School is back in session. Staff breakfast was Monday, and class started on Tuesday. The first week is always a little hectic as schedules shift around, but things are starting to settle down. I am so happy to be living and teaching in the same country 2 semesters in a row! I cannot describe how settling it feels to know that I won’t have to pack up all my stuff in a few months and leave again to start over in an unfamiliar setting. 2009 was a year of transition; 2010 is a year of living in Germany and settling into my new home.
Orchestra – I am happy to announce that there are now 7 people in orchestra! The size of the orchestra tripled from last semester. There are 5 enrolled in the class, and 2 more are leaving other classes twice a week (it’s a complicated scheduling issue – I won’t try to explain it right now – it’s enough to know that they are part of the orchestra even though the class does not fit in their schedules). Our first performance of the semester is this Sunday! We will be playing background music for Kari and Mike Greenhoe’s wedding reception. It’s wonderful to have students every day in class – otherwise we wouldn’t have enough time to prepare music for something like that!
Study Hall – I was assigned 7th Period study hall this semester. It is completely different than my 1st period last semester! There are 20 or so people, although the numbers will probably continue to change until next Monday. It looks like I will not have much to do, other than giving the occasional “teacher stare” when the students get too loud.
German Language – I am in the 4th period German 2 class. Last semester I was in 7th period, but since I now study hall then, I switched. At this point in time, I have studied German for 1 year. Living in a German community allows me to immediately use and apply the German I learn in class, which helps me remember the vocabulary and sentence structure. Just a couple days ago I set up an appointment for a haircut in German! I’ll be cutting my hair on Saturday at 11:30am. I also went over to the nursing home and scheduled concerts for this semester.
Band – They got me a bassoon!! I’m done with lugging the giant tuba to band every Thursday night! Yay!!! How they obtained a bassoon: There was a bassoon player in Schliengen who died a couple years ago. His wife did not want to sell the bassoon, but she did not want it to just sit around and collect dust, so I get to borrow it! I will use it in Stadtmusik Kandern each week, and to show my gratitude for allowing me to borrow the instrument, I will also play in a Schliengen community band concert in March.
Bible Study – Rachel, Katie, Amanda, and I tried starting one last semester, but it didn’t work because everyone else seemed to schedule things at the same time as our study. Plus, we didn’t really have a way of getting the books. Now, however, we have obtained the Beth Moore study books on Esther (“we” meaning Katie, “obtained” meaning purchased when she was in the States). Now Katie, Rachel, Katrina, a new student teacher from Cedarville, and I will be studying the book of Esther.
(side note: I am really wishing I didn’t leave my Bible in Česky Těšín in Radek’s backpack. Reading the Bible on the Internet doesn’t work so well because of all the distractions everywhere…)
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This semester will be different than last, but enough the same that I don’t feel like I have to start the whole learning process over again. I’m accustomed to living in Germany, I’m familiar with the town of Kandern, I’m getting used to BFA school procedures and daily life, I know the other teachers and staff at the school, and I know my string students and they know me.
