The Holidays (and snow) are Here

So much for the mild temperatures around here.  It snowed yesterday.  And it got cold this week, too.  So cold in fact that we learned a few different ways to express that in German class.  Have your pencils and notebooks ready.  These might come in handy.

Es ist... (It is...)

• sehr kalt (very cold)
• richtig kalt (really cold)
• eis kalt (ice cold)
• schweine kalt (pig cold)
• tierisch kalt (animal cold)
• arsch kalt (ass cold)
  

As for yesterday's snowfall, it wasn't much.  Well, according to my Chicago standards of snowfall it wasn't much.  Still, you wouldn't know that from all the sounds of the kids playing outside.  The ground was barely dusted with snow but that didn't stop two wishful little girls from trying to sled down the small hill next to our parking lot.  With barely any snow on the grass, all they wound up with were a couple of face plants on the slope.  And while walking to and from the grocery store today I watched so many cars driving extremely slow.  When people get this excited over so little snow,  I'm pretty sure I shouldn't expect much (if any) major snow here this winter. 

Monday was my first day back in German lessons after a month's absence.  I was back for one day, then woke up on Tuesday with a terrible sore throat.  I went back to school Tuesday but wound up taking Wednesday off.  Needless to say, that was a rough start back at school.  Today I'm finally feeling like I might be over whatever I had.  Still, that's the third time I've been sick in about four months time.  I'm a little worried about that. 

Now I know why we watched movies in school as a kid.  What a break for the teacher.  This week as my little gift to the kids in my English classes, I decided to show the classic 1966 version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."  Though I'm sure they didn't understand about 98% of what was said, they all seemed to enjoy it.  Another bonus to showing a film: sitting back and watching how many kids seem to think that because the lights are out they can pick their nose.

I hope you're done with your Christmas shopping.  We're not.  I think we'll head to the city center Monday in search of the last few items.  That place is packed on a normal weekday.  I can't imagine what that'll be like just a few days shy of the holiday.  Nevertheless, that should give us an excuse for one last trip through some of the Weihnachtsmarkts before they close on the 24th.  We've already gone a couple of times.  It's too bad they can't leave them open for the rest of winter.  It is nice to walk through and see so many people out and about in the cold, having a good time regardless.  Once the markets are gone, those large wide-open squares are going to feel a lot colder. 

Here's some (mostly blurry) photos from our previous trip through some of the various Cologne Weihnachtsmarkts.

From the square in front of the Dom

 

 

Mmmm, Glühwein...

Fresh grilled Champignons (mushrooms)

Yes, there's even a market on board a boat.  While I felt good that the admission price went to UNICEF, I would not recommend visiting this one.  The heat was cranked up so high that it became really uncomfortable.

On to the market in Alter Markt.

The dwarves help you find your way through this one.

In between the Alter Markt and Heumarkt Weihnachtsmarkts

Wish I had a better one of this sign. Need the bathroom? Look for the dwarf with the crossed legs.

 

A jazz combo playing to the passersby

Elvis and Madonna apparently take front seat to Queen Elizabeth, Blair and Sarkozy.

Back near the Dom, on our way home.

Last but not least, here's a little holiday tune for ya... click the small play button below.

Brett Dennen - The Holidays Are Here (and We're Still at War) from http://innerstizzle.vox.com/
http://brettdennen.net/

Kinder 14, Me 0

So I got a job.

I think I hinted about this a little over a month ago.  I wanted to wait until things were more "official." I finally signed the contract last week so I guess it is as official as it can get.  It's not much to get excited about, only a little part time thing. 

I'm teaching kids English.  That's right, teaching.  I know what you're thinking: "My God, he can hardly write coherently! His use of grammar is atrocious! And now he's passing that on to kids?"  I thought the same thing too!  I have absolutely no qualifications for this.  When interviewed I said I enjoyed being around little kids.  If you asked me that now, I might have a completely different answer for you.

Did I think I'd be doing something like this before I came over here?  Not really.  Am I prepared for this?  Hardly.  Do I have a new found respect for teachers? You'd better believe it.

At the very least, it does come with a few advantages:

1. With a little luck this will help change my visa status yet again; possibly extending it beyond next August
2. For the first time in months I'll actually be earning money
3. My alcohol tolerance is about to spike
4. I have the opportunity to shape young minds

I only put that last one up there to make you think better of me.  Well, that's not true.  I guess I believed it when I started, too.  Now I'm not too sure.  As of today, I've now given fourteen lessons to four different classes.  Each class lasts only 45 minutes.  45 minutes!  How hard could this be?  Nevertheless, the results are always the same. Complete and utter chaos.

I've tried a few different approaches.  I've been the good guy and the bad guy.  I've tried to come up with some games to play like throwing a ball and asking questions.  I thought this would keep them quiet and would force each to take a turn.  Instead they just like to whip the ball at the next kid's head.  I've tried to let them "teach" by taking turns writing on the chalk board.  Big mistake, that one.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how to get these kids to settle down, pay attention and actually learn something.  Maybe at five years old, this is as good as it gets? Maybe they are learning something and I shouldn't be expecting so much.  But if that's the case, why am I walking out of school each day shaking my head? I walk in with so many good intentions, but walk out like I've just had a safe land on my head.

It doesn't help that my boss is completely unorganized.  We are half a year into the session and the kids still don't have their own books yet.  I also just found out that I'm supposed to have some sort of teachers manual that goes along with the kids' books. Unlike my boss, the book apparently gives advice on how to teach the next lesson.  Huh.  What a novel concept.  When asked why I don't have that book he said he knew I didn't have it, but that he didn't know if he had extra copies.  He said he might be able to order one.  Yeah, well, I guess that'll show up with the kids' books.

Next week is the last week of classes before winter break.  The break will be good but I've got a whole spring semester left to teach. This isn't going away.  Any more of the above mentioned chaos and I'm really going to start dreading this.

So now, dear reader, I humbly ask for your help.  Have you ever taught kids? Have you any advice? I'm desperate here. I'll take anything.  Drop a comment below or send me an email. It will be much appreciated!

----------------

Last but not least, rest in peace Flight of the Conchords, possibly the best comedy I've seen on TV since the BBC's "The Office." Think I can get away with showing this one in class?

In which I voluntarily become unemployed

Get rid of clothes: check.
Donate old books: check.
Sort through boxes of odds and ends: check.
Quit work: check.

Wow, we've gotten quite a bit done this week but I'm still a little worried. There's an awful lot of packing ahead of us. Still, we managed to get rid of a lot of things. I am sure more will be thrown out before I'm gone.

Sorry for the delay in writing. I had a feeling it would be like this. I picked Her up last week at the airport. We've got that down to a science. I leave work a half hour early, drive to the airport and park the car. By the time I walk inside, she's pretty much walking through the gate. I am not sure I'll ever get over what a great feeling that is when we finally meet up again. The visits back and forth are worth it if only for that first hug at the airport.

We've spent a lot of this past week going through the checklist above. We've also managed to squeeze in a little time for fun. Last Friday we went to see the new film "Up." I definitely recommend it. Maybe it was just the timing of the visit, but the opening of the movie really hit me hard. I don't want to go into too much detail and ruin it for you. Just make sure you catch it while it is still out at the theater.

Saturday morning was my last German lesson here in the States. If anyone ever needs a recommendation for a teacher in the Chicago area, I've got a great one for you. Later that evening we visited some friends and enjoyed some Lou Malnati's pizza. Wow, that's going to be difficult to give up deep dish pizza. Sunday we drove up to Wisconsin to visit my cousin. I locked my keys in the car. I don't think I had ever done that before. Word to the wise: don't do that in Wisconsin. Local law enforcement is not allowed to break into your car.

She stayed in and got caught up on some sleep and relaxation during the week while I had to work. Yes, work. It'll be a long time before I get involved in that again. Yesterday was my final day at work. It was an odd week with my last day looming. I tried to wrap up any open projects (rather unsuccessfully), and I consciously did my best to avoid anything new (also rather unsuccessfully). Everyone at work pitched in and we had a little party at lunch time. She was able to come in for the party. I think it was a lot of fun for everyone to finally meet Her. She probably enjoyed it as well because I became the butt of many jokes.

There was a ton of food. Brats, potato salad, potato pancakes, (notice a theme?), dessert. Oh, and beer. Thank goodness for the beer. It was a pretty crappy morning at work, one that reminded me of another reason why I'll be glad to be done working. But the beer worked it's magic and after lunch I was able to settle down and quickly knock out a half-assed project that satisfied the most insistent, stubborn person I've ever had the non-pleasure of working with.

Once that was done we walked through the office and said our goodbyes. It was still a few hours early but I just felt like a big distraction for everyone else. Plus, there was really nothing left for me to do. It felt pretty good to walk out of there. I was just surprised that I got a little choked up at the end. But for all the bad feelings I have had over the years at work, it was rarely with the people I worked with everyday. I will miss you guys. Others not so much.

Crazy? Yeah, crazy like a coyote.

What am I going to do for work when I get there? That's probably the most asked question I get when people hear of my plans.

To be honest, I still don't have much of an answer. And that worries me quite a bit.

But I stumbled across this today and it picked me up a little bit. Yeah okay, it did so mostly at the expense of you people here in the States. Nevertheless, maybe there's some hope for me. Suddenly I'd like to think I know what I am doing.

Your's truly,

Wile E. Coyote
Super Genius

Painting by Numbers

Cross another one off the list. I just gave my one month's notice at work. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to this day. I think most people I work with would tell you I haven't been happy there for quite some time. Over the past few months the job has felt more and more like factory work. Less about creativity and more about repetition. Quantity over quality. All of us recognize that we aren't doing award-winning feature film production. It is direct marketing advertising after all. Make the phones ring, get those leads.

But along the way we've forgotten a little bit about what made the job enjoyable. In order to bring about greater consistency, new ideas often get dismissed instantly because someone didn't "get it." It was the old gung-ho attitude that often brought out the best of our creativity. Admittedly at times we may have had too much freedom. But whether or not an idea got used in a project, it often brought a spark to the team that might pave the way for more creative solutions and treatments down the road. I miss the days when we built on each other's ideas or tried to one-up the previous commercial. Frankly, we've been reduced to this one from James McMurtry:



That said, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank everyone for the opportunity I've had there. It doesn't seem all that long ago when I nearly lied my way into some freelance work with them. I learned an awful lot from two veteran editors who had seen it all before. They gave me the opportunity to learn the necessary skills while also letting me stretch out and do some some pretty fun creative work. I hope it isn't too long until you guys get to do what you want to do once again. I also want to thank the producers I've worked with over the years. Especially those that pushed and helped me come up some of our best work together. The best part of my job was always the collaboration between the producers and my fellow editors. To those calling the shots, ease up. Have some patience. Allow a little more independence and have some faith in what your production staff can do. You might be surprised.