Kulturwoche und anderer Unfug   It’s Culture Week once more. (Wait, didn’t we just have culture week a year ago? Oh yeah, right! It’s an annual thing!) Anyways, with Culture Week you should always beware of strange and ominous things happening – like the kind of people walking around campus. Esp. on European Day. (I still don’t get what running into Vikings and Roman warriors has to do with modern Europe – I still have yet to meet a Viking on the streets of Europe!) But if you come to our school you certainly will make their acquaintance! And, if you only look carefully enough, you may even have a live encounter with little Mr. H. Potter. Unless, of course, you’d prefer to stay out of Harry’s trouble. Then it would be better to keep away from Culture Week and all the people it draws. I for my part can say: Culture Week’s mischief was successfully managed and now we’re off to new adventures! Es ist mal wieder Kulturwoche. (Moment mal, hatten wir das nicht …

Vergebenes Lehrerkollegium   Alright, admitted: I didn’t go to the candle light ceremony this year – the inauguration of the freshman students. (Before you get all fussy about that, however, just a little note on the side: I didn’t have to go.) Little did I know, though, that this year I really missed out on a huge feat! (As my colleagues were kind enough to point out to me the other day. Remember my not so foreign stuff teacher ID lunch talk?) After all, all foreign faculty who went to take part in the ceremony were given a huge deal. They were noticed as the “forgiven” faculty (foreign faculty). Now, my question is: Does that mean they have permission to mess up big time this year, knowing that they’ve been pardoned already? Or does it mean only those colleagues who’ve been pardoned in the past were admitted to join the ceremony? I guess the answer to such a big and important question really lies with the powers that be. But no matter what, I definitely …

Liebliche Briefe   One of the things I love about my job is the things that happen on the sidelines of the class routine. Like getting little letters from my students. Now, keep in mind that I’m teaching freshman university students. But isn’t it lovely to get a letter with little drawings and nice sentiments? No matter how old my students are, these things always warm my heart and make me happy to be a freshman teacher! Einer der Gründe, warum ich meinen Job so mag sind die Dinge die am Rande des Unterrichts passieren. Wie z.B. Briefe von meinen Studenten zu bekommen. Vergesst dabei nicht, ich unterrichte 1. und 2. Semester Studenten an einer Universität. Aber ist es nicht allzu lieblich, einen Brief mit kleinen Zeichnungen von den Studenten zu bekommen? Egal wie alt meine Studenten sind, Dinge wie diese wärmen mir leicht das Herz und machen es mir ein Vergnügen, 1. Semester Studenten zu unterrichten!                  

Fremdes Zeug   After quite a number of years, I accomplished something. I managed to get myself a teacher ID card. For the first time. (Yes, I never remembered to put in an application for one in previous years, but this year I did!) Not that we actually really need this card. But if anything, I thought, it might be able to add a little happiness to my life. So, I proudly presented my ID card at the lunch table. But my joy about such a feat was soon dampened when my colleagues kindly pointed out that my card was different from those colleagues who’d gotten their ID cards in previous years. Whereas their cards would give them a reason to be amused each time they’d look at it, mine was simply plain and boring. Why? Because where it simply says “foreign staff” on my card, on theirs it said “foreign stuff”. Bummer, that I can’t be stuff here at school like they are! Nach einer Reihe von Jahren habe ich endlich ein Ziel erreicht. …