Resurrecting my blog

I think I go through phases of keeping up with this blog, partially because things become "normal" and there are fewer things I find to write about. Probably partially because I also am busy and find less time to write. 

But here I am, sitting at my desk with a pile of papers, and I thought about posting a facebook status, when I decided it would make a better blog post.

I'm at a new school this year. I liked my old school: my students, my coworkers, etc. But, there were various things I was unhappy with and I started to get the itch to leave. This new job fell into my lap and all the doors opened way too easily to ignore, and it became clear to me that this is what God wanted me to do. When things just fall into place so perfectly, it's hard to deny that it's what you're supposed to do.

I'm happy at my new school. There will probably always be things that you want to change, because no one and nothing is perfect, but the things that I was unhappy with before are things that are different here. It's good.

The only thing that I have been really struggling with is the grading. Not the amount of grading or getting it done, necessarily, but the grading itself. The grading system for world languages at this school district is unlike most districts. Instead of grading on right or wrong, or marking down for things like neatness or turning something in late, the students are graded strictly on proficiency. The wonderful thing about this, is that the grade is based purely on what they are able to produce and comprehend in the target language (in this case, German). It gets rid of the parts of grades related to behavior. The downside of that, is that students don't necessarily turn in their neatest work, and there's nothing you can do about it. Or they turn it in two weeks late, and you can't take off points for that (although you can give a cutoff date of when you'll accept something). 

The hardest part about grading on proficiency is that it is no longer the system of grading by points out of 100. Instead, we read "I can" statements on a rubric and decide where the student falls, and then we give them a number on a scale 1-20 based on where they fall. A "1" means they didn't do it or uttered random words, and a "20" means they are almost as fluent as I am.

"I can understand the main idea and some details in simple texts that contain familiar vocabulary."
"I can understand the main idea and many details in some texts that contain familiar vocabulary."

If this sounds confusing, you are right. If this does not sound objective, you are right. It is hard to be consistent and fair. How do I know that the "6" I gave one student is the same as the "6" I gave another student? Why did this student get a "7" and this student get a "9"? It's tricky and messy and unclear, and I don't do too well with abstract. I like concrete, right/wrong, yes/no. This doesn't mean the grading system is bad, it's just a big adjustment for me. 

I let my grading pile up for weeks, because I had other work to do, but mostly because I was nervous about grading and uncertain about the grades I was giving. I was stressed out and frustrated, and eventually broke down (in both senses--I cried and I stopped resisting) and did the grading. Am I confident in the grades I gave? Not really. Do I feel a little more comfortable about the grading system? Absolutely. Practice makes perfect, and I'll probably never be perfect at this system, but I know the more I do it, the easier it will get. Eventually it will take less time and eventually I will be more consistent and confident in the grades I give.

So, now it's time for me to go and do more grading. :)

The End

It's that time of year again. It's the end of the school year. It flew by, as it always does. And yet, when I think back to the beginning of the year or to various things that happened this year, it seems like it was so long ago. It's funny how time can go so quickly and slowly all at once. I've counted down and thought it would never end, and now that it's here, I can't say I wish it wasn't, but it's still a little sad.

My classroom is packed, my car is (mostly) loaded, save for a few fabric bins and small plastic tubs that need to be carried out, and I've got two half-days left before it's all over. It's strange! When I was anticipating this week last weekend, I thought it would drag by. I thought I would be bored, like last year, and I thought the hours would tick by much slower than they normally do. I kept myself busy with packing and with planning my trip with my brother this summer. Now, I really have nothing left to do, but I still don't feel bored. I think it's because I am trying to enjoy the last moments with the few students still here. Because all the grades are in and stored, that means that most students have stopped coming, and for the most part, the kids that are still here, are the kids that I've really enjoyed and will really miss. I've tried to be intentional in saying goodbye to them, because this time it's not "Tschüss! See you next year!" it's "Tschüss! See you...never again?" It's kind of sad. I know that it happens eventually, even if I stay at the same school, because kids graduate or move away, but somehow that seems a little different.

Yesterday afternoon, at graduation, I knew several of the kids walking across the stage, mostly because I had them last year as juniors. I couldn't help but picture some of the students I've had who will be graduating next year or the year after next, and I won't be there. I know it doesn't really mean anything extra to them that I'm there, because I have to be there, but it's fun to see them before and after the ceremony and give them a hug and congratulations. There are some students that have been difficult, but have shown me their sweet side and I have grown attached and accustomed to seeing them grow up. I guess that's the hard part of this job.

Some teachers say they don't care about the students or what they think, but I'm not one of them. I don't find fulfillment in whether they like me or my class and I don't take it personally when they don't like me or my class, but I do care about my students and enjoy seeing them grow from little 9th graders to little adults. And I enjoy getting to know them personally, to an extent. I don't consider them friends by any stretch of the imagination, and I'm not interested in seeing them outside of school, but I do like the times when they open up, whether it's in class or after school tutoring, and I get to see who they really are. They're more than just a desk or a brain to put information in.

There will never be a time that would be perfect or easy to leave, since there will always be students I care about and enjoy having (and if there comes a time when that's not true, I better be considering another profession, because if I don't love the people I'm working with, then what am I even doing here? This job would be absolutely miserable if I didn't enjoy the students).

I'm excited for what's to come, but nervous at the same time. Leaving and starting somewhere new means a whole lot of new. I'll have to battle the mentality of "but the other teacher did it this way" all over again, I'm sure, but I think (hopefully!) it will be better the second time around. And this time, I'm sure that there will be some of that in reverse too, as much as I don't want my students to give someone else grief. 

Maybe I'm being dramatic or sentimental, but I think that's allowed sometimes :)

The Final Countdown

It's May! This means that there are a significantly limited number of days until the last day of school. And while I most definitely have a countdown going until summer (no alarms for 6 am, an abundance of time to scrapbook, nights without hopeful bedtimes of 9pm [although I do love early bedtimes regardless of the time of year], and European travels with my brother and the Swiss wedding of my Eurobestie!), I still struggle a little with knowing that this is goodbye to several students I really enjoy teaching. Last year, I was sad knowing I wouldn't be teaching most of last year's students this year, but I knew I'd still see them around. This time, it's likely I won't just see them around next year. 

But I'm excited for next year. It's always hard at the end of the year to remember your excitement for the beginning of the year, since everything has piled up since the beginning of the current year and I'm more often annoyed or frustrated with students than not. But I know, after 2-ish months of summer, I'll feel refreshed and find my excitement again :)

Following the Bigger Plan

A few weeks ago, I happened upon a job posting on a nearby school district for a German teaching position. It's not that I am miserable at my current school, but there are some things I don't like (that will happen anywhere, I know), which was enough to apply for the job out of curiosity.

After a string of bad days at school a while back, I had daydreamed about finding another job and prayed a couple of times for options. That's pretty common for teachers, and probably for anyone who's had a bad day at work: to daydream about other schools or other professions--for example, where asking a student to write 8 sentences doesn't return with a mountain of complaints and whining or where more than two (of the 21 students) turn in their projects ON the due date. (I mean, I'm not being overly ambitious right?)

So I applied. And I prayed that if this were meant to be, if I were meant to switch schools, that all of the doors be opened. And if it weren't, for all the doors to be closed--no interviews or job offers or anything.

A couple of weeks after applying, I got a phone call for an interview. I wasn't able to interview at the time they requested--a potential hurdle--but they easily offered a different time that I was able to make. I anxiously awaited the interview and mentally rehearsed potential responses and prayed again that if this were meant to be, that all the doors be opened.

The Wednesday came, and I left school a little early (with permission, during my planning period) and headed for the interview. I was interviewed by four people (the principal, an assistant principal, the current German teacher with whom I would be working, and the head of the foreign language department). They took turns asking me questions and the German teacher interviewed me in German for a few minutes. After I left, I didn't feel like it went particularly well or particularly badly--I just felt neutral about it. I was still interested in the job, of course, but I didn't have any inkling of how the interview went from their perspective. They said they'd be deciding within the next couple of weeks, so I decided just to wait it out and continue to pray for doors to be opened if it was meant to be.

The next afternoon, I got a phone call from the principal offering me the job. This was a shocker, since she had told me they'd be deciding in a couple of weeks. I guess they had two more interviews in the 24 hours after my interview, but decided I was the one they wanted to offer the position to. I didn't want to be hasty, even though all the doors had clearly been opened as easily as possible, so I took the weekend to think about it and pray about it. I made a pro and con list, and although there wasn't an overwhelming pro or con to either side, I felt more pulled to this new school. I felt like this was where God was leading me, and that it was literally an answer to many prayers this year. So I accepted the job :)

Again, it's not that I am miserable where I'm at right now, but there are things that I am hoping will be better at my new school. This year has not been a miserable year--in fact, in terms of my teaching, I feel like I've improved since last year and found a rhythm that works--but it has been challenging in various other ways. I'm excited and nervous for this new transition (as with it comes new people, new rules, new curriculum, and a new living situation [TBD]), but more excited nervous than scared nervous.

Praise God for His timing and His plan that is bigger and better than the one I have for myself!

The seasons of life

It's been a while since I last wrote, and I've thought a lot about what to write, but nothing big has come to mind. Life keeps moving on, and school life has become somewhat normal, so there isn't much newness to write about there.

Let's see, since last time I wrote, I spent Christmas with my grandparents and sister in Florida. It was a lovely break with surprisingly warm weather. Not that warm weather is surprising for Florida, but I wasn't expecting it to be QUITE as warm as it was. I got a lot of scrapbooking done (although it's never enough!!) and got to spend quality time with my family, which is all I wanted for the holidays!

I went to Chosen, the women's conference through my church, at the end of January, and was spiritually filled up and refreshed. It's so great to be surrounded by God-loving women for a couple of days, and to be poured into by the women around you and the fantastic speakers. It was so much fun, and so needed, and I can't wait for next year. Thanks to my mom (early birthday present!), I've already bought my ticket--and even my sister will be joining me next year!

In one of the messages at church after the New Year, and in one of the messages from a speaker at Chosen, a Word of the Year was mentioned. This is a word that represents your coming year--either what you want your year to reflect or something you want to change. I went to the website (getoneword.com) hoping there'd be a quiz or questionnaire to fill out and my word would be given to me, but it's not that simple--because it has to be individual and much more personal than a 15-question quiz, or whatever I was expecting. The more I thought about it, the more the word "Brave" came to mind. Honestly, I think this is a word that reflects my life. I wouldn't exactly call myself a brave person, but there are a lot of situations or life events where I have had to be brave--in little and big ways. Sometimes I don't even realize it was brave until afterwards--like moving to a foreign country without knowing anyone. So I think my word for this year is brave--that I need to not be so afraid of things and take some risks that I might normally resist.

Another life word I've consistently come back to is "Patience." I would call myself a patient person in most aspects of my life. My one exception would be driving. I am an impatient driver (although I don't take it out in my driving, I can be known to yell at drivers from the quiet inside of my car.), but in probably all other ways, I'm pretty patient. Life is full of seasons, which is a metaphor I've loved especially in the past couple of years. Some seasons are short and some are long; some seasons are great and some are greatly difficult. Regardless of the season, I know that God has a plan for my life and a purpose for the season. Sometimes I find myself impatient in a season, whether that's the speed of getting into a season or the speed of getting out of one, and I'm constantly reminded that I need to be patient, because God's timing is perfect and His plan for me is on a much better timetable than my own. It's been proven over and over again, and yet it's still not always easy to be patient. And sometimes I need to be patient and brave, especially brave in trusting in God's plan. It's hard to be brave and patient, but I'm trying.

Thankful for the breaks

I feel like I start every blog post off with a Whoops and apology for not posting in so long. September dragged by, but boy did October and November fly. And now we're one week into December and gearing up for winter break. I sure did lose track of time. 

Part of why I haven't posted in so long is because things feel a little more stable and normal, and part of it is because things are just busy. This job is never dull and there's always more to do, but in the day-to-day I'm not encountering anything I've thought was funny or interesting enough to write a whole post about. I mean, the students say and do crazy things (like insist I have 50 cats, or tell me about random abnormal pets they'd like to have) but nothing really hilarious so far. 

It's hard to believe this year is nearly half over already. As I think back to this time last year, I know I was marveling at the same thing. I was drowning in grading, struggling to keep my students motivated and engaged in each lesson, all while struggling to keep myself motivated and engaged. With Christmas break drawing nearer and nearer, the motivation level and attention span of even the best students drops rapidly. And yet, we chug along, trying our hardest and putting big X's on our mental calendars as the final bell rings each day. 

It's funny, because we just got off Thanksgiving break, so you'd think we'd be refreshed. But instead that little taste of a break only makes us anticipate Christmas break more. 

I did have a lovely, albeit fast and busy Thanksgiving break. I went to an AP training in IN on Tuesday, and then drove home to MI. Wednesday was full of appointments and errands, as well as an always-anticipated visit with my great-grandmother. Thursday was my only "downtime" day, where I lounged around with my mom, only leaving the house to see Mockingjay (no Black Friday shopping here!). On Friday and Saturday, I was in Grand Rapids for my best friend's wedding. It was a fantastic weekend and a beautiful wedding. I felt honored to stand up in her wedding, and although there was minimal bestie time, like I usually get, it was a perfect and wonderful weekend! (My phone wanted to correct wonderful to WONDERFUL. Apparently it was just THAT good!) Then I drove back to SC on Sunday, which took far too long, and started back to school on Monday. 

And now I'm looking forward, to a week and a half in Florida with my grandparents and my sister (yay!!) for Christmas and then New Year's back here. Less than two weeks to go...less than two weeks to go. 

2015 is just around the corner. I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions or over-anticipating whatever the new year holds, but I am ready to start writing 2015 instead of 2014 on my classroom white board ;)

Ich wünsche euch eine schöne Weihnachtszeit und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr <3 

The First Quarter

Somehow September dragged by, yet I failed to update this blog!

It's finally October and officially Fall, which means I'm officially homesick for a good, Michigan Fall. The colors, the crisp Autumn air, the boots and scarves and sweaters, and apple picking with hot cider and donuts. I can't say I miss Michigan Winter, but man do I love Fall. The weather here in the past couple of days has started to cool off, but it could be just a teaser. We'll see :)

Next week marks the end of the first quarter. Exams begin, grades will be entered...and somehow that means we're one-fourth of the way done with the school year. Although I said September went by slowly, it's hard to believe that we're nearly a quarter done. It always sneaks up on me. 

In this next quarter, I'm looking forward to going to an AP training in Indiana right before Thanksgiving break, and then I'll be going home for my best friend's wedding. I'm really looking forward to both of those things, but obviously for very different reasons. :)

School is going well; it's just busy as always. I'm behind on grading, but loving teaching everything for the second time. Just like last year, I'm already thinking of ways to improve for next year. It's so great getting a "redo" on what you do, every single year. It's great being able to perfect lessons and bring new ideas and innovations into them. 

One wonderful thing we've gotten at our school are laptops for the students. I don't know all the details of logistics and whatnot, but by the end of next school year, all students will have their own laptop to use in class. The current freshmen received theirs and sophomores are next. Next year will be seniors and new freshmen. I don't know how the order of the rollout was decided, but that's that. As an unexpected bonus, each teacher also got a laptop to use, so now I can incorporate that technology into the classroom, and be able to test it out/demonstrate it myself. My freshmen students have only had them for a week and are already asking when we'll use them in our classes. I don't have any classes of all one grade level, so current integration is a challenge, but definitely a good challenge to have!

As far as my life outside of school goes, I'm trying to have more non-school related things going on in my life. I've set a goal to leave school earlier than last year and spend less time on school stuff in general. I am in a new small group of "young professionals" (mostly young, single, 20-somethings in college or new in the workforce) and I really enjoy it. It's a really great mix of people and the church-wide study we're doing is really good! 

Well, I've got some quizzes and projects to grade for tomorrow. Til next time :)

Round Two!

Round Two, y'all (Do I pass as Southern yet? Haha, nope...er, no ma'am! sir? I give up.)

Today was the first day of my second year of teaching! It's crazy how fast last year flew by, and the summer flew by even faster (as it always does).

Last week was full of meetings--professional developments and general faculty meetings, all chock full of information (ahem, mostly useful). There was a lot of scrambling to get done, but I noticed a significantly lower amount of stress than last year. As I prepared my classroom and thought about all that I needed to do (and still need to do, as I'm writing this), I reflected on the stress of last year: I had just moved into a new apartment in a new state for a new job, with an apartment in shambles of moving boxes (I will forever be sending my mother a bazillion thanks for unpacking my ENTIRE apartment) and a classroom for which I had 0 decorations and 0 ideas. Phew. Thankfully, this year, my classroom mostly stayed the same (my favorite still being my dictionary-page bulletin board) and the addition of some new hand-made posters/signs AND A MOUNTED PROJECTOR. You have no idea how EXCITED I am about that. Yes, I know, I'm a nerd.

As I was reflecting during my post at morning duty (making sure the kiddos go where they're supposed to be going in the morning), I realized that it doesn't feel like I've started a new school year. It feels like we had some time off, but I don't feel like it's a NEW year. We just had a break and now it's time to keep going! Except with all new classes? Yep! I still feel like I'm supposed to be a newbie first-year teacher, even though I'm not the newest at the school anymore, and it's not my first year anymore.

And then the students came. I started the day energized and ready, and was greeted with UTTER SILENCE. Seriously, complete silence, even when I asked them questions or tried to joke around with them (I am definitely not a follower of the No-smile-til-Christmas rule). I guess I forgot how ridiculously shy the classes are, as a whole. I know that will not last long, and I should be relishing in the silence for now, but when you're trying to get to know them and introduce them to the classroom rules and procedures, you sure do feel like you're talking to a wall when all you back get are blank stares. Sheesh. Not to mention all the repetition, since all three classes today were German 1 classes (the last one is technically the 4x4 class that will meet every day and do German 1 and 2 in a year, but they're still starting out as German 1). I had to repeat the same intro information over and over and over. Fun. Tomorrow will be some familiar faces and some unfamiliar faces, most who already know the ins-and-outs of the German department and have some basis in the German language. To be honest, I'm not yet 100% sure how to do the class of last year's students differently than today, since so far, in my whole one year and one day of teaching, all first days have been brand new classes of brand new (to me) students.

I'm also anxious for tomorrow's first class, being my only class with any of my own students from last year, to see how much they actually remember of German. Two and a half months of NO foreign language (because I am not kidding myself into believing they even thought about German at all over their summer) is like an eternity in teacher years.

I also realized how much I already miss some kids from last year. I knew that I would, but seeing them in the hallway made me realize how blessed I was with some truly awesome students last year. Some stopped by between classes or shouted hello as they walked past, many expressing regret that they didn't have me as a teacher this year--I didn't inform any of them that I wouldn't be teaching German 3 this year, because I knew they'd just complain. Students want what they're used to and that's it; they don't like change. It warmed my heart and made me more excited to get to know the students from this year.

So, here's hoping this year is as good as last year. Everyone says the first year is the worst, so I'm hoping that's true. Not because last year was bad, but because if that was the worst, it's only going to be awesome from here on out ;-)

In the blink of an eye...

Somehow there are only days left of my summer vacation. I knew it would fly by, but I still wished it wouldn't. I know having summers off is a big, needed perk of the job, but it still goes by too fast, just like it always has and will.

So, since my last post about my travels in Europe with the school, I've kept extremely busy! After stressfully and frantically finishing that first summer class, I breathed a sigh of relief for about three seconds and promptly started the second summer class...I spent two weeks on Sanibel Island with my grandparents. My grandma and I spent a lot of time scrapbooking together and taking breaks in their pool. 

I also watched the World Cup, and obviously rooted for Germany the whole time. In true me-fashion, I painted my nails for the final game to show my support :-)

Then Dorina, my roommate from Switzerland, came to visit for three weeks! It was the perfect amount of time to show her my hometown, where I studied, and where I currently live. A few days after she arrived (to let her acclimate to this time zone a little first!) we drove to Michigan--all 13 hours. It went by fairly quickly, and we shared the driving, so it was really great. 

My brother had his graduation party, for which we made most of the decorations. 

Then we went to Grand Rapids for a few days. Some sweet friends were gracious enough to open their home to us so we could avoid hotel costs. I showed her Calvin, some of my favorite places in GR, and we ventured to Lake Michigan. Unfortunately, it was a cooler day and super windy, so the beach was not as lovely as it normally is. Nonetheless, we enjoyed ourselves :-)

Back in Waterford, we hung out with my family and helped my brother shop at IKEA for college dorm things before beginning our return 13-hour drive.

And back we went, with a car stuffed full (I can never seem to leave with only the things I brought!) and my cat. 

Once back in Columbia, we mostly did what we love to do: hung out together. Some of our favorite memories together from my year in Switzerland was watching movies and talking for hours. So we did just that! Some might think that's boring or think we should have done more sightseeing or something, but for us, it was perfect. In between movie and chat sessions, we went to the movies and in my apartment pool with a friend of mine, had a girls night with some girls from church, took her to see my school, went to church and lunch with friends afterward, and went shopping lots. 

We also ventured to Charleston for a day. It was cloudy and full of predictions of rain, but we managed to miss the rain. We ate at Hominy Grill for some especially Southern cuisine, walked up and down King Street for some window shopping (and a little real shopping mixed in ;-D), and to Sullivan's Island, one of the many beaches in Charleston. Although it was cloudy, it was quite warm and perfect for sitting on the beach and not sweating our faces off :-)

And then, all too soon, it was time to say goodbye! The time was perfect, but (as usual) not nearly enough. It was fun to show her all the things that make up my life, to show her the little and typical American things, and to spend so much time with one of my best friends. After spending a year where we lived and traveled together, and spent almost all of our time together, three weeks was a wonderful gift. 

And, to answer the most common questions: 

1. Yes, we spoke mostly in English. Normally, we switch off and on, but before she got here, I thought to myself "If I were spending three weeks (or any amount of time, really) back in Germany/Austria/Switzerland, I know I would want to speak German as much as possible" and knowing that Dorina likes to speak in English, I decided that I would intentionally talk in English with her, for as much as she wanted to. Of course, we had random sentences or words that were in German, and yes, when we didn't want people to know what we were talking about, we would often switch to German :-)

2. She really enjoyed being in the US. It was her first time here, so it was fun to show her all the little differences. She loved Target and Hobby Lobby, just like I knew she would and was as amazed about our "low" prices as I was about the exorbitant prices in Switzerland. She enjoyed the food we ate and restaurants we went to.

3. The differences I think she was most surprised/impressed by were: free refills at restaurants, the number of lanes on our streets, and our typical greeting of "Hi, how are you?" where we don't really care about how the other person is--it's just a part of the greeting.

And now, I'm enjoying my last few days of nothing, while my brain begins to remind me of all the things I could have (and maybe should have) done in preparation for this school year, but I don't really feel bad. This summer was full to the brim, but so perfectly full and just the break I needed. 

Traveling abroad with students

I had a whole post typed out, describing my trip in Europe, and then it disappeared. I guess that's what I get for trying to type it up on my phone in Airplane Mode...

So, I spent the beginning of my summer break with eighteen students, three other teachers, another group from a school in Missouri, and an EF Tours tour guide, traveling around Europe--specifically Germany, France, and Spain. We had a jam-packed trip, and were exhausted every night. The students were really awesome, and I'm glad they were able to go, especially to experience the language and culture that they were learning in context. Overall, it was a really great trip. I'm hoping to plan one for the future of just the German-speaking countries, though.

Because it was so jam-packed full, I'm going to try to give you the highlights of the trip, since the details would go on for far too long.

We left June 8 and had an overnight flight to München. Once we arrived, we waited for the other school from Missouri to arrive and then went full-force ahead into the day. We first went to Dachau, a concentration camp. It was unfortunate that we went to a concentration camp on the first day of the trip, because the students were so exhausted that I don't think they were able to appreciate it fully. After that, we spent some time at BMW-Welt, with some awesome cars and motorcycles (did you know Mini Cooper is made my BMW? I didn't!), followed by a walking tour of the city, and finished by dinner and then finally the hotel. We were exhausted. Needless to say, I slept like a rock.

The next day, we went to Neuschwanstein, which is the famous castle that Mad King Ludwig II built (and that the Disney Cinderella castle is supposedly modeled after). We had a tour of the castle and time to look around after. Then we went to Oberammergau and had an awesome tour of the Passionstheater, which is where they perform the Passion play of the life and death of Jesus Christ--but only every ten years!

The following day, before heading to Heidelberg, we had a really interesting 3rd Reich Tour, where we walked around Munich and were told of all the places that were of importance in the making of and during the 3rd Reich. It was really interesting to see, because you wouldn't know it by just looking at the places as-is. Then, we had some free time, where I finally got to buy my very own Dirndl :-) There was a lot of traffic on the way to Heidelberg, so we made it in time for dinner and that was it.

The next day, we had a tour of Heidelberg, including the castle and the wine cellar, followed by plenty free-time before dinner, in which I bought some German kids books and German movies for my classroom.

The next day, we drove to Paris, stopping in Reims for lunch and to see the cathedral. Once in Paris, we had a delicious dinner and a boat tour on the Seine river (which could be romantic, just not with three other female teachers and 18 students). The students LOVED seeing the Eiffel Tower and took full advantage of the free-time afterward to take pictures in front of it, buy delicious crepes, and buy a zillion Eiffel Tower figurines from all the street sellers there.

The following day, we had a bus tour of Paris, and time to visit the Notre Dame. On the way to the Louvre museum, we saw the famous bridge of locks (with an INSANE amount of locks, let me tell you.) Once in the Louvre, we had just enough time to see the Mona Lisa and the Napolean apartments (although the students were so exhausted, many of them booked it for the Mona Lisa and then sought out benches until it was time to go). Then, we went to dinner, wandered up the Champs Élysées and finished the night by climbing the Arc de Triomphe for one of the best views of Paris.

Although we normally spent every day with the other group, sometimes only one group wants to go on the extra excursions offered by EF Tours. The next day, my school wanted to go to Versailles, and only half of the other group wanted to go. The other half went to the Catacombs, the Eiffel Tower again, and Montparnasse/Sacre Cœur. I decided to go with them, which ended up being a lot of fun and really cool to see. We met up with the rest of the group/my school at Montparnasse/ Sacre Cœur (where there's a lot of really cheap shops). After dinner, we went to Montmartre Tower, for probably the BEST view of Paris.

The next day, we were supposed to have a train to Avignon, but there was a train strike, so we had to take a bus for 12 hours. I secretly love long bus and train rides, because it's a chance to sit and think and watch the beautiful scenery pass you by. I love putting in my earphones, playing my current favorite music, and just looking out the window. Although, after 12 straight hours with 40 teenagers on a bus, that tends to be a little less lovely. We stopped in Avignon really late, so we could see the outside of the Pope's Palace, which was amazing, but we didn't get to see the Aqueducts. So, we got to stay overnight in Avignon just to take another bus the next day (this bus was planned) to Barcelona. We stopped in Carcassonne on the way, which is a really cool medieval city, with a fortress and everything. Once in Barcelona, we had dinner and went back to the hotel.

The following day started out with a bus tour of Barcelona. After which we had a tour of La Sagrada Famíla, which is a church that isn't projected to be finished until 2026, and will have been in progress for over 100 years at that point. It was an amazing church, both on the outside and inside, and every single detail has a specific reason behind it. Goudi really put a ridiculous amount of thought into it. We had free time after the church, which was meant to explore the main shopping streets of downtown Barcelona, but the students were enraptured with the Mediterranean Sea and preferred to spend the whole time lying on the beach (save for 10 minutes where they actually went in the cold water). Oh well, this meant the adults got to split some real Spanish Sangria at a beachside café :-)

The next day we took a train--finally!--to Madrid. This happened to also be the coronation day for the new king, so it was crazy! There were people everywhere, some protesting the monarchy system, and police all over the place. We went to the Prado museum, where our tour guide had prepared a sort of scavenger hunt for us--and the royal botanical gardens, where the students had some free time to rent a little rowboat on the pond. We then had some free time to go shopping in Madrid, although it was crazy crowded because of the coronation.

For our final day before flying home, we had a tour of Madrid, including the bull-fighting arena and a tour of the Reina Sofia museum (with really cool Picasso and Salvador Dali pieces, but no pictures allowed). We had lunch, which was paid for by EF because of the train strike problems, and then my school group went to Toledo, while the other group stayed behind. We had a tour of the city, the church, a giant painting by Greco, the synagogue, and a sword-/jewelry-making place. We had dinner, and then said our goodbyes to the other school and the tour director. And although I was happy to be going home after twelve long (but good) days, I couldn't help but feel the familiar bittersweet sadness in the pit of my stomach. I guess my old blog name (europeanatheart.blogspot.com) was truer than I realized.

So, it was a good trip. It was thoroughly exhausting, as we were go-go-go for twelve days straight, from early morning to late evening. The students were great and real troopers. I'd say it was a successful first trip with students.