9/10- Wilkommen in Berlin

My mentor teacher and host for the first week met me at the Hauptbahnhof on Thursday night (9/9), and we only walked past each other a few times. (Keep in mind that I was still pulling my luggage!) We managed to get a suitcase and my backpack into the apartment, which is on the equivalent of the 5^th floor (4^th floor in Germany)—her boyfriend brought up my other suitcase after dinner. I also discovered that I really like her dog, Maya.

On Friday (9/10), I visited the Gymnasium for the first time, and I attended eight classes: 6 Leistungskurse, the 10c, and the 5b. (Don’t worry, I will explain the school system and the class numbering system a little later. All you need to know right now is that a Leistungskurs covers something like 11^th, 12^th, and 13^th grades—it’s confusing for even the regular teachers because Berlin is in the middle of some school reforms.)

A few impressions:

• I want a 5^th grader. I’m really not the maternal, hugging, flowers and rainbows and teddy bears and unicorns type—but these kids are adorable, smart, and excited to be in a school with the big kids.

• The 5^th grade boys are not nearly as ‘tough’ and ‘macho’ as their American counterparts—and I love it. One kid started crying in front of the class because he got in trouble for talking, and it wasn’t entirely his fault. Instead of laughing, the other kids looked genuinely concerned. When he got back to his seat, the boy next to him even put his arm around his shoulder. It was sweet. :)

• Every student in the Leistungskurse thought that I was an exchange student from China.

• The school is in a fairly low-income area, and about 2/3 of the students have an “immigrant background.” (I think the working definition is first/second generation German citizen or recent immigrant.) However, the social problems that I noticed had nothing to do with ethnicity or religion; they were related to social class. That being said, I am at a Gymnasium, and I expect that things might be different at a Hauptschule or Realschule. (Again, explanation of schools to come.)

• A student asked me if I was couch surfing this year. I laughed and said no, and I explained that I was staying with My Mentor until I found a permanent place. “So you are couch surfing!” Ha. Okay, she won.

• Apparently, the 5^th graders shoot baskets with their garbage. A girl in the front row chucked a wrapper at the garbage can out of habit. Unfortunately, she didn’t even come close to the garbage, because I was standing directly in front of her. Poor kid—she was so embarrassed!

• In the UK, "erasers" are called “rubbers." The 5th graders were reading a dialogue about buying school supplies, and I was trying not to giggle as they said, "I want a green rubber. Ugh! No, I don't want a green rubber. I want a yellow rubber."

This is going to be a great year… once I stop couch surfing.