So, my weekly blog updates are not happening as I thought they would, but life has got in the way! I promise my following posts will not be this long!! A lot has happened in the last two weeks.
My year abroad began at 4am on Friday 13th September (perfect timing on all accounts!) with a drive to Heathrow Airport for the early flight to Hamburg. After a 2 hour ish flight, surrounded by men on a stag do no less, then a couple of train journeys, my parents and I finally arrived in Lübeck around 12.
We then moved me into the rooms I am now renting. I’m sharing a little pink house in the old town with two German students. (Proper Balamory vibes!) I have the top floor to myself, which is made up of two little rooms: a bedroom and a desk and wardrobe area. The extra added benefit of the top floor is the access to the roof terrace from one of the windows. Also, there are no straight walls in this building and the stairs are really narrow, steep and a bit creaky but as scary as that sounds, it is really cute and quirky.
We had a lovely weekend the three of us, exploring the city, finding all the good eating spots and, of course, the inevitable IKEA trip!
Unfortunately, Sunday came, and I had to say goodbye to my parents. But before that I managed to blow the fuses in both my adaptor plugs with my hairdryer and cry my eyes out about that. I think I was already feeling fragile, so it only took one little thing to trigger me. Saying goodbye was so difficult, as I was now alone in this city. I got back and spent my evening calling my friends and crying a lot. For me, the fear of the unknown is what was upsetting me and having to face this unknown alone.
The following day, I had to head to Cologne (the other side of Germany!) to attend a course for my British Council Assistantship job. I will freely admit that this day was the absolute worst. Every method of transport I took was late, including a bus that was taking me from Duisburg to Cologne Airport (the meeting point), which could have meant me missing the coach to the course itself. So, after a panic phone call to my mum, I ended up paying for another train to get me to Cologne as quickly as possible. It was such a relief to bump into my uni friend at Cologne Central Station and travel together to the airport. That was the longest and most difficult day I have had in a long time. I travelled for about 10 hours that day, and was in constant stress for most of it.
Thankfully when we got to the course destination itself (Altenberg: a small place outside of Cologne), I met lots of other assistants, who felt exactly like I did. Meeting all these new people was such a relief, because as an assistant you aren’t naturally in a student environment, so you are unsure if you’ll meet anyone the same age as you or in the same position as you.
As this course was from the Monday to the Thursday, we were put into rooms with people who would be assistants in the same city or region as you, which automatically gives you a network that you know you will see again! I was in a room with two women who are also in Lübeck. At the end of the course, we travelled back to Lübeck together and arranged to meet up at the weekend with other language assistants in Lübeck. It is honestly the best feeling to know you’re not alone and there are other people feeling exactly the same as you!
Now came reality. It was my first day at my school, but I wasn’t teaching that day. Friday was about getting to know my new environment, colleagues and getting through a mountain of paperwork. After we had sorted all this out, we went into the centre of Lübeck for the Staffeltag (a day of baton races between all the schools in the city). There was probably about 1000 kids there, it was an amazing event! After this, I finally replaced my blown-up adaptors so I can actually charge my things. Still too scared to plug in the hairdryer again though! That evening I also went to a staff bowling night. I was so tired that my bowling game was a tad off…I mean it was so bad, one of the teachers asked me if I’ve ever been bowling before…so that was ideal! But I did manage to up my game, but during the ‘Schnapps for a Strike’ part of the evening. I managed to score a strike, so it made me look like I was motivated by not only alcohol, but free alcohol! Great first impression!! But hey, it was a fun night and really nice to meet the teachers in a casual setting before I started properly at school.
My first free day alone in Lübeck was last Saturday and I spent it in bed watching Brooklyn 99 and eating chocolate. Yes, I realise you were probably expecting me to say I travelled and explored somewhere but I was frankly so tired and overwhelmed from the first week, I took a day to catch up with myself. Initially, I felt guilty but then I realised, I have 9 months here to explore, I don’t need to do everything in week 1.
On Sunday, I met up with a couple of the other assistants and we went out for waffles (which were delish!!) We chatted for a bit then walked around city until we sat at a pond and talked some more. It was a gorgeous day too, so everything felt a lot better! It was so nice to have this catch up and we agreed to meet up again
First week of school = introducing myself to many students and teachers in English, German and once in Spanish! I work 12 hours a week in a variety of classes from Year 4 to Year 10, which I think will be a great experience for me, as I get to help students with different English abilities. With the younger ones, I will be having to use some German too, which will be good practice for me too!!
All in all, the first two weeks have been a rollercoaster, but I really feel like I’m starting to find my feet now. Just completed my first week (4 days) at school and my weekend started at 11:15 today, and I am proud of myself for getting this far. I now feel able to make plans and find things to see and do. I am excited for what’s yet to come and I know it’ll be good!