I just received an e-mail from my cooperating teacher in Germany and guess how many students are in the classroom I'll be teaching in? No, really, guess....fifteen! How stinkin' awesome is that!? He sounds like a great teacher. He says that he has some units that he's been saving for us to do when I arrive. I was planning on getting into the rythm of how to do this teaching thing before I dove into major unit plans...apparently God and my cooperating teacher (Dan) had different plans.
So, I leave in less than a week and you want to know my latest fear? Language. Terrorists blowing up the plane-no worries. Uprooting and moving to a new continent for five months-not a problem. But, trying to order a latte in German? That poses a warranted threat to safety and comfort in my little world. Maybe before I leave I can make a t-shirt that reads, "All the German I know is 'yes', 'no', and 'I'm sorry.'" Something tells me I'll be using the third one a lot.
All in all, the westside has all the things that made it home before I moved to Pullman. Rain, bumper-to-bumper traffic...all the time(yeah, the term "rush hour" is seriously misleading.), and more Starbucks' than you can shake a Birkenstock at. I'm at home.
Future plans. I leave on the 27th and will arrive in Stuttgart on the 28th. Not before a seven hour layover in London. Yes, London. As in, the Globe, Big Ben, and double-decker buses. I'm stoked. I will spend New Year's in Rome with the Tellinis (oh, yeah!) then return to Heidelburg on the 4th.
That's what's go'n' on with me as of late. Much love to one and all during this Christmas season. (Yes, I just said "Christmas season." Not "Holiday season." What can I say, I'm a rebel. ) So, Merry Christmas and God bless.
1 comment:
You are wise in your choice of apprehensions; I think the language barrier is the biggest barrier of all when you travel. For instance, how do you ask a Swiss waiter who doesn't understand English (or the American-highschool-southern-Germany-German you speak) whether you should leave a tip, and you, for the life of you, can't remember the word 'gratuity,' much less its German counterpart? I found out that you don't (his very enthusiastic reply informed me that the menus were behind me and to the right sitting on a little table, or so I gathered). It's impossible to anticipate the hundreds of little, and big, scenarios like this that will pop up. And pop up they will. And that's awesome!
Why? Because of the potential for good in it. It humbles you. It teaches you all over again to be needy for God to move beyond and apart from what you can do. It challenges you to be courageous, to not give up, to pick yourself up and try again, to keep moving even in the face of constant discomfort. And if we pay close attention to God, I think it will teach us all over again that what this life is (or should) really all about is His grace. "Freely have you received..."
If you keep a humble and sincere attitude, I'll gamble that most of the people will meet will not be put off by your lack of knowledge of the German language. From my conversations with John Kleinkopf (who spent a year living in Germany), most Germans he ran into weren't ogres waiting to pounce on ignorant Americans. They were willing to work with you, to show grace, 99 times out of 100. So while you can kiss your comfort zone good-bye, don't worry about it; God will take care of you and He'll use a lot of people as part of that along the way.
I just had a thought: pay attention to how people interact and study what people consider to be polite. Don't be afraid to ask your German friends (e.g. Dan; he sounds friendly and kind) "dumb questions." German culture is very different than American; the sooner you can be German polite, the more doors will open to you socially. As Paul said, "I become all things to all men..."
OK, I'm done. LOL.
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