevered in the typical pug way and eventually Randle deemed him sane enough to be allowed to share his bed. I'm sure their friendship will blossom eventually....
On Thursday night madeline took me to my first Ladies night at a "country" nightclub (Yes, I admitted to her my love of cowboys) This was SO surreal, I explained to her that back home the only people who really go line dancing are middle aged woman who need a hobby, that is the general stereotype anyway (no offence Kerry!:) , I admit I've been to some classes too and it was lots of fun) Yet here I was in night club surrounded by people ranging from about 18 to 35 line dancing to modern country and even a bit of hip hop...whilst country music isn't really my thing, I'm not gonna lie, it really was fun..even just being a spectator (I was watching the dancing, not the guys in Stetsons, honest!)
Other than that, postboxporn is coming along nicely....
And I've spent some time exploring, this is a pic from downtown. I am going to have to admit, the more I see of this place the more it grows on me...I might even go so far as to say I am slowly falling in love with Gainesville :)
Think that is enough for today...over and out!
Love & Slobber
Sam & Randle
xxx
