I have internet!!!!

I FINALLY HAVE INTERNET IN THE DORM!! It is a fantastic feeling. I didn't want to keep sounding like a tech-savvy American who HAS to be connected to the internet 24/7; however, being in a foreign country for 3-4 days without any connection home kinda sucks. But no fear, problem solved!

So yesterday after I had my tease of internet at Starbucks, Kyle and I walked around the city for a long time. We walked to the Cathedral and across the Rhine and on our way back to the dorm we found a really cute and authentic, traditional German part of town. When we were walking it was dusk so I got some really pretty pictures of the city of Cologne and of the Cologne Cathedral from the other side of the bridge. (Those are all on facebook, it takes forever for the pictures to upload to the blog in the dorm).

After we explored the city some more, we met Emilie and went to a German restaurant where I ordered a Bratwurst and it was freaking delicious. We then went in search of a place that was planning on showing the Superbowl. We went into an Irish bar that looked really fun (and the bartender was legit Irish, so that's awesome) but they weren't showing the game. He pointed us in the direction of an American bar that would most likely be showing it. We found it and sure enough, it was decked out in American football apparel and had the Bears v. Seahawks game playing on huge tvs everywhere. We decided to stay and watch the beginning of the Jets game, but for some reason the satelite started to freeze every other minute during the game so we left, plus we had to be at school at 8 this morning and the Jets game didn't even start until after 10:30 pm here. Don't worry though, JETS WON!


So today was the first day that we went to the school. The school is literally a 2 minute walk from my dorm. One morning I will video tape my walk just so you can see the closeness of the school. The school is also really different because I am only there for a couple of hours a day. For instance, today I was only there from 8-935. The students don't have the same classes everyday and they all have different times since the school houses grades 5-12. My schedule is kind of confusing but I like it because I am not at school from 8-4 everyday like all of my other student teaching friends and I am exposed to 5 different teachers and their teaching styles; and I get exposure in grades 5-9 which is really nice. The school is also different in that the teachers don't have their own classrooms. The students stay in the same rooms and the teachers rotate rooms, but most teachers aren't even there all day long because once they are done with their classes for the day, or they have a long break, they leave school and take care of personal stuff. Their desk consists of sharing a table with like 5 or so other teachers in the teacher's lounge. The teacher's lounge is just made up of a bunch of rows of tables with teacher's things on them. This is a pretty cool idea because it seems to create more of a community between the teachers.

After school, Emilie took Kyle and I to get our Temporary Resident Passes but by the time they called our number they were about to close, so I think I am just going to go by myself on my break tomorrow from 935-1145. After that we went and got some school supplies and some more things to decorate my room with. I also finally put the pictures I brought up so that is a nice new thing. I am going to Ikea tomorrow with Sophie, one of the girls in my dorm, to get some more things to make my room feel more like home. As soon as I am satisfied to the comfort level of my room I will definitely post pictures for you guys to see.

Once we got back we finally got out internet codes so we can be connected to home in our rooms now. I also paid my first month's rent which they knocked down to half price since I am only living here half of the month of January. Emilie and I then went out again to go get some more groceries. I got some more dinner type food so I don't have to go out to dinner ever night, because I really can't afford that.

Anyway, everyting is going good! It is nice to start to settle into a routine and to start to have my room feel more like home.