I just finished my second week teaching here in Austria. I really am very happy. There is such satisfaction in doing the thing you are meant to do. I feel so at home in front of a class. As many of you know, I am not always the most self-assured and confidant person I would like to be. For some reason though, teaching is one thing I feel I do well. Not the best by any means…I am still learning. Yet, I am still convinced there is a certain amount of teaching that cannot be learned. Having the right presence to make a classroom full of hormone filled teenagers care about whatever it is you are trying to get across to them is something that many new teachers struggle with. For me, that is the easiest and most fun part. Teaching really is 3 parts theatre and 1 part preparation. My schools are also super grateful to have an actual trained teacher as their new language assistant! Apparently, they haven’t had that kind of luck in the past. Due to that, I have basically had to earn the trust of each teacher I work with (a grand total of 17 teachers all together!) individually. Usually after my first lesson they realize that I will be fine and that they don’t need to babysit. I had one teacher tell me before she had seen me teach that SHE would be preparing my lessons for me and I would basically read from a script so that the lessons weren’t terrible. After I got over the shock of this, I kindly informed her that I am extremely uncomfortable with that and assured her I would be much more successful if I prepared my own lessons. She didn’t seem to want to budge though. However, after she witnessed my pretty basic introduction lesson…she changed her tune.
Riedenburg
So, working with 17 different teachers definitely has its disadvantages. I don’t really know very many of their names with their faces yet. Some of the particularly friendly and helpful ones, I know. Others…not so much. On top of having 17 teachers I work with, in a months time I work with 35 different groups of students. 35 different classes. Some of which I will see once every two weeks, but others I will only see once a month at best. That part will likely be tough on me. I really like developing relationships with students and getting to know them. That likely won’t be realistic here.
Marienberg...taken before sunrise. Sorry for the darkness!
It does, however, lend itself to something pretty great. I can basically use the same lessons with about 25 out of my 35 classes. Less prep time is nice!
Speaking of really nice…
Let me tell you about my sweeeeeeet schedule. Get ready to be SUPER jealous. Just sayin’.
Marienberg
So I work at two different schools. I am at one for one week and go the other the next week. It’s pretty nice that way, to be honest. I am glad I don’t have to go between schools every day. Lets me have a little bit of a routine.
First off, I only work 13 hours a week. I know, right? So, right off the bat, life is great.
THEN, at my first school I don’t have to work on Fridays. At my second school, I don’t work on Mondays or Fridays. How amazing is that?!?! I alternate between 3-and 4-day weekends. Austria is seriously going to spoil me rotten.
So, let me tell you about my schools.
My Stammschule, or my main school, is Sacre Coeur Riedenburg Gymnasium. Gymnasium is the highest of the “high school” equivalent type schools. Not only that, but this is a pretty sweet private school. The girls wear uniforms and are super well-behaved and hard working. A teacher’s dream. My first week there was a blur of meeting what seemed like a thousand different people and switching between my mother tongue and German every ten minutes. I like some of my teachers there more than others, as is natural. One huge advantage of this school is the facilities. Anything I need as far as teaching materials is right there at my fingertips. Printing and making copies is easy as pie and everyone is super supportive of me. There are also a lot of younger female teachers at Riedenburg; I fit right in.
Riedenburg
My secondary school, HLW Marienberg is located in a really pretty part of town that I am fairly certain is the high rent district. It is situated right at the base of our mountain here in Bregenz as well. So, the view from the windows of some of my classrooms there is pretty stellar. No complaints here!
sign pointing to the different parts of Marienberg: the school and the monastery
The teachers at this school are a bit older than most of the ones at Riedenburg. They are all super nice to me though. Sometimes I feel like they don’t know what to do with me. I get the impression I am extremely different from the assistants they have had in the past. They keep saying that my German is so great, my accent is beautiful, my demeanor is so professional for my age, and my ideas for teaching are exciting. I am going to have to try hard not to get a big head working there with all of those compliments flying around.
The path leading away from Riedenburg
more of the path
My students so far are overall pretty great. Some groups are more excited to have an American in their class than others. With some classes, they could really take me or leave me. With others, they want to know every detail of my life and everything about America and ask a boatload of adorable questions. Here is a good sampling of some of my favorite student questions in the past two weeks:
1. How old are you?
2. Do you see celebrities every day in your hometown?
3. Do you like Justin Bieber?
4. What is your dream?
5. What clubs do you go to in Bregenz?
6. Do you speak German?
7. What is the most striking difference between America and Austria? (I was impressed with this question)
8. Is Georgia in political attitude more republican or democrat?
9. Do you know any cheerleaders?
10. Why are you here?
11. Do you like Austrian food?
12. Do you know your boyfriend looks like Prince Harry?
You get the idea.
moped parking...there is more on the other side
So yeah, life is good. Teaching makes me happy. Hanging out in the teacher’s lounge at my schools is my idea of a great time (plus the German practice is awesome!). And the food from the tourism portion on the schools is delicious…makes my week a dream.
Ich fühle mich wohl.
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