Event Schmeevent
So I am going for two days in a row. The most substantial thing that happened today, though, was that I had an extra English lesson. Which means that I can take an early morning coffee break for the first period of school tommorow. This will be especially nice considering that on Saturday we get to wake up around 7 and drive out to Luckenwalde to help set up a tent or something. Perhaps multiple somethings. We will probably stick around most of the day and at some point play games with children. We might even teach something randomly American, like Dartball, or Hungry Hungry Hippos. Don’t mistake this for complaining, I have had my share of very lazy Saturdays and holidays. I am mostly commenting on the odd nature our job sometime takes on. Some weeks I forget that I am not just a simple English teacher. I am more like a local expert on English that can carry and assemble large and somewhat heavy objects. Perhaps more like a local expert on America and related subjects.
A recap of today would include: 5AM, wake up, hit the snooze, 6AM get out of bed, shower, 6:15 attempt to sleep, telling myself that if I miss the bus it’s no big deal, 6:50, head to the bus stop, fell groggy. 7:30 arrive at school and immediatly help the 5th class in an English lesson, 8:15 head to the store to buy Brötchen, enjoy a nice cup of coffee, chat in German to Frau Rasche. 9:30 teach 1st class about clothes in English, 10:15 teach other 1st class about clothes in English, 11:30 head for home. 12 noon, arrive home, attempt to stay awake, fall asleep on chair 14:00 read and think about doing something outside, 15:00 decide to go for a bike ride 15:15 find a pair of neighborhood kids/students and give them a lift on my bike. 16:00 get home and listen to some music (The Humpty Dance by Digital Underground is catchy and creative)...and after that it gets a bit boring. Plus I’m tired of listing things.
I’d like to take a brief moment to explain the providing of rides on my bike. First of all I call it ‘my bike’ to simplify things, I’m not 100% sure who’s bike it really is, but I am allowed to use it, and aside from Gary am the only person who does. I guess I could say our bike, but whatever, you get the picture. Anyway, my bike version Gold is kind of a peice of junk. I always say you don’t really need a nice bike, but I am starting to think there is a level of junkiness a bike can be that is practicably unuseable. (a side step, as German is taking over my brain, i felt the urge, and think it would’ve sounded better to say unusebar, or unbenutzbar, in that case, weird) So my bike version Gold has a seat that is too low, only one gear and no chain gaurd. Atcually it had a chain guard up until last week when I rode it up a hill that was to steep and bent the tire. I had no business driving up the hill really, but I thought the bike (version Gold) could handle it. The wheel bending cause the chain to come off, which, in turn, caused the chain guard support to snap. I don’t know why this happened, (though I suspect constant tampering in effort to stop the pedel from scraping it all the time becuase the sound was annoying) but it did. This caused the pedel to connect with the chain gaurd, instead of just scraping against it, bending it fiercely upwards. Then the pedel got blocked from revolving because the now broken chain gaurd was in the way. Fed up with the situation, I decided not to give the problematic chain gaurd a chance of rehibilitaion. Okay, I bent it back down but the pedel nocked it up again. After that I ripped the chain gaurd off, it was annoying and broken, and the bike is old. I still felt a little bad. Anyway, I was riding my bike (version Gold) and I see a couple of my first grade kids. One of them asks if he can ride my bike. But his stubby legs couldnt reach the pedels. That was harsh, 1st graders are supposed to be short. Anyway, he formualted a complicated plan where he rode on the ‘luggage rack’ of my bike. All European bikes have this on top of the back wheel, it is a little rack where you can install a basket, or just put little stuff. It apparently can double as a seat. After I drove him to his destination, I was to pick up his friend and do the same. After that I was free. I accomplished the task, but not without a few popping complaints from my bike (version Gold), who seemed to think the extra 90 pounds was too much for it. Anyway, now you know probably the most eventful part of my day. Enjoy it.
So I am going for two days in a row. The most substantial thing that happened today, though, was that I had an extra English lesson. Which means that I can take an early morning coffee break for the first period of school tommorow. This will be especially nice considering that on Saturday we get to wake up around 7 and drive out to Luckenwalde to help set up a tent or something. Perhaps multiple somethings. We will probably stick around most of the day and at some point play games with children. We might even teach something randomly American, like Dartball, or Hungry Hungry Hippos. Don’t mistake this for complaining, I have had my share of very lazy Saturdays and holidays. I am mostly commenting on the odd nature our job sometime takes on. Some weeks I forget that I am not just a simple English teacher. I am more like a local expert on English that can carry and assemble large and somewhat heavy objects. Perhaps more like a local expert on America and related subjects.
A recap of today would include: 5AM, wake up, hit the snooze, 6AM get out of bed, shower, 6:15 attempt to sleep, telling myself that if I miss the bus it’s no big deal, 6:50, head to the bus stop, fell groggy. 7:30 arrive at school and immediatly help the 5th class in an English lesson, 8:15 head to the store to buy Brötchen, enjoy a nice cup of coffee, chat in German to Frau Rasche. 9:30 teach 1st class about clothes in English, 10:15 teach other 1st class about clothes in English, 11:30 head for home. 12 noon, arrive home, attempt to stay awake, fall asleep on chair 14:00 read and think about doing something outside, 15:00 decide to go for a bike ride 15:15 find a pair of neighborhood kids/students and give them a lift on my bike. 16:00 get home and listen to some music (The Humpty Dance by Digital Underground is catchy and creative)...and after that it gets a bit boring. Plus I’m tired of listing things.
I’d like to take a brief moment to explain the providing of rides on my bike. First of all I call it ‘my bike’ to simplify things, I’m not 100% sure who’s bike it really is, but I am allowed to use it, and aside from Gary am the only person who does. I guess I could say our bike, but whatever, you get the picture. Anyway, my bike version Gold is kind of a peice of junk. I always say you don’t really need a nice bike, but I am starting to think there is a level of junkiness a bike can be that is practicably unuseable. (a side step, as German is taking over my brain, i felt the urge, and think it would’ve sounded better to say unusebar, or unbenutzbar, in that case, weird) So my bike version Gold has a seat that is too low, only one gear and no chain gaurd. Atcually it had a chain guard up until last week when I rode it up a hill that was to steep and bent the tire. I had no business driving up the hill really, but I thought the bike (version Gold) could handle it. The wheel bending cause the chain to come off, which, in turn, caused the chain guard support to snap. I don’t know why this happened, (though I suspect constant tampering in effort to stop the pedel from scraping it all the time becuase the sound was annoying) but it did. This caused the pedel to connect with the chain gaurd, instead of just scraping against it, bending it fiercely upwards. Then the pedel got blocked from revolving because the now broken chain gaurd was in the way. Fed up with the situation, I decided not to give the problematic chain gaurd a chance of rehibilitaion. Okay, I bent it back down but the pedel nocked it up again. After that I ripped the chain gaurd off, it was annoying and broken, and the bike is old. I still felt a little bad. Anyway, I was riding my bike (version Gold) and I see a couple of my first grade kids. One of them asks if he can ride my bike. But his stubby legs couldnt reach the pedels. That was harsh, 1st graders are supposed to be short. Anyway, he formualted a complicated plan where he rode on the ‘luggage rack’ of my bike. All European bikes have this on top of the back wheel, it is a little rack where you can install a basket, or just put little stuff. It apparently can double as a seat. After I drove him to his destination, I was to pick up his friend and do the same. After that I was free. I accomplished the task, but not without a few popping complaints from my bike (version Gold), who seemed to think the extra 90 pounds was too much for it. Anyway, now you know probably the most eventful part of my day. Enjoy it.
posted by Keith @ 7:18 PM
2 Comments:
i am glad that digital underground keeps you company. i bought that at the juterbog library for a euro.....great times. also, the bike....it really made me appreciate gears......is there still the other bike, the one with 3 gears? maybe that was dorothys......i can remember the feelings that june brought...almost done, and only summer time ahead. viel spass
that bike is still around. Also broken, but Jake is trying to fix it. Summer sure is nice.
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