Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Do Radioactive Spiders Live in Deutschland?

I have a spider bite. Coincidentally, it is in the same place as Peter Parker/Spiderman’s magical, radioactive spider bite. If you are one of those people who think only dorks or dweebs read comic books, then you are wrong. Nerds read them too. I would try to evade this moniker, though it is really pointless to do so. Too many things weigh in against me: When writing I often think about grammar rules, I majored in Biology, I applied to medical school, I work in an elementary school where I can daily live out my childhood dream of being popular in elementary school, my vocabulary is still quite strong despite living the past year in Germany, I think it is cool to study things and, though not technically nerdy, I have spent a year attempting to learn (really learn) a foreign language. In case you were wondering, I have never had braces or a retainer, nor do I have debilitating allergies. Okay, all that to make a small point about a spider bite. Let’s continue shall we, noch mal von Anfang?
I have a spider bite on my left hand, in the very same spot as Peter Parker/Spiderman got his legendary, radioactive spider bite. Unlike Spidey, instead of obtaining a set of new powers, all I have so far received is a hand debilitating and quite painful cramping sensation. Though this has dissipated, it was still a bit disheartening. This whole year of avoidance from a doctor’s office; through three colds and a cough almost lasted past my two week immune system challenge; only to be stopped short, at the wire, by something as ridiculous as an insect bite. I’m not living outdoors for goodness sake. If it is still swollen tomorrow I will have to cave in to the pressure.
In other news, we are officially finished with Adult English Classes, which is both a relief; the classes took a lot of difficult planning time, and sadness; those adults were our friends, dang it! (Further evidence of Nerdiness, the use of dang it as an imperative.) Some say that every ending is the prelude to a new beginning, but I guess something about the implicit obviousness of that statement unsettles me. Perhaps I am really bothered by that prospective new beginning; it is so glooming and unclear. There are many options, and despite my ‘I want to enjoy Germany while I am still here’ attitude, I am still troubled by what to do next year. I think the thoughts wander to consciousness to block out the thoughts of leaving soon. I have become attached to my small village in Germany, I have grown to enjoy the people here, and despite it being sometimes repressively boring, I enjoy the kids I work with enough to want to stay. Maybe it is just a sign that I am a good person, but it doesn’t make it easier to deal with.
On a less downward spiralling note, I have my final English lesson all planned out. Just with the thought of it, a literal wave of peace rolled through the depths of my character. Planning English lessons this year has been a thorn in my paw. I was constantly in between being too cautious and moving too quickly. I started off with high standards, only wishing to change topics once the kids had mastered the words. I learned quickly that kids get bored easily, especially with the same 8 words over and over. I tried to make things fun and cool to learn, but often found my new ideas devoured by my limited German skills. Even my efforts to break the children into groups in creative ways only led to the children staring at me as if I were one of the creators of the Tower of Babel. No, it feels good to have my last lesson planned out; easy on the English, heavy on the culture. I’m not wimping out, I’m supposed to teach culture too. Besides it is a lot harder to talk about my life in German than to introduce new words in English. Also it is the last full week of school, and what kid is really going to want to learn something during that week? Despite its connection with being one step closer to saying goodbye for good to my childrens, I am still glad to be free of the monster that is planning.
I am also looking forward to my coming vacation to East Europe. Though I mourn the loss of visiting Switzerland, as far as vacations go, I have done pretty well. (Pretentiousness alert) I’ve made it to Germany, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Scotland and soon to add: Poland, Slovakia, The Czech, and Hungary. All in a years work I suppose. For those of you that know me, you’ll know that I hardly ever take vacations. Well I guess I’ve never really had the kind of job that allowed a vacation, but now that I have been given the wander lust I will probably travel more often. The unfortunate side of this last vacation is its substantial drain on funds. I may very well return to the states an almost penniless man. Though, when I think about it, it isn’t such a bad thing.

1 Comments:

At 11:26 PM GMT+2, Blogger Maria said...

ha ha, you nerd

 

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