Ich habe Angst vorm... Singen?

So. Busy. I put in about 18 hours of time at the Gymnasium this week (don't worry-- it was my choice!), found and moved into a WG, and I'm exhausted.

My Mentor decided to change my schedule because she thought the 9ds would get more out of my presence than the 5bs. She's probably right, but I love the little 5bs, and I finally figured out most of their names! :) Instead of working with the 5b during the first hour on Friday, I'm going to help the 9ds with pronunciation and conversational skills during their double hour. I think I'm doing a similar thing with the 7c and the 8ds-- I'm taking half of the class for conversation and then switching during the second half of the class (only a single hour for these classes, though).

On Friday, I assisted in three classes and actually got to stand up and teach a little for the first time in the 5b class. I also talked a little in a Leistungskurs, where they watched an episode of Desperate Housewives as an introduction to white flight and the suburbs (yeah, I know-- *cringe*). I went with a Leistungskurs to the Berlin Literaturfestival, where we attended a reading by Priya Basil, an author from the UK. I'd love to get my hands on a copy of The Obscure Logic of the Heart. Despite the fact that the questions were quite, um, blöd, her answers were fascinating.

When that was over, I went back to My Mentor's house, attempted to walk the dog (more accurately, I dragged Maya about 10 meters and then gave up), and then headed back to Lessing for the Herbstfest.

At orientation, we went around in a circle and told others our name, what school we attended, if we had spoken to our host school, and our biggest fear about this year. One of my friends said that she was afraid of dancing because she's at a ballet/acrobatic school. Well, I think I should have said: “Ich habe Angst vorm Singen.”

Yes, my fellow English teachers talked me into singing karaoke at the Herbstfest (“Another Brick in the Wall” and “Money Money Money”). Why did I go along with it? I may be a bad singer, but at least I have a great command of English. :) We'll see if it turns up on Youtube; there were a bunch of students who were taking videos on their phones...

After that-- yep, I ran around the whole day!-- I went to a friend's apartment for a house warming party. I couldn't stay for very long because my U-Bahn ticket expired at midnight, but it was very nice to gossip and chat in English and to meet some Danish and German students.

Once I got back to My Mentor's house, I tiptoed around and got ready for bed on the couch downstairs. I fell asleep almost immediately and was in the middle of a dream when Maya decided to sniff my face and lick me on the nose. Thanks a lot, Maya. I always like waking up to doggy breath and a wet nose.

And now, here I am, in my new room!