Oktoberfest

It's been a mixed week at school with some classes being totally boring and some being full-on work. My year 12 extension class were very hard work and I think some silly games are in order to lose some of their fear. They were definitely not keen to participate in a discussion and I found it very frustrating to ask a question and be greeted by 15 blank faces. But a challenge is always fun so hopefully I can find some way to bring them out of their shells. On Wednesday the teacher I was with told me, on the way to class, that I had half the year 9 class for the next two hours. Thanks for the heads up! "Just get them talking" she said. Out came the youth group games and drama exercises, tweaked a little and actually the whole thing went pretty well. The kids seemed to have fun and wanted to know when they were next with me. These are the kind of experiences that remind me why I'm here and why I want to be a teacher. Because it's so satisfying to see students enjoying a lesson and learning something useful!

Last night was our local Oktoberfest. I went with Ute and some of her friends and had a rather interesting evening. Getting dressed up in our dirndls was a whole lot of fun but the actual party was average. SO many people packed into a large tent, very loud music combined with everyone having shouted conversations and beer everywhere. The floor was sticky with it and there were beer glasses and broken glass all over the place. A serious danger was having someone tip their beer all over you because there was simply no room to move! We ate hot chips, checked out everyone else's dirndls, danced a bit and then I came home at 1am. It was cool to go and see but probably not something I would do again.

Ute, Maria and I ready to go

This week I head off to Bremerhaven with the year 7 classes and then it's school holidays. Hard to believe I know and I certainly don't feel like I've done enough work to deserve a break so soon. However, I'm not complaining and am going to enjoy visiting friends and seeing some more of Germany!