Random Updates

I realized that I haven't talked a lot about My Gymnasium recently, so here's an update about what has been going on:

- Despite the fact that it has been a mere four weeks since Christmas break, Berlin decided that last week would be a great time for another break. Yay!

- One of the teachers decided to switch me out of her 7th grade class and put me with her 12th grade class. Good move, if you ask me-- the 7th graders don't behave well for the main teacher, so they ran all over me. Plus, 7th graders are still doing a lot of scripted work and grammar, and I'm pretty much incapable of explaining English grammar.

- I am unhappy with another 12th grade class because I let them pick the discussion topic, and then they didn't bother to read the 1-page article that I provided... and they were over 5 minutes late to class. It was pretty much a waste of a class, and I was looking forward to the topic (the Dream Act).

- The 7th grade class that I was worried about before break ran into some problems with their grades: two had to leave the school, and two new students joined the class.

- Just before break, I had one of those brilliant moments that every teacher dreams of: I was with one of my favorite classes (a notoriously difficult 9th grade class that actually behaves better for me than for many of their teachers) with a substitute teacher. Because the sub was supposed to teach an English lesson even though she doesn't really speak English, I volunteered to throw together a lesson about twenty minutes before class. For about ten minutes, all of their eyes were on the text, and everyone was listening to the student who was reading. It made me smile. :) Of course, they started to act up a bit later, but it was great while it lasted!

- I get to revise my schedule tomorrow! I'm hoping to pick up a 9th grade and 10th grade class.

In other news:

- I love love love the WG dogs.

- Passed the CSET for Foundation Level Math! Woo! (The pass rate for subtest I and II is 26% and 35%, respectively, for people who have less than 24 credits of math and who took the CSET for the first time.)

- Apparently, the Super Bowl was a valid excuse for missing German class. I might have watched the game if I had known that in advance...

- I am getting to be very experienced with German Apotheken. During one of my first trips to Germany, I was allergic to the detergent and broke out in a massive rash. On the next trip, I walked through nettles while hiking. This time around, I've been sick on and off for the past two months. In the US, if you've had a sore throat, cough, and pressure around your sinuses for a week, you'd probably get an antibiotic or some kind of medicine. In Germany, I got sage tea. I went back and demanded cough syrup, and it's an all-natural thyme-flavored syrup. Needless to say, my cough hasn't gone away...