...und?

Alright, another busy week has passed, so I suppose it's time for another post.This past week has been everything from stressful and exciting to sometimes boring and rather mundane.
I worked my first week at the school. I can't say that I did much, though. Right now I'm still in the process of introducing myself to all of the classes (there are a lot, to say the least) and observing. Every once in a while I have something relevant to say/add, and sometimes I get to hold question and answer sessions. It turns out that to a rather large range of school kids, Americans are somewhat exciting, as we don't come along very often here in Eislingen.
Without fail I am asked if I've met any stars, if I like McDonalds, whether I like Germany...and if anyone has heard anything about Wisconsin, whether or not it's true that I must love cheese. People here recognize the Milwaukee area as home of the Bucks, the only sport I don't follow. I'm always sure to inform them, though, that we have our beloved Brewers and Packers, whom we stand by win or lose. I really enjoying working with the students, and though I might not want to be a teacher, I'm starting to wonder whether working with kids/youth is something I might really enjoy...

And? What else have I been doing? Well! Last week school closed early in order for the teachers to go on a field trip. Not bad, hey? We went to Meinhardt...it's somewhere between some Schwebian Albs. We got there and then had a long carriage ride. The Carriage, pulled by two horses was fully equipped with wine, beer, water, and juices of all sorts.

We were glad to have something to warm us, because it was a bit chilly (as per standard procedure around here). I got to know a few younger people, too! (finally!!) We have some Referendaren, which are graduates who have to do a year and a half of observed teaching before being offered a job. It was really nice to feel like I was actually making friends. The carriage ride stopped half way for Kaffee und Kuchen: a German tradition that should be observed around the world. Mid afternoon, Germans stop their day in order to spend some time with a nice cup of coffee and a lovely slice of cake. I cannot say enough about Swetchgen Kuchen...plum cake. LOVE.

After our nice pause and warm-up time we headedback in our carriage to the hotel. Their we enjoyed a delicious meal. People actually come from all over the area to eat the food there, so we had a nice meal.

We stayed the night in the hotel, and woke up for a long hike the next day.

Saturday, we journed on a half-day hike through forest, over hills, and through fields. It's amazing the way the landscape can change from thick forests to huge, rolling, mountain-like hills, to flat fields in the course of an hour by foot. We stopped for--you guessed it--Kaffee und Kuchen at a beautiful restaurant. It was covered (literally--ceilings, walls, entrances) with plants. I had Zweibelkuchen and neuer Wine (onion cake and new wine...Onion cake is more like a pie-type deliciousness with bacon type bits and sweet/salty onions inside, and new wine is sweet): delicious.
We hiked the rest of the way back, and then drove home.
That night I went to the Eislinger Kreiselfest, a town festival here that didn't produce a ton of excitement. It was kind of nice to see my students all excitedly and nervously say "hello" to me.
Sunday I took a train to Stuttgart where I met up with some other current Fulbrighters and some past German Fulbrighters who ventured to America. It was nice to see more people my age and to chat in English. The only other English I get here is BBC World on the TV and music videos. Otherwise I am speaking very simple English to my classes, and having trouble mixing my German/English thoughts. We drove from there to Sigmaringen, where there was a castle. I unfortunately did not complete the tour due to some altitude troubles. I had to leave because I almost passed out...very strange. Something about the crappy air in the castle, and seeing black spots suddenly made it very clear to me that I had to leave. Anyway, I'm fine, but I missed about half of the castle. Luckily, castles are not a rarity here in Germany, so I will see another in due time.
Afterwards I enjoyed coffee-eis and wine with Lauren (from IES Freiburg!) and we were joined by Dirk and Jan, the two German Fulbrighers now working for Porsche and BMW--not bad. Afterwards Lauren and I hiked to the peak of the hill/mountain to get a good view of the castle from a distance.

We ate at a traditional German restaurant afterwards and enjoyed our food with good company and laughter. I returned to Eislingen late Sunday night exhausted and ready for sleep.
Today was much less exciting, but still nice. I wandered into school at about 10:30, made a schedule for the day, observed a few classes, took a walk during the lunch hour and enjoyed my sandwhich, and then returned for more classes. I planned out my schedule for the week, and gave myself Tuesday and Thursday off in order to go on the fieldtrips planned for the Russian exchange guests here this week. They're going to Stuttgart, Ulm and Bodensee, so I will definitely take part.

first dinner for one, ala Germany

After work I discovered a lovely bookshop and bought my first cookbook. It's called "ich koch' mir was: Rezepte fuer ein Person" (I'm cooking myself something, recipes for one person). It might seem a little sad, but I'm only cooking for one, and it has some good tips for what to do with leftover ingredients...buying and cooking for one person is a challenge. Hopefully when I make some more friends I can try my new skills (hopefully I will acquire some of these "skills") out on guests. Until then--I am a guinea pig for myself. I bought some peanut butter on base, so worst case scenario is that I eat some peanut butter rolls.
Anyway, this post is getting out of hand, so I will end it here.
You'll hear from me sooner than later.
Until then--send me your address if I don't have it, I'm working on getting post cards out in the next month or two. Send addresses to sara.wallsworth@gmail.com

Ciao Leute,
xoxo
Sara