Crazy to think that my last week of student teaching is already over...doesn't seem like I've been in the school for that long at all! This last week though was quite fun. This is the last week of school for the 13th years so they have had a different theme for each day of the week. Monday they all dressed up as construction workers, wearing the blue jumpsuits and construction hard hats. They also put caution tape all over the school and locked up the teacher's entrance to the school we we all had to walk in the student entrance. During the breaks, they would all sit outside the staff room as if they were some union on strike...so in order to get in or out of the teachers' room, you had to climb over all of these studets. Every now and then they would also all stand up and chant something in German. It was pretty funny. On Tuesday, they all dressed up in a different sports outfit and would play different sports in the hallway. On Wednesday, they all dressed up like a different character of some sort, comic book, superhero, etc. Thursday, they all dressed up like nerds...and one student was the Easter Bunny. They also filled up a bunch of little plastic cups with water and placed them in front of the entrance to the school so to get into the building you had to walk all over these water-filled cups. Also on Thursday there was a program which the 13th graders put on. It was an Oscar-themed program where the 13th graders had nominated and voted on their teachers for awards like: most artistic, best in their subject, best transportation to school, etc... For some the students voted, and for other categoried the nominated teachers had to get on stage and complete some sort of task and the audience voted. It was really interesting. Friday, it was a calm day for the older students.
Wednesday was my last class with my 5th graders. The students had to fill out a worksheet dealing with vocabulary where there was a German sentence on one side and and the English translation on the other side, and the students had to fill in the missing English vocab word. I was going to go over the answers with the students and my cooperating teacher said that the students would really love it if I tried to pronounce the German sentences while I was going over the homework. So I did. The kids found it really funny, although after I read one sentence one little boy clapped for me so I think I said that one really well. But it was fun and the kids enjoyed it.
Thursday was my last class with my 6th graders. I was really sad to have to leave this class because this is the only class which I have been at every single one of their lessons since I got here in January. To start this class, we handed the students back their reports from the oral exam which they took on Tuesday...we had 9 students start crying. It sucked. Not just like a tear or two here and there, like full on sobbing...and a couple of them were boys which you don't tend to see very often. After the kids settled down from their test scores, we played a vocabulary game the rest of the class period and the students all signed a card for me with their picture in it...which is awesome! I will definitely miss this class. I also had the 7th graders Thursday and I took small groups of them into a separate room to practice their speaking. Their task was to give an oral biography of their favorite celebrity...here are some of the celebrities the students said (note the randomness): Mark Wahlberg, Bruno Mars, Homer Simpson, Johnny Depp, Kobe Bryant, and of course Spongebob Squarepants. I found this quite amusing.
Friday was my last day in general and the only classes I had were 9th grade and 7th grade. I did the 9th grade lesson completely on my own and then broke the news to them that I was going back to America and I received a round of applause from them...which was nice. The 7th graders were just watching a movie but some of them had made cake, muffins, and cupcakes and they said some farewell things to me which was really nice.
The fact that I have completed my student teaching is crazy to me in the first place, but then I also think about how I am basically done with my undergraduate degree and that is even crazier. I have a few school things to take care of when I get back, but I am done with college and it is weird!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Salzburg
A couple weekends ago, Sophie and I went to Salzburg, Austria for the sole purpose of going on the Sound of Music tour. However, we both ended up LOVING Salzburg.
We arrived at our hostel in Salzburg before 9am on that Saturday, we weren't able to check in yet so we put our stuff in the luggage room, stole some of the free breakfast and planned out our day.
We decided to first walk around the city a little and see the Mozart statue and the Mozart chocolate shops. You wouldn't believe how much chocolate they have dedicated to Mozart...it is kind of strange, but delicious. We then proceeded to find Mozart's house. That was pretty interesting to walk through, minus the fact that there was an annoying school group taking over the entire thing. The kids kept giving Sophie and me strange looks for some reason.
After we walked through Mozart's house, we found a place to eat lunch. We both ordered some traditional Austrain Schnitzel and just sat and ate for a couple of hours. The Schnitzel was delicious by the way.
We had already booked our tickets for the Sound of Music Tour for 2pm so we decided to start walking in the direction of where we would get picked up for the tour. We were a little early so we walked around the shops some and sat in the park across the street because it was an absolutely wonderful day out!
The tour was actually quite nice! We were able to get off of the bus frequently to see the sites and the tour actually took us a little bit out of Salzburg and all around Salzburg so we were able to see a lot of the countryside and it was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! Check out my pictures on facebook if you don't believe me. At one of the stops a little outside of Salzburg we had about an hour to kind of wander around the small town, so Sophie and I had some Strudel, which of course was also delicious.
Once we got back to Salzburg, we checked into the hostel and went to the Augustiner Brewery for dinner. This brewery was really cool...we sat outside in the Beer Garden, which was huge! There were no servers here, you went up to get your own beer by paying for the size of the beer, grabbing your own stein, washing it yourself, and then handing it to someone to fill up for you. For food, there were different stands all over the restaraunt where you just walked up and ordered your food and paid for it right then. We each ate the best half of a chicken either of us have ever tasted...SO GOOD!
Here is where my trip takes a turn for the worse...we get back the dorm and my intention is to stay up for the UK Final Four game, so Sophie and I play around on the computer for about an hour or two. We then realize it is 2am and we both fell asleep on the couch, so we decided to go to bed. I set my ipod alarm for 2:45 since the game started at 3am Salzburg time. Since I would be waking up in the middle of the night, I didn't want to set my phone alarm because that would be loud and annoying and wake everyone up. So I had my ipod alarm set and ready, and my headphones in my ears. Next thing I knew, I woke up and it was 6 freaking 30 in the morning...COMPLETELY MISSED THE GAME! My alarm did not make noise when it went off for some reason, which completely defeats the purpose of an alarm. I immediately grabbed my computer and ran upstairs to see the outcome of the game...disappointing that we lost. Although, if we had won the game and I had missed it I would have been pissed!
I went back to bed after the terrible way I was woken up. We only really had time for breakfast on Sunday before we had to catch the bus back to the airport. It was a really fun trip, we were able to fit a lot into basically just one day of Salzburg. I would love to go back and even live there, it was just so pretty. No matter where you were in the city you could see the surrounding mountains and it was just perfect!
We arrived at our hostel in Salzburg before 9am on that Saturday, we weren't able to check in yet so we put our stuff in the luggage room, stole some of the free breakfast and planned out our day.
We decided to first walk around the city a little and see the Mozart statue and the Mozart chocolate shops. You wouldn't believe how much chocolate they have dedicated to Mozart...it is kind of strange, but delicious. We then proceeded to find Mozart's house. That was pretty interesting to walk through, minus the fact that there was an annoying school group taking over the entire thing. The kids kept giving Sophie and me strange looks for some reason.
After we walked through Mozart's house, we found a place to eat lunch. We both ordered some traditional Austrain Schnitzel and just sat and ate for a couple of hours. The Schnitzel was delicious by the way.
We had already booked our tickets for the Sound of Music Tour for 2pm so we decided to start walking in the direction of where we would get picked up for the tour. We were a little early so we walked around the shops some and sat in the park across the street because it was an absolutely wonderful day out!
The tour was actually quite nice! We were able to get off of the bus frequently to see the sites and the tour actually took us a little bit out of Salzburg and all around Salzburg so we were able to see a lot of the countryside and it was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! Check out my pictures on facebook if you don't believe me. At one of the stops a little outside of Salzburg we had about an hour to kind of wander around the small town, so Sophie and I had some Strudel, which of course was also delicious.
Once we got back to Salzburg, we checked into the hostel and went to the Augustiner Brewery for dinner. This brewery was really cool...we sat outside in the Beer Garden, which was huge! There were no servers here, you went up to get your own beer by paying for the size of the beer, grabbing your own stein, washing it yourself, and then handing it to someone to fill up for you. For food, there were different stands all over the restaraunt where you just walked up and ordered your food and paid for it right then. We each ate the best half of a chicken either of us have ever tasted...SO GOOD!
Here is where my trip takes a turn for the worse...we get back the dorm and my intention is to stay up for the UK Final Four game, so Sophie and I play around on the computer for about an hour or two. We then realize it is 2am and we both fell asleep on the couch, so we decided to go to bed. I set my ipod alarm for 2:45 since the game started at 3am Salzburg time. Since I would be waking up in the middle of the night, I didn't want to set my phone alarm because that would be loud and annoying and wake everyone up. So I had my ipod alarm set and ready, and my headphones in my ears. Next thing I knew, I woke up and it was 6 freaking 30 in the morning...COMPLETELY MISSED THE GAME! My alarm did not make noise when it went off for some reason, which completely defeats the purpose of an alarm. I immediately grabbed my computer and ran upstairs to see the outcome of the game...disappointing that we lost. Although, if we had won the game and I had missed it I would have been pissed!
I went back to bed after the terrible way I was woken up. We only really had time for breakfast on Sunday before we had to catch the bus back to the airport. It was a really fun trip, we were able to fit a lot into basically just one day of Salzburg. I would love to go back and even live there, it was just so pretty. No matter where you were in the city you could see the surrounding mountains and it was just perfect!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
IRELAND!
Finally made my trip to Ireland a couple weeks ago! LOVE IT! I arrived in Dublin right before 11 pm and took the bus to the hostel. I was immediately grateful to be in an English speaking country...I didn't have to convert to a different language and I could understand what people were saying around me...it was glorious.
I met up with Chris Lee and his friend from FSU at the hostel...then Chris and I went in search of a place to watch the UK and FSU sweet 16 games. Sadly, no place would be open long enough to watch the entire game so once I ate some Subway we just made our way back to the hostel. Luckily, the one computer that the hostel had was open that late at night for our use...so we watched the two games side by side on Espn.com. When UK one Chris and I were screaming and jumping up and down and were yelled at by the hostel dude...whoops. FSU sadly lost, but honestly I was just excited about UK.
The next morning we we started the day off just walking around Dublin. We went to some book stores, walked through some historic neighborhoods and open-air markets abd saw Christ's Church. After walking around for awhile we made our way towards the Guinness Factory...which was awesome. When you first walked in you were standing in a giant pint class that was like 7 stories high and would hold 14.3 million pints. The you walked around the museum to see how Guinness was made, then the history of Gunniess and the different packaging and ads it has gone through since it was first established. There was a bar at the top of the factory that overlooked Dublin, which is where you could claim your free Guinness! Once we got our free drink, we went back downstairs a couple of floors to the restaurant to eat lunch, which was delicious.
After the Guinness Factory we went to the Leprachaun Mueseum. How can you go to Ireland and not go to a museum of leprachauns? Our tour guide had the most Irish name ever: Shamus O'Rielly. He was great. The museum was really cool...we went through a bunch of differnet rooms with different themes. There was a room where everything was sized so you felt as tall as a leprachaun, a rainbow room, a pot of gold, a wishing well, and stuff like that. It was actually pretty fun and interesting.
After we went back to the hostel to drop our souvenirs from the day off, we found an Irish Pub to have dinner in. I had fish and chips for dinner and they were delicious. Towards the end of the meal, these three girls got on stage at the pub and started doing some Irish dancing which was really cool to see in person.
That night we walked around the city with some girls that we met in the hostel that were from Connecticut. We went to a couple places before we ended up somewhere in the Temple Bar district that had a live band. Lindsey and I worked our way up to right in front of the stage and stayed there and listened to this band, who was really good, for the rest of the night. The lead guy was pretty cute too...which didn't hurt anything.
Sunday, we walked around Trinity College and had a tour of that. It was gorgeous! We also went inside library and looked at the Book of Kells (the oldest book in history, the four gospels). The book and the library were very impressive!
After our trip to Trinity, we took the train out to Howth, which is a small, seaside village right outside Dublin. This was the quintessential little Irish town. It was right on the Irish Sea and had BEAUTIFUL views of the sea and coast. First we just walked around the town a little and tried to find somewhere to eat lunch. We walked along the harbor to find somewhere to eat and passed a couple of seals right near the edge. We found a little seafood place to eat that was really nice. After we ate, we walked through the town some more and then headed the cliff path. This was gorgeous! We walked along the path for a couple of hours and were able to see the sea views and country views and cliff views and island views and I absolutely loved it! When I go back to Ireland, I want to go to a smaller town like that instead of Dublin, while Dublin is great...it is just like another big city and I think you lose some of the key characteristics of a country in their largest cities.
Once we got back to Dublin, we did not have a lot of time to waste before the UK v. UNC game. We went to a sports bar that was showing the game on one tv to watch it. There were 4 other people watching the game, and one was also a Kentucky fan! We were watching the entire game and then with about 4 minutes left the people told us we had to leave, but the 2 Irish people that were watching the game talked them into letting us watch the rest of the game since it was almost over and there were 7 of us watching it. Apparently with a minute and a half left in the game they decided that we had to go...so Chris and I literally sprinted back to the hostel and got on espn.com right as the game was over and FREAKED OUT in the hostel because we were FINALLY in the Final Four! I then proceeded to depress myself by looking at how crazy Lexington was wished I was there!
Chris and Lindsey left really early the next morning so I was on my own for the day. I walked around the city some and went shopping! I bought the shoes I am wearing for Julia's wedding...they are really cute! Then I went and bought my Ireland souvenirs...I went a little crazy but I've been dying to go to Ireland for over 2 years now, so I think thats okay! I stopped and had a real Shepard's Pie for lunch before I headed back to the airport to head back to Cologne. This Shepard's Pie was MUCH better than the one we serve at Cheddar's...which I guess would be expected.
I loved Ireland and I cannot wait to go back! I have to afterall since I didn't find my husband during this trip!
I met up with Chris Lee and his friend from FSU at the hostel...then Chris and I went in search of a place to watch the UK and FSU sweet 16 games. Sadly, no place would be open long enough to watch the entire game so once I ate some Subway we just made our way back to the hostel. Luckily, the one computer that the hostel had was open that late at night for our use...so we watched the two games side by side on Espn.com. When UK one Chris and I were screaming and jumping up and down and were yelled at by the hostel dude...whoops. FSU sadly lost, but honestly I was just excited about UK.
The next morning we we started the day off just walking around Dublin. We went to some book stores, walked through some historic neighborhoods and open-air markets abd saw Christ's Church. After walking around for awhile we made our way towards the Guinness Factory...which was awesome. When you first walked in you were standing in a giant pint class that was like 7 stories high and would hold 14.3 million pints. The you walked around the museum to see how Guinness was made, then the history of Gunniess and the different packaging and ads it has gone through since it was first established. There was a bar at the top of the factory that overlooked Dublin, which is where you could claim your free Guinness! Once we got our free drink, we went back downstairs a couple of floors to the restaurant to eat lunch, which was delicious.
After the Guinness Factory we went to the Leprachaun Mueseum. How can you go to Ireland and not go to a museum of leprachauns? Our tour guide had the most Irish name ever: Shamus O'Rielly. He was great. The museum was really cool...we went through a bunch of differnet rooms with different themes. There was a room where everything was sized so you felt as tall as a leprachaun, a rainbow room, a pot of gold, a wishing well, and stuff like that. It was actually pretty fun and interesting.
After we went back to the hostel to drop our souvenirs from the day off, we found an Irish Pub to have dinner in. I had fish and chips for dinner and they were delicious. Towards the end of the meal, these three girls got on stage at the pub and started doing some Irish dancing which was really cool to see in person.
That night we walked around the city with some girls that we met in the hostel that were from Connecticut. We went to a couple places before we ended up somewhere in the Temple Bar district that had a live band. Lindsey and I worked our way up to right in front of the stage and stayed there and listened to this band, who was really good, for the rest of the night. The lead guy was pretty cute too...which didn't hurt anything.
Sunday, we walked around Trinity College and had a tour of that. It was gorgeous! We also went inside library and looked at the Book of Kells (the oldest book in history, the four gospels). The book and the library were very impressive!
After our trip to Trinity, we took the train out to Howth, which is a small, seaside village right outside Dublin. This was the quintessential little Irish town. It was right on the Irish Sea and had BEAUTIFUL views of the sea and coast. First we just walked around the town a little and tried to find somewhere to eat lunch. We walked along the harbor to find somewhere to eat and passed a couple of seals right near the edge. We found a little seafood place to eat that was really nice. After we ate, we walked through the town some more and then headed the cliff path. This was gorgeous! We walked along the path for a couple of hours and were able to see the sea views and country views and cliff views and island views and I absolutely loved it! When I go back to Ireland, I want to go to a smaller town like that instead of Dublin, while Dublin is great...it is just like another big city and I think you lose some of the key characteristics of a country in their largest cities.
Once we got back to Dublin, we did not have a lot of time to waste before the UK v. UNC game. We went to a sports bar that was showing the game on one tv to watch it. There were 4 other people watching the game, and one was also a Kentucky fan! We were watching the entire game and then with about 4 minutes left the people told us we had to leave, but the 2 Irish people that were watching the game talked them into letting us watch the rest of the game since it was almost over and there were 7 of us watching it. Apparently with a minute and a half left in the game they decided that we had to go...so Chris and I literally sprinted back to the hostel and got on espn.com right as the game was over and FREAKED OUT in the hostel because we were FINALLY in the Final Four! I then proceeded to depress myself by looking at how crazy Lexington was wished I was there!
Chris and Lindsey left really early the next morning so I was on my own for the day. I walked around the city some and went shopping! I bought the shoes I am wearing for Julia's wedding...they are really cute! Then I went and bought my Ireland souvenirs...I went a little crazy but I've been dying to go to Ireland for over 2 years now, so I think thats okay! I stopped and had a real Shepard's Pie for lunch before I headed back to the airport to head back to Cologne. This Shepard's Pie was MUCH better than the one we serve at Cheddar's...which I guess would be expected.
I loved Ireland and I cannot wait to go back! I have to afterall since I didn't find my husband during this trip!
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