Kind Ludwig's Castles

This past weekend was an adventure! I left Saturday morning for Fussen where I met up with my friend Kelli from WSU who is currently living in Switerland. I was in charge of plannign the castle tours and she found where we were going to stay. We decided we were going to couch surf in a neighboring little town, which was a great idea! Turns out that we missed the one and only bus that went to the town we were suppose to stay in because I booked a tour to late and we realized we should of communitcated more. Neither one of us were worried, we were like huh, how do we get there now. We thought about it for a while we asked a taxi how much if would be to get there and he said 100 Euro. Needless to say taxi idea was out of the question. So we decided we need to find a place with internet. We finally found a hotel that had free internet we walked in pretended like we were guests and used the internet. We discovered that we could still get to this town it was just going to take a few hours. So we ran to catch a bus that took an hour to drive 10KM yes it was RIDICULOUS. Next, we had to get on a train for 45mins then switch trains and then switch trains again. It was an adventure at least I was smart enough to pack some beer.

We were so happy to make it to the town we were staying in, however we could not get a hold of the guy we were suppose to be couch surfing at. Luckly Kelli wrote down directions of how to get to his place. We started walking with beer in hand, just then the rain started. We decided it had been a long journey and we were going to need more beer, so we stopped by the gas station and got another 6 pack. We were probably a sight to be seen, walking down the street beer in one hand and a 6 pack in the rain, walking in the pouring rain no hood and no umbrella. We were so happy when we finally made it. The people were so nice to us. We stayed up and all talked till about 1:30 am. The next morning the women told us we needed to see the Linderhof castle and said she would drive us to the train station. She was so sweet. We got to see a 3rd castle and she took us in to Austria and we saw a beautiful castle! It was an adventurous but great weekend! Check out the pictures!

King Ludwig's Castle Nov. 2009

It was a really fun time. Vienna was about 5.5-6 hours train ride but fortunately I was able to sleep a lot and get some school work done! Once we were in Vienna I met up with Cherise and her parents we did dinner and then went to bed! The next day we started out adventure. We first went to the Albertine museum and saw lots of beautiful artwork! We got to see lots of work from Monet. Then we went to the Stephenson Cathedral. It was beautiful! When we first got there, a service was going on. So we decided to get a quick bite to eat and come back. When we came back we did an audio tour and then we got to go into the Catacombs (creepy). They had big jar type things that had organs preserved in alcohol. Back in time they used to bury the organs in one area and keep the body in another. We also saw where they burried lots of bodies together. It was kinda creepy seeing bones and skeletons all pilled up mumble jumbled. After seeing the Catacombs it makes me understand that I have reason not to step on sewer covers or any other random man hole. You never know what is under the ground you walk on. There could be catacombs and other things everywhere. After the catacombs we went to the top of one of the towers! Seriously we have to stop going up to these high places! I freak out every time and stay as close to the wall as possible!! People that like heights are NUTS!!

My Weekend in Wien

Wien

These are pictures from last weekend when I was in Vienna!

Czech me out Prague Pictures!

Prague is in my top two places to visit! It was a great trip! I would go back to Prague! Make sure you check out some of the videos from the cultural folklore dinner we went to. And watch the guy that made sure everyone always had wine!

Prague

Pictures from a neighboring town

Here are pictures from the weekend with my Mentor Teacher and my WSU Supervisor. We got to go out to Delomes house and got to see beautiful artwork then they took us to other little towns! :-)

Weekend with Mentor Teacher and WSU supervisor

Pictures of my Classroom

I really feel like it is part of my classroom! I have put a lot of work in to this room! Room 55 is a great room!

Classroom

Czech me out Prague!

After a long week of observation and fun proper activities, we went to Prague. Prague was absolutely amazing! We got there Saturday morning and went on a bus walking tour. It was beautiful, we were enjoyed the tour. After the tour we went to our hostel and made our beds and sat down to plan the rest of our evening. We were thinking of doing a city ghost tour and then going on a pub crawl. But, then we decided to be adults and do a cultural evening by going on a folklore dinner. It was great, we had a traditional Czech dinner and saw some beautiful dancing and singing. I took lots of video so check them out. On this tour we were by far the youngest we kind of found it funny, but it was ok.

During the tour our tour guide asked my roommate and I if we wanted to go meet up with some people downtown with her. We decided we would go out for a little! It turned out to be a great night and great weekend! We met a lot of fun and nice people and danced the night away until the bar closed at 330! The next morning we woke up early and walked around! Overall, I would have to say that Prague is one of my favorite places and would go back!

The BIG OBSERVATION week!

Well once again it is catch up time! I have been behind on this blog thing. But , there is a reason for that. A.) I wrote this whole thing up last Friday and accidently deleted it right before I posted it and B.) last week was crazy and busy. Last week my supervisor was here and I had my big observation. My observation went great but I was really nervous because the week before my students were not listening and being little turds. Luckily, they were angels for me when my supervisor was here! It was nice to have here her because she is super nice but it was nice for her to be gone as well. As soon as she left the stress was off!

Two weekends ago is when my supervisor first got here. We met up with her on Saturday and wandered around Bamberg and we went out to a wonderful dinner. Then we all got up early Saturday morning to go to a neighboring town and have lunch at my mentor teachers house! It was a very busy and pleasant weekend! Then on Monday it was a final day for my to prepare before Chris my supervisor came in to my classroom. That night our supervisor came over for dinner and I made a whole chicken, red potatoes, fresh green beans, a wonderful salad and homemade strawberry vinaigrette dressing.

On Tuesday, my supervisor spent the afternoon in my classroom. Things went great and I felt very positive about the interaction. Tuesday night we had a big dinner down town with the administration, our mentor teacher and supervisor it went great! Then it was Wednesday and my day to shine! I was super neverous at first and then I realized that I didn’t have time to be nervous because the kids were still kids and had a MILLION and a Half needs. I was so busy solving there problems and doing my daily routine that half the time I forgot my supervisor was there, which turned out to be a great thing! My observation was very successful! YAHOO! I tried to relax the rest of the week, and Friday we went out for a little and got to try the great Bach beer!

Paris

Sorry it took so long! It has been a CRAZY few weeks getting ready for our observation! Hey everyone!

All is good here! I am just one the train back from a great weekend! Last week was a short work week because the kids did not have school! Lucky them! Unfortunately we had teacher trainings boo! I got sent home early because I was sick and they told me I looked like crap! I started thinking this is not fair! How is it the kids manage to get me sick right before I go to Paris on a long 3 day weekend! None the less I was determined to not let it ruin my weekend!

We flew to Paris Friday night got in about 11:30pm. We had no idea where to go so we decided to start with the information desk. Unfortunately, the information desk was absolutely NO help. We asked where our hotel was or how do we get there and the response we got was it’s in Paris. I was like no shit are you Sherlock Homes! Needless to say we were screwed and I was not feeling well! So we decided to just take a cab . Ouch that was one expensive cab ride, we will not be doing that again!

The next morning we got up early and headed to the Eiffel Tower, this was the meeting spot for the Fat Tire Bike tour we were going to take, this is when we first got to see the Eiffel tower. To be honest our first impression was what is so big about that. I was not very impressed, at that point we could only see the top of the Eiffel tower as we got closer and could see the whole thing I decided it was pretty cool.

The bike tour was great we got to see a lot of different places and it helped us plan the next day. We got history about many different buildings. After that bike tour we wondered around got dinner at a cute little restaurant and relaxed. We loved this restaurant because the waiter was funny! He was trying to help us speak French. He told us what something was and then would come back and quiz us! He was very patient with us! After dinner we went on the night bike tour! It was beautiful! We got to see the whole city lit up. We did some intense bike riding as the tour guide said we needed to be ready for some class 5 rapids. The taxi’s and other drivers on the road were aggressive and we need to be ready to stick together and be aggressive back! It was a beautiful tour! We ended the tour on a boat tour that went up and down the river allowing us to really enjoy the city lights. While on the cruise they gave us several glasses of wine! J We finally made it home late that night went straight to bed.

The next morning we got up early and started touring. We first went to the Louve which was massive. It was extraordinary, I got to see the Monalisa and many other beautiful pieces of art. We only made it through 1/3 of the museum because we wanted to see many other things. We then went to the open air market. It was an interesting market selling everything to underwear to meat to bread and flowers. The actual butchers were there with whole chicken heads and feathers still on and even large piece of whole cow. We spent the rest of the day going to Notre Dame and the Army Museum. Then we went to dinner and went to the Eiffel tower. By the time we got to the Eiffel tower it was rainy and stormy, but we waited in line and went to the top of the Eiffel tower it was BEAUTIFUL!

The following day we flew back to Germany. I never thought I would say this but it felt good to be back in Germany! I love it here!

Paris Pictures!

Paris

Munich round two and MY FIRST DAY TAKING OVER!

October 6, 2009

Hello everyone! Just a quick update! This past weekend we went to Munich for a day trip we decided we wanted to see what the city had to offer besides great beer at Oktoberfest! We planned on going on a bike tour but just like everything else on this adventure things did not go as planned. We missed the bike tour so we decided to go on a walking tour instead. The tour was alright kinda boring but we did see some neat things. There is a gorgeous , enormous park there where we saw well inappropriate people aka nudists (hehe) and we saw people surfing! I know who knew you could surf so far away from the ocean! You will have to check out the picture link because there are pictures and or videos of all of this! It was a fun trip.

As for Sunday we decided to stay at our place because our train ride home took an extra couple of hours and we didn’t get home until 2am blah and we had a lot to do! I think I worked on my own school work and lesson planning for almost 10 hours on Sunday YIKES, but all of that planning payed off!

It was all worth it because today was SO AMAZING! Today marked the first day of me taking over the entire class and my first formal observation with a full out PPA lesson plan! Today my mentor teacher sat in the back of the classroom and just watched she did not say anything and if the kids asked her something they told her that they had to ask me! It was a great day! I started a lesson about chronology and time lines! We started by reading a book about Ruby Bridges. Then the students went to their desks and wrote down an event from her life. Then we came back and read them I told them that we need to put them in chronological order. (We discussed what that meant). Then the kids put them in order. Then they got to start writing evens down from their lives on a graphic organizer I provided. The idea of the lesson that will continue is that the students learn about timelines and chronology by creating their own personal zig zag books (accordion book) by completing the writing process. The overall process is multiple lessons and I have written out two formal PPA lesson plans for it!

It was a great day and at the end all of the kids together said that they loved me and that I did a great job! Then about 10 of them gave me a hug all at one time! Today is a day I will not forget it was my first day feelings like this was my class completely and it was a successful day! I am aware that somedays will not be as successful as this but I am prepared for that and I am prepared to do what I have to to make as many days as I can this successful! I hope that you all enjoy this story as much as I enjoy this day!

I love you all and will keep you updated about other wonderful things! Keep looking next week for updates. We will be going to Paris this weekend for the three day weekend! Pictures will be up by tomorrow from this weekend!

I would love to hear from all of you so don’t forget to write! Xoxo!

Pictures from my 3 Cities Adventure!

Three cities one weekend!

Catch up Blog

Ok... I am determined to get back on track with my blog. Last week was a very long week. It all started because our weekend was extra long due to the lack of sleep. Yes, I realize the lack of sleep was a personal choice but it was well worth it.

Last week was busy in school but it was productive, we really started getting in to the curriculum and I loved it. By the end of the week my mentor teacher and I were coming up with great ideas. We decided since we are getting behind in the reading we are going to break the kids in to groups and we are both going to take a group everyday that way it is more one on one attention. We have been working with some of our kids that have behavioral problems and they seem to be getting better.

Both my mentor teacher and I have been reading part of a Behavior Management book that has been very useful and interesting. I think I am going to buy a copy of the book for myself. It talks about how we need to help teach kids how to problem solve at a young age. Kids in the younger grades usually have simple problems and we usually just tell them the answers like if something spilled we tell them to go clean it up. Instead of telling them what to do we now say we have a problem and have the kids identify the problem and come up with possible solutions. It seems to be working well and the kids are enjoying it. They feel more included in the classroom.

I have gotten in to a routine to have my lesson plans done for the week ahead by Wednesday, that way I can write the parent newsletter on Thursday and have it ready to send out of Friday. Overall, I have been taking over more and more of the class.

My mentor teacher was gone today so she told me that I was in charge and that if I needed help to ask the sub. It was great and I did everything except for the read aloud. But, my mentor teacher is going to do the read aloud everyday to give me a break after lunch. I know that seems silly right who needs a break after lunch, well I do because I don't get a full lunch. The administrators want Cherise and I to get the full experience and so we have to either do lunch monitoring or recess monitoring so we only get a 25 min lunch. So my mentor does the read aloud so I can have another 25 minds to work on stuff finish my lunch and get ready for the afternoon lessons.

Today went amazing! I loved being in charge of the whole class and the kids were very responsive today. I love being a teacher. I also had a parent come up and talk to me to tell me her daughter just got a retainer that needs to stay in at all times and then she told me that she was sad I was going to be leaving in December because she thinks I am a great teacher and am really doing well with the kids!!

Well I think this is long enough and I have caught everyone up to date.

Oh I forgot about this weekend. Well it was a low key weekend! We went downtown on Saturday to the market and got fresh produce. Then we went to dinner with two other teachers and watched a movie and then on Sunday we went to the commissary for groceries and then I went and worked in my classroom for a few hours.

Miss you all xoxo!

Three Cities in One Weekend

Wow... Sorry this blog has taken me so long to write. I have been catching up on sleep and getting healthy again after a long, crazy, whirlwind of a weekend! We did three cities in one weekend! It was fun but a lot to handle!

We started by having a busy Friday afternoon running errands then we were going to meet Sandy downtown her friends were in town and their nephew who we were going to meet up with. The nephew has lived in Europe a lot and would be someone safe and fun to travel with. The plan was we were all going to go to Oktoberfest the next day.

Well Cherise and I started a quiet little evening with a yummy German dinner and well, we thought it was a great idea to split a bottle of wine! At the time it was a great idea... looking back at it, I think we may have been wrong. One thing led to the next...haha and needless to say we had a great night and early morning! By the time we made it home we had about 1.5 hours to sleep before getting up and getting ready for Oktoberfest!

We were still having a great time by the time we got to the train station with some other teachers.. We went to Oktoberfest which was an experience! We got to see the parades which was really neat(check out the pictures and videos). Then we went to try and get in a tent which was impossible. And if you don't get in to a tent and at a table it is nearly impossible to get a beer. We finally got to get into a tent but was unable to get a seat. It was amazing to see the ladies carry so many beer steins at one time! Over all it Oktoberfest is one GIGANTIC fair with beer tents and lots of beer.

After Oktoberfest we hoped a train to where our new friend Dominic lives with his Aunt and Uncle in Landshut. I was so pretty there! We had a great relaxing time. We were treated to homemade weiner schnitzel and were taken out on the town for a calm late night! We were exhausted from only having an hour and a half of sleep.

We finally made it back to Bamberg and started out laundry which was an all night hassle. There were many issues with the laundry and we finally had to hang wet laundry around the apartment and only got about 4 hours of sleep. Needless to say it has been a long week!

Kepp Checking

I know I am behind on my blog! I will post another one or two by Saturday!!

Had an AMAZING teaching day!!

The kids were listening today and everything was going great! Then my mentor teacher told me that one of our neighboring teachers told her how I am the best student teacher Delome has had and that I am so great with the kids. He thinks that I am very passionate about what I do and is a great asset to this school. It made me feel great and reinforced that I am doing a great job, even if I make the kids cry from time to time. I only make them cry when I tell them they have to give me one of their certificates because they didn't do what they were suppose to! I just wanted to share my happiness with everyone! Now I am off to shop for a traditional outfit for this weekend! Opening weekend for Oktoberfest!

Pictures from this weekend! and Tonight!! Sweats and New HEELS!!:-)

Bamberg Weekend Classroom and Aparment

Weekend in Bamberg

We decided to stay in Bamberg and explore this past weekend! Friday night we had margarita’s with some girls on post and then Saturday we slept in for a little bit before going down into Bamberg. Bamberg was a crazy busy place, fresh flower, veggies, and fruit markets everywhere. Then we met up with Cherise's friends that are in Germany for a few weeks it was fun!

Saturday night we went out to experience the Nightlife in Bamberg which would have been a lot of fun if we knew where to catch a taxi home but unfortunately we did not know so we had to ride home on the last bus at midnight. We only had time for one beer :-( but it looks like it will be a lot of fun and be another adventure to come! Needless to say the night did not go uneventful. When we got on the bus this VERY drunk man started to talk to us and was excited we were Americans. He kept attempting to talk to us but it was difficult to hear him, due to the immense amount of slurring. Cherise and I have yet to go somewhere where everything went smoothly. We were so use to the bus stopping at every stop during the day that we forgot to hit the Wagen Halt button (oopps)... Well since we didn't hit the button the bus drove right by our stop so we had to ride the bus to the next stop and had a long walk home haha! Leave it to us.. oh goodness.

On Sunday we got up early and decided to ride the bikes we are borrowing from some friends. Oh course that was still not an easy task, because my bike tire kept going flat so we went to the shoppett and filled up the tire up and decided to attempt to go across base and get some fix a flat stuff. As we stood in front of the bike section we decided to buy fix a flat, a new bike tube and a pump to have with us while we rode. We decided since the new tube was like $4 it was worth it. When we got out side we realized that neither one of us have ever changed a bike tire tube by ourselves. So we sat on the side of the street and attempted. We were doing a good job until we thought we bought the wrong size tube and then we got confused, until a gentlemen walked us to us and first laughed but then help us fix the tire! He walked us through the process!! Yah we were so proud of ourselves! After going to the commissary to get food we tracked back across Post unloaded our groceries and made lunch.

Shortly after our lunch we headed out for another bike adventure. Sandy one of our mentor teachers about this trail to go on to a neighboring town. We headed out not completely sure where to go. So we went on this rocky path through the woods. and finally got to a real path now the question was left or right. We choose left assuming it was right until we got to a spot where it look liked the trail ended so we turned around and headed back the other way. Needless to say we were right the first time. So we turned around and it was all slightly up hill. 45 mins later we arrived at the Keller and had a nice cold beer. Then we turned back and returned home! All in all we rode 10 miles on Sunday and today (Monday) I am feeling the after math my bottom HURTS! Well I hope you enjoyed this long chaotic blog!

Over Out

Who ever thought teaching was a piece of cake...was DISHONEST!!

Well, we just finished week two of school and lets just say the honeymoon is over! The first few days were fun the kids were cute and they were behaving! I was excited to be in the classroom! I was teaching a few lessons here and there and I was still just trying to finish catching up on all the organizing and paperwork before open house.

After open house I felt relieved. I felt that things were finally organized and going well! My mentor teacher and I felt like we had a great class with a few troubles here and there but we were going to help those students! We wrote a few notes home and made a few phone calls about our concerns for the students and the parents seemed to respond well! They like the early communication, and liked the idea of staying open with one another to help the student succeed!

My students are very emotional and they cry all the time! I am not a mean teacher but some how I have made at least one if not more students cry everyday. As my dad says be nice to the little kids. I told him if they follow the rules and what is asked of them, then I would have to take their certificates away. (Certificates are given to the students when they are doing a good job! Every two weeks they get to use their certificates to buy things from the prize area). And I know I am not mean because as soon as the kid is done crying they come up and hug me and tell me they love me! Being a teacher is so rewarding!! (most of the time).

It was a positive week until THURSDAY then the NIGHTMARE began. We have kids who continue to be dishonest about everything, we have student that cries everytime she does something wrong and gets caught. We have two boys who have been fighting with anothr little boy in the classroom and on Thursday one of my students ended up with a HUGE bump on his head and since it happened ont he playground the Principal was involved trying to solve it. My mentor teacher and I are some how trying to teach while all of this is going on and then the nurse need to talk to me because something disturbing happened with one of my students and we are very concerned about him. Needless to say it was near impposible to teach anything at this time. Half the kids were learning while the other have were doing what was stated above. I spent my time trying to deal with all the formentioned problems and make a behavior log for all the students. It was a very stressful afternoon. Right before the stress started I was drawing a bird with the student one of my better drawings and some little stinker told me my drawing looked fun :-( but then the rest of the kids kept coming up telling me they liked my drawing and it was pretty!

Friday was a new day and was a little more low keyed...Thank goodness! I have two studends who are very good at German and are helping me learn a few words! On friday they taught me Ich liebe dich which means I love you. All it all my kids are super sweet but have their stinker lets stress Ms. Thompson moments!

Hopefully next week won't be as bad! Starting tomorrow I will be teaching the students Math and Health. Then I will start to take over science and reading! I am lookig forward to next week and my goal is to not making any kids cry!

Mailing Address Just In Case

Hey everyone! I thought I would put my mailing address on here just in case anyone wanted to send me a letter or whatever! It is:

Kyla Thompson

USAG Bamberg

CMR #459 Box# GD

APO, AE 09139

Pictures from Berlin

Berlin

Berlin....What an Experience!

Aye Aye Aye Those damn Aussies!

Well we got in to Berlin late Friday night and decided to just go straight to the hostel and get some sleep. It was crazy everywhere we looked there were people drink on the streets in the train everywhere! We could tell this place had a big nightlife, but we felt we needed to be rested for the next day.

Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast and then set out. We decided to do a walking tour of Berlin, but we had two hours to kill before the tour began. And since we were right by the zoo and aquarium we decided to go. It was spectacular. As we read in one of our travel book it was Germany’s oldest zoo and aquarium located in the center of Berlin. It is the largest animal park in the world, boasting some 14,000 animals and over 1,800 different species. Needless to say this was my favorite zoo. The animals were super active and fun to watch. Our favorite was the Hippopotamus’s they even came to the window to say hi to us (check out the pics).

After the zoo we went and found our new favorite food the currywurst and we met the tour guide and went on our way. The sites that we saw were unbelievable, it was nice to have a tour guide because it connected history with real life and it gave us a chance to learn more about the history. It was a 5 hour tour and we took lots of pictures. Make sure to check out the pictures because they are going to have descriptions that explain what they are.

One thing that I was shocked about was the see part of the Berlin wall. My initial reaction was that it? It seemed like such a simple wall. Then we learned it wasn’t the wall that was so horrible it was the dead no mans land between the inner and outer wall. It was a power piece of history and very interesting to see.

We decided we wanted to go experience the nightlife and decided the safest way to do it was with a tour. We went through our same tour company and did the nightlife tour, it was VERY interesting. We met a lot of different young people with lots of different nationalities. We had a lot of Aussie’s (Australians), a few Kiwis (New Zealander’s), some Scotts (Scottlander’s) and three Americans. We started the night off with a beer on the streets then continued to 4 bars and a club. We decided it was time for us to go home because our Aussie friends were starting to get a little forward so we went to the train and waited.

While waiting for our train we had more interesting people. These two German boys came up to us and kept trying to get us to go party with them. We were like nope sorry we are all partied out. We were so concerned to make sure they did follow us that we accidental got on the wrong train. About 4 stops later we realized that we were on the wrong train, so we got off went back to where we started and tried again. This time we knew what to do. The adventure did with the wrong train, when we finally did get on the right train we had a girl start puking by one of the train entrances (she had a little too much to drink). It was funny watching the people start to walk back to the back of the train and all get grossed out and walk to the front.

Needless to say, we made it home safely about 330am and went to bed. Now we are off to explore Berlin’s museums.

The few museums we went to were absolutely amazing! We took lots of pictures! After a few museums then we went to Berlins capital and got to walk to the top. Lastly, we went in to the Catholic Cathedral It was beautiful, there we were able to go all the way up to the top through a small stairwell. I wanted to turn around half way to the top because I was freaking out about how high up we were going. I stuck it out and made it to the top it had a great view over Berlin.

Overall, Berlin was a lot of fun not a moment was wasted, but you cannot see all of Berlin in one weekend. We are now on the train and I just got done correcting my kiddos math papers, now I am thinking it is time for a nap!

Bamberg

Yah! I finally able to post pictures from Friday of our tour of Bamberg and a few from our train ride!

Bamberg

First Days of School

Why Hello!!

So I absolutely love it here! :-) And my first day was great, the kids are wonderful for the most part but they are so cute and so sweet! We have 18 kids but one kid has not been here for the first two days so we might only have 17. They are all different types of kids and they are entertaining.

The first day was a half day and I mostly watched, but I did go over some of the rules with them. Then today, I interacted with each child, I was checking their school supplies to make sure they had everything. Then after lunch and recess I got to read story with them. We did inferencing about what we think is going to happen next and what exactly was going on in the pictures. I only read a few pages and told them we would have to wait till tomorrow to find out what happens the loved it. Then we worked on reading and writing, the first few lines of a poem.

As for things out side of school Cherise and I had a total girls night! Right after schoolo we went to the phone and internet store only to get annoyed and find out that we are not not schedule to have the phone till well today and the internet ont he 3rd (GRRR). Oh well right. So then we went home and decided to indulge ourselves in some German culture with a Greek spin. We had a few beers and watched Mama Mia on sing-a-long version! :-) Yes we both realized we did not have much singing talent and we both decided it didn't really matter last night.

Overall, this is an amazing experience and it makes it more enjoyable to know how much love and support I have from everyone back home! Thank you for staying interested and reading my blog. We are going to Berlin this weekend so be sure to look for an updated after that and maybe before! :-) Pictures will be up later today or on THURSDAY ;-)

Friday, the day we finally saw Bamberg

Friday, August 28, 2009, was a busy day. I got to school a little early and started really cleaning the classroom and organizing tons of stuff. At lunch time Delome my mentor teacher took us to the Health Food store so we could see what they had. Then we were back to work for a few more hours. By the time 3pm rolled around we still has tons to do but the classroom looked like it was just about ready for kids, so I said I would come in this weekend and finish everything up. And on that note we took off to tour the city of Bamberg.

My mentor teacher and her husband Helmut were going to be our tour guides. Delome and Helmut have been together for years. Delome originally came to Germany with the intentions of staying to teach on post for two years, but the she met Helmut a nice fun German man and it was love at first sight. Delome has stayed here ever since. This is her 37^th year here and at the Bamberg Elementary school. Helmut was raised in Bamberg and knows A LOT about this town. The two of them are artist and are very into art and the history of the artist. Please check out the pictures to see parts of our Bamberg tour. It was nice to finally get off post for more than 15 minutes, I feel in love with downtown Bamberg instantly it is a very beautiful area full of history. To end our lovely tour they took Cherise and I to their favorite café for Kookin (cake ) and cappuccinos, then they showed us where to catch the bus back to post and made sure to tell us exactly what bus to get on!

Back to post we went. We got back around 730ish then we stopped by the apartment to change and went back to the school. We were working in our classrooms until 1130pm it was a long day. Well that is what has been going on here! I hope you have enjoyed another wonderful blog. You guys can email me at Kylarae@gmail.com I would love to hear from everyone!

XOXO

First Few Days in Bamberg

The next day we walked all over post to get our errands done! We were so excited to finally get it done. When I say walked over I mean it. We walked from one side of post to the other and back and forth. This was the night that I finally slept, which was good considering that next morning was when I was meeting my mentor teacher for my first time!

The first day I met my teacher I was so excited and nervous! She is an older lady but full of spunk! She is originally from the Midwest but came to Germany to teach for two years, but she met the guy of her dreams and has been here ever since. She has been here for 37 years!

We got to the classroom and everything was in disarray, I was so worried. But, turns out that everything was completely disorganized because the whole school had new flooring put in. Not only was everything everywhere but everything was dusty and it was not going to be fun. My teacher and I hit it off and were excited to work together! We started the morning off with a staff meeting then we got to spend the day working in the classroom at least that was what we were supposed to do. Needless to say Deplume (my teacher) and I didn’t get very far because we spent most of the day chit chatting about school and anything else you could imagine. It was a long day and we were ready to come home.

Cerise’s teacher invited to take us to an expo in the gym and take us to run some errands, it was a nice break. Then we came back to the apartment and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. This place is so disgusting it is finally starting to look nice, and I finally unpacked! YAH!!

Day two in the classroom: Today was the second day working with my lovely, high spirited mentor teacher. We met at the theater for a welcome meeting with the hig school and elementary. Lucky me won, one of the raffle prizes! It was a gorgeous painted bull! It was once we got to the school that we finally got some work one started to organize the classroom. We still have a lot of work to do, but I think we can get it done. I love the way Delome treats me she makes me feel like family, and is making sure that we are setting up the classroom to make it OURS! I just love it. I will be interacting and teaching the students starting on the first day I will only be doing one or two things with the kids! (I am a little nervous).

Before I forget, I got to get off post today, not just once but twice! At lunch time Delome drove me to the bank so I could see her amazing beautiful artwork and then we went off post to a Germany bakery! I was so yummy. It was after that we returned to work.

I stayed about an hour after my teacher today working on the classroom then I ran home for a few minutes, before going back to the school to meet Cherise’s mentor teacher Sandy. Sandy took us off post to where there was a gathering of the elementary, middle school and high school teachers. It was so fun we got to mingle with many of the teachers who are amazing and who we are making great connections with. We had a pork shoulder that was so tender it was great! Also, Sandy bought us a beer! And another teacher bought Cherise and I another one. I shared mine with the teacher’s wife. We are quickly finding out that the German beer is not like the American beer! WOWzers! You can have a huge buzz after just one beer. It is crazy, tonight was a great way to experience how beer affects you here!

Well it is about 11:15pm and we have to be at school at 7:45am for lots of meetings and somehow I have to have the classroom all ready for kids by 3 pm tomorrow! YIKES this will be difficult! On the Brightside, my mentor teacher and her husband is going to take Cherise and I around Bamberg tomorrow and give us the grand tour or Bamberg and show us how to use the bus system off post.

So far, I love it! I love my teacher energy and her creativity! I feel that I can learn a lot from her, at the same time I feel like I c and teacher her a lot about technology and organization. Delome does not currently have many things organized so that is what I am working on! Well so long for now! Miss you all xoxo!

Getting to Bamberg bfrom Frankfurt

Hello Friends and Family! Well a lot has happened since I last wrote. We have left Frankfurt and have made it to Bamberg. It was easy to hope on a train from Frankfurt to Bamberg. It took us about 2 hours the first part of the trip then we had to switch plans in Wurzburg. Then the next part of the trip took about an hour! One thing we learned was the trains are a great way of traveling but I do not suggest having a lot of luggage! It was a HUGE hassle to have our entire luggage! I look forward to experiencing the train again without so much stuff!

The train was the first somewhat relaxing experience and first thing that really started to look up for us, since the rest of our travel was a mess. We originally planned on and expected to be staying in a hotel in the center of Bamberg, because we were told we were not allowed to get on base until Wednesday, August 26^th. Luckily, Cherish’s teacher Sandy told us to call the school and inform them what time our train gets in. So we called the school and they told us someone would be there to pick us up! We were relieved, however we still did not know if we were going to get to stay on base in our apartment or not.

As we got off the train we were not sure how we were going to know who was picking us up. There was an n older gentleman that asked as we were walking out if we were students and we said yes! Turns out it was the schools new principals’ husband! He was very welcoming and helpful. He signed us on base and took us to the school, where we got to me the principal herself and the secretary who gave us all the paperwork. Then the principal’s nice husband was generous enough to drive us around base to all of these crazy places so we could get our ID card and privilege care. Unfortunately, we were only able to get our ID card that day because we needed a passport photo but the place that takes passport photos was closed until the next day at noon. So he should us EXACTLY where we needed to go the next day to get our privilege card and everything. After driving us all over him took us to our apartment and helped us carry our stuff to the 4^th floor! We were excited to finally make it!

QUICK UPDATE

Hey everyone! So it has been crazy here! And I have been writing and saving them on my computer. We have been so busy it the classroom its crazy and this is the first time we were able to make it to the library to get online. We should get our internet and phone on monday or tuesday and then all of the updated information will be posted! All I will say for now is that it is BEAUTIFUL here! I miss everyone very much! xoxo

Frankfurt

Well today we got up super early and then eventually had breakfast. We thought we were wide awake but a few hours later we were back in bed until about 1pm. We were concerned that our bags had not been delievered yet. We attempted to call the number that was on our baggage claim, unfortunately it was an automated recording and we had NO idea what was being said, so we decided to go to the lobby and ask the nice man at the front desk if he woulde call for us! At that point we found out our bags were in Frankfurt but were stuck in customes. It was at that point we decided to roam around Frankfurt.

This is the link to the pictures I took during our outing

Frankfurt

Pictuers of our Frist Class adventure

Finally Made IT

Well everyone we finally made it! It has been a long trip. We waited for the second flight in Toronto for 5 hours then they ignored us some more. Finally, when it looked like we were not going to get on that flight we went and talk to the one lady that was helpful and nice earlier in the day. She was shocked to see us and started taking things in to her own hands. After she left she told us another lady knew what was going on and was going to help us. Next thing we know we are booked on a flight to London, and then another flight out of London to Frankfurt.

We quickly ran to the gate to catch the flight to London, as soon as we get on the plane we realized they booked us first class! It was wonderful! We got a big dinner and free drinks and we were in our own little cubical type areas. The chairs reclined in many ways and even layed out completely flat. Lucky for us. We were able to get a few hours of sleep before getting woke up for breakfast before we landed. We started to feel better about our trip until we arrived in London.

As soon as we got to London, we folllowed all of the signs that lead us all over to the connecting flights it felt like we were on a maze. We got to the counter we were told to go to and then they sent us to another counter. And guess what they told us we had to go to another terminal and talk to air canada and get a boarding pass from them and then come back to that terminal. So we went back out of security went to the other terminal but got an escort through security then long story short we had to go back to the exact counter we came froml. Cherise and I were so tired of it all that when we finally got on the plane going to Frankfurt we were relived.

We were very happy to finally arrive in Frankfurt even though our bags did not make it. We hoped on a train to take us to our hotel after asking for help. Needlessn to say we got a littl mixed up and we got off the train WAY to EARLY and walked across Frankfurt with out Carry on Bags. As soon as we reached our hotel we both showered and then went out exploring for a little while. We ate pizza and our now back at our hotel.

Hope you guys enjoy reading about our long, crazy, tiring adventure. More to come!

Day of Traveling

Hey there,

Well to tell yah the truth it sucks right now!! We got up super early this morning to catch our 8am flight. When we got to the airport we found out it had been delayed3d an hour and a half. We decided that wasn't to bad because it just made our layover in Toronto shorter well, turns out luck was not in our favor. We arrived in Toronto 30 mins before our flight departed, so we ran through customs and made it to our gate before the final boarding call. We were relieved until they told us we need to talk to an agent. So we tried to talk to one of the six agents standing at the counter and everyone ignored us. We were getting concerned because they called two stand by passengers up and we weren't on the flight yet. Still no body would talk to us even though we were trying to get help. Finally, they said they would be with us in a moment, and we were like what our flight is about to leave. Well need less to say they wouldn't let us on the flight. We finally got one nice lady that told us it was because our bags wouldn't make the flight and we had to fly with our bags. So she told us they would get us a meal voucher.

We enjoyed a nice beer and our first and probably only real meal of the day. And now we continue to wait at the airport for our flight! The other sad part is they said we are only on the standby list and the flight is over sold, wish us luck.

Miss you all already! We are scheduled to arrive in Frankfurt around 12, which is perfect time to check in to our hotel, change and start exploring! Until next time!

xoxo

Getting Ready to Leave

I leave in 5 days! Aaahhh!! I am so excited and nervous! I just wanna see everyone one last time before I leave but I am running out of time at a fast rate! I decided that I need to start packing. and getting things organized to leave. I will be traveling with Cherise one of my classmates from WSU. She will be in a 1st grade classroom at the Garrison base in Bamberg Germany with me. I will be in a 2nd grade classroom. We will be living in an apartment on base. Our apartment is within walking distance to the elementary school. I will post pictures as soon as I can. We will not be getting on base until the 26th.

We will be flying in to Frankfurt, where we will be staying for two days. We figure it is a great opportunity to get acquainted with the German culture and start sightseeing. We will then hop a train to Bamberg where we will stay in a hotel for two days and get to know the area where we will spend most of our time. I After the two days we will be able to get on base and move in to our apartment!

I am sorry that I am not going to be able to see everyone one last time before I go but keep checking my blog for updates! I will post new information and pictures as soon as I get there and get some time! Remember, I would love to keep in touch with everyone so email me!

I will miss you all, but I am excited for this new experience and plan to travel as much as possible! I love you all!