Yes, sadly, it's been ages since we've updated. It's time to find out what real life is like when you're an immigrant.
Stina and I have a delightful one bedroom apartment. It has high ceilings and looks into our neighbors' home. We can't avoid watching their kittens play with the blinds.
In general I work from 11:30AM to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Once a week I work until 6pm, and less often, but still possible, I start at 6AM. My commute is about 40 minutes on either side. I work at a private grade school as an Erzieher. I guess the closest equivalent is a classroom aide, but we're much more prevalent here than aides are in the U.S. I take my class (the first graders on the English track - 1e) to lunch, occasionally sub, and teach a theater class every Wednesday. In January, I'll start directing a play as one of the kids' extracurriculars.
I enjoy my co-workers. One of them reminds me a lot of my co-worker Amanda from YTN (from her keen fashion sense right down to her occasional observation of the darker side of childcare). Another one has horses, lives in Quidlinburg (sp?), and has served as sort of my guide to figuring out this job. She's been very helpful, and I anticipate that Stina and I will visit her so we can play with her horses (and get to know her and her family better, too, of course). Yet another and I have struck up a friendship. He's vegan and punk and down-to-earth and would fit quite well with our old Seattle crowd. There's also a teacher here from Vancouver, WA. I've also made friends with a young lady on her Social Year and one of the French Erziehers, who knows someone who works at Berlitz with Stina. I haven't gotten to know everyone here very well, but I'm quite satisfied with being able to look forward to chatting with the friends I have made here.
We take time to play games together and with our neighbors and friends, watch videos from the library, and go to the Weihnachtsmarkt.
We are hoping to make monthly excursions. Our first will be in January while my kids are still on Winter Break. Ski trip or Vienna trip or someplace warm? Submit your suggestions in the comments!
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3 comments:
I vote for Vienna. Less time traveling more time relaxing, eating pastries, looking around, chatting, sleeping and planning.
Go to Slovenia!!! Ljubliana is beautiful and low-key. Pete and I had a wonderful time there and everyone was very friendly. Although there are not very many "touristy sites", just hanging out in the city was so much fun. (and it's cheap!)
A note on work. If I had it top do all over again, I would buckle down on the front end and study my ass off while young and then do the academia route. Teach a full load: 5 hours a week at something of interest involving travel and literature. Comparative Literature professor? What could be so bad about stories and vacations, eh? Actually if it were me, and I were just graduating from college, I would study biology, the study of life seems big enough--field trips and nature and it's the most needed. Maybe Stina would also like writing about food, culinary science.
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