Teacher Teacher Teacher

I know what I want to be when I grow up!

Many kids want to be Doctors, Lawyers, Professional Athletes…maybe even an astronaut.  I knew right away in Middle School that I was going to be a teacher.  Part of it was people telling me I was good with kids, but the other part was me knowing I was and having fun while coaching or mentoring them.  No brainer right?!

College selection was no difficulty…I went to Western Michigan and maximized my college experience. I was able to be an athlete in synchronized ice skating (who knew?) and also go to one of the State’s best schools in education.  Two birds one stone.  I have to laugh though…people always say…you really learn how to be a teacher your first year…that all those classes and internships don’t really prepare you until your first classroom and first year.  SO TRUE!  Although…my first year of teaching was straight SURVIVAL!  I moved from Michigan to Florida for a teaching job at an inner-city school that was low in every way.  I was barely able to keep my sanity, teach and match expectations given to me by a fancy superintendent making as much as our US President.  What was I thinking I would ask myself the first few months.  This was way harder then I imagined…but it didn’t stop me.

After that first year…I got a grip and transferred to a different inner-city school (the one I was at turned magnet school) that was in the same neighborhood with the same equally difficult environments…teaching and life wise.  I have to tell you though, what a difference that first year of teaching made for my career.  It thickened my skin, allowed me to look at the realities and dreams of a teacher.  Reality…you teach to the test no mater what you think and people tell you.  Dreams…I didn’t want to accept that…I wanted to do hands on projects that gave these students a chance to experience a life other then they were used to! HA.  I learned to balance the above…while my piss poor teacher salary took a monster hit as often these kids had nothing but the dirty clothes on their back.  It could possibly break your heart seeing them go home for a two week vacation because you never knew if they were getting fed or not by their relatives.  I would say parents but often these students came from homes where Grandma was raising them, one parent was incarcerated and the other was too busy trying to provide or too busy with some drug in their system.  I learned that this school was about tough love, boundaries and selflessness.  How humbling.

I spent a few years teaching there to my surprise.  I LOVED it there.  It was only the administration that turned me bitter.  After ignoring an issue of a parent trying to strangle me…yes…STANGLE me that I was pissed.   They were too worried about covering their ass and dealing with this that I learned that they wouldn’t protect me in the end.  They could screw off…I had had it…even after loving these students and knowing I was meant to help.  I guess God had something/somewhere else in mind as far as helping children.

I put in for a transfer to a different  school that following year.  I had heard wonderful things about TINKER..public school on MacDill AFB…what a wonderful new place to teach…inspire…learn?!  People often said that teachers NEVER left there.  They retained people, built a family…a COMMUNITY.  How true.

Tinker was everything of those.  I found a family I never had when it came to work.  Sounds silly.  But teaching is hard work.  I know people have gotten that email chain where there is a doctor, lawyer and many other people asking a teacher what they do for a living…that crap is true…teachers DO IT ALL!!!!!!!  Tinker just made it a little easier to do all of those things  Administration supported, Parents (there are always a few who DON’T) cared about their children and were pretty much willing to help in any way and lastly, students were thirsty to learn.  Funny enough (or not really) the family dynamics somewhat resembled my former school.  Often a single-parent home while one was gone on a TDY, deployment or gone…as in GONE GONE…served their country with more honor then I could ever imagine.  These kids were special. In fact, they were an honor to teacher and to be honest, they reinstalled my patriotism.

Tinker was home to me for four years.  Doesn’t seem that long…I wish I could say I was still there most days.  But I am not, just like some of my former students…I made my first military move with my very own soldier.  Those students and families taught me so much about life, its challenges and how to be ready for anything…good or bad.  I miss them EVERY DAY!  Great kids, wonderful parents and some of the best friends/teachers I could have EVER worked with.

To bring this to a close…my thoughts yesterday as I started writing this is my head…A good teacher (one with passion) Is one that still wants to do this job everyday…even knowing that they won’t change politics minds, that parents will still not like them some days, that not every student will get it…this TEACHER still comes back everyday wanting to help, teach, inspire, love and just TRY to make changes for the better.  I am that teacher.

It is not an easy job…that is why they do not pay us the Big bucks.  The payoff is WAY bigger.  My husband would disagree…he is still waiting for me to be his sugar mama….maybe…one day…

To my students…old and new…embrace learning…it is your ticket to the future!

Here are a few photos of students...

FALLing into Goodness

I am finding that I have started to appreciate the small things here in Germany.  While many of my friends sip on their pumpkin spiced lattes state side, I have been drinking shulers, German beer and hopping from fest to fest all while taking in the slow and glorious change in the color of leaves.  The days grow cooler which is pleasant even when the light lasts a little bit less then the day before.    

I was thinking the other day (the first day of fall) and realized that this would be the first year I actually get to experience fall in eight years.  Florida couldn't afford the luxury of changing leaves, hot mulled wine or the crispness of the morning dew.  I also have enjoyed fall clothes...wool and angora cable knit, leather boots to the calf or a fancy scarf.  Don't get me wrong, I often found myself on the beach working on my tan over Thanksgiving while others froze their butts off during snow-pocalypse.  

Ryan has been busy with work...SHOCKER.  I have kept busy with subbing and tutoring.  We were able to steal away some time at Globus which is a high class version of Walmart.    I had been there before...but knew Ryan would love the cheese, chocolate and candy aisles.  We spent a few hours browsing the store and he understand how wonderful a place like this is.  I have already started collecting goods for Christmas gifts.  

Here are some photos from Bernkastel-Kues...a winefest along the Mosel river.

I hope to update this blog at some point with photos of German hillsides and mountain tops.  As of this weekend, Ryan and I will head to the Volksfest (Bad Cannstadt) which is Stuttgarts' Oktoberfest.  Slightly less ignorant and insane...I fully plan to rock my dirndle with joy while hoisting a true liter beer into the air.  

We also have decided to "skip" Thanksgiving formal meal...instead we pursue a vacation to Zermatt Switzerland for skiing and a divine meal among friends with Tannenbaum.  

We have other travels planned but plan to take it one trip at a time.  Below are photos of a recent trip to  Brugge, Belgium.  We met friends there over a holiday weekend.  Despite going to Venice, Italy and loving our time there...we found that Brugge was far more charming and friendly.  The architecture was exquisite and old world.

Brugge Photos

Fest Season- It is a marathon, not a sprint!

Guten Tag!  Welcome to the German Fest Season.  I have learned that the Germans hold fests for anything, anytime and anywhere.  But, this fest season is solely based on wine, beer and sausages.  You would think that this is a WUNDERBAR of an idea…but I assure you…approach with caution.

Labor Day weekend was the ultimate kick-off.  Bernkastel-Kues is a wine village down in the valley of the Mosel River.  It is a nice windy road(car sick much?) that takes you into a breath-taking town that devotes itself to the art of Riesling wine making.  Too beautiful for words…you have to go there sometime in your life!  BK as their fest prior to Bad Durkheim which is the following two weekends.  The difference…BK is all about the wine where BD is originally a sausage fest that people have morphed into a wine shit show…excise my language. 

I went with a group of friends to BK and WOW is all I can say.  Bottle after bottle of Trocken(dry) halbt-trocken(half dry) and sweet white wines could put anyone six feet under.  Then there is the German equivalent to Carni-food.  Cheese spaetzle, wursts of all kind, crepes, mushrooms and anything else.  If you don’t have one of those flags tour guides carry or a backpack with a leash on it, you are bound to lose your party, throw a glass or two and be to buzzed to care.  I learned the hard way and drank far too much wine and have been schooled by German wine.  Lesson learned for next weekend when Ry and I go to BD. 

After these two wine fests, then you stumble into Oktoberfest which is actually in September.  We were not sure if we wanted to go and experience this event…but figured it was a box checker-offer in our WE LIVE IN GERMANY list.  So in two weeks we will make the unplanned, unprepared trip to Munich to stay with a friend and stroll to the fairgrounds.  Wish us luck.  I haven’t decided if I will buy and wear a dirndl yet or not. 

Below are photos form Bernkastel-Kues.  I will try to add some of Bad Durkheim and Oktoberfest later on in the month for you.

"Living the Dream"

While checking out at the BX today (it had been a week since I was there so I consider that a small victory) and as the cashier rang up my items.  I asked him how he was doing and he responded with “Living the Dream ma’am.”  Obviously if you were there with me you would have sensed and heard the sarcasm dripping from that answer.

Funny enough though, I wasn’t offended.  I knew exactly how this guy felt and wanted to say that to him.  Luckily I am at the point while living here that I can focus my attention in a more positive manner.(Not today unfortunately)  

My dream was to move to Germany and have a full assignment as a honeymoon.  Who was I kidding?  I am not totally naive here people…and you can laugh as you read this just like I am as I write it.  I should have known better that this was never going to be an easy move and wouldn’t just get better with the snap of my fingers.

I will be honest; I went to counseling to get back in my skin…to be the independent person that I was.  Get out there socially.  Find work and be happy to be teaching again.  Learn how to drive a stick and feel confident.  To go and do things by myself just like I did in Tampa.  It is now close to 6 months later and I am doing all of those things and I still don’t really feel any better. 

Maybe today is just a bad day…or there have been more little bumps that are turning into a small mound.  It happens.  I am human.  I am trying to cope.

I am craving Starbucks after seeing everyone post that the pumpkin spiced latte is back.   I want to use my lasagna pan.   I want to hug my friends and realize that I am being silly.  I just don’t want to feel lonely.

Reputation VS. Character

Ah, a debate I have been pondering over for quite some time...more recently.  I once had someone tell me that your reputation is all that you had.  This coming from a guy who wanted to be the center of attention and only cared about what people thought of him.  Although I agree on some of his arguments, I was more one of character...sticking strong by my beliefs of what was right and wrong.  We didn't stand a chance, and I wasn't well liked for that.

Lately, learning about military life then and now has me really thinking about what is more important.  Reputation or character?  

Reputation has been defined as:

The beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. A widespread belief that someone or something has a particular habit or characteristic.

Character has been defined as:

• The mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. The distinctive nature of something.

It is not what he had, or even what he does which expresses the worth of a man, but what he is.

• -Henri Frederic Amiel

From my experience, there are obviously good and bad reputations, one taking much longer then another to build.  Amazing how quickly one can crumble though...and with much speculation?!#*  Is there ever a truth to come out though?  This is where I often had trouble.  I will openly admit that I burned bridges or wasn't one to be popular.  Maybe it was because what I thought was wrong (in my head/heart) wasn't a majority decision.  Tough!  Just because someone doesn't go along with what everyone else thinks or feels...do they deserve a negative reputation?  Too often now I see that as the case.  Hard work, strong virtue or character can often lead to a less then stellar reputation because these people stand for what they believe in and are not easily swayed by popular vote.  

I guess my inspiration for this entry is Ryan.  The Air Force is a long standing military branch that serves the greater good with its mission.  But, what if there are people with true valuable character who do serve the greater good whose reputations are tainted by others who simply don't like them or agree?  They can actually sway people's opinions of this persons reputation based on hear-say.  Character then looses...but should it?

  His reputation is what men say he is. That can be damaged; but reputation is for time, character is for eternity.
-John B. Gough

If reputation is all you have, then what does your character stand for?  I have a strong sense of character. I am extremely loyal and if people cross me, I will be honest, I have a difficult time forgiving them.  Trust is important to me.  For people to know exactly where they stand with me and can accept me for the good and bad, then that is more important then reputation.  If we all agreed and always cared about how people felt about us, we'd rarely take risks and get things done.  

I'd rather stand by and support Ryan and his character.  He isn't perfect...who is?  He would rather stand proud and work hard...knowing who he is and what he has to offer...then to waste time arguing with people who don't like him and feel the need to taint his reputation.  Those people are working against the greater good of the mission.  Just sayin'.  

So, what is more important to you..reputation or character?

Rouladen's Rock My German World

After having a few posts in for my first week of this...I wanted to focus on some fun antics of daily life in Germany.

When you live in a certain place for a defined amount of time, you seem to get used to what things look like.  Landscapes, billboards along highways, people...that sort of stuff. I definitely got used to our home in Tampa.  A great two-story town-home in the heart of the city.  It was centrally located to some of my favorite places, yet it also provided me an escape from work and reality.  Ryan and I were (ARE) very lucky with that house.  It has a gym, business center, fabulous pool and grill n' chill area.  There is a tiki bar just a short walk outside of the gates.  YES!!!  GATES...safety and security.  I loved that it had nice walk-in closets, full bath tubs for my occasional soaks or the separate laundry room. It had it's moments of weakness though.  Zero counter space for a couple who loves to spread out and cook.  The AC unites were crap (still are) and caused many headaches.  Parking was also a crap shoot...hoping that when you woke up in the morning...your car was still there and not towed the night before.  In many cases in life, you learn to take the good with the bad...make lemonade out of those sour lemons.  I did that with Tampa.  

So, I am currently working on sweetening up my flavor of lemonade here in Germany; and I have found the same types of ingredients here that I did in Tampa.  With any recipe...you have to adjust how much of this or that you put into it.

One thing I love about our German home is the ROULADENS.  I have a fantastic recipe for rouladen which is a great German, slow-cook meat dish stew...now I know that ROULADEN is a word to "roll".  Rouladens on a German home are outside the structure.  Using an electric or hand-held mechanism, you can actually raise or lower these metal rolls that block all light and therefore heat from the inside of your house.  Talk about BRILLIANT German engineering.  These things will make your afternoon nap a delight.  The first few days were were in our friends home visiting, we slept til 1pm because the light was removed from the room.  I wish American homes had this feature.

Another thing that is a wonderful asset to our German home is heated floors.  We haven't experienced winter here yet...but I am sure these will come in handy on the chill of the tile floors.  Along with the heated floors, each bathroom has a heated towel rack.  These Germans have figured some things out in life and embraced them!  Brilliance I tell you!!!!  

Now, many homes in Germany have other features that we wish ours had.  Fireplaces are usually standard along with installed door hooks for hanging things.  Installed doorbells that are rigged to indoor phones for security.  Many nice small features.

But...and yes, there is always a but...there are a few things that will make you want to swear up and down...mine being the OVEN SIZE.  Ryan and I are recently married and with that came gifts just like Christmas. One of these gifts was a fabulous Calphalon lasagna pan.  Lasagna is one of my favorite things to make and I was stoked about this new member to our kitchen family.  After opening it and eyeballing it, I started to get the cold sweats...panicking that OH SHIT, this is NOT going to fit in our German oven.  What am I supposed to do with this lasagna pan for three whole years?  Friends suggested using it as a fruit display.  Maybe even a storage compartment.  But to hell with that, I wanted it for actual lasagna.  So, it is being stored in our pantry in its original box because I refuse to return it.

Another thing that is TRICKY  about German homes is the shower size.  Getting accustomed to the constant increase in obesity in the US has made all of our eyes seem to get bigger.  In Germany, you still see people of all shapes and sizes...but they refuse as a culture to condone or embrace the LARGE scale.  People walk, exercise and take care of themselves.  They do not make walk-in showers or jacuzzi size bathtubs.  Instead...they have stand-up showers.  As you can see from the picture, this shower thing they have going on leaves little room to do anything but get in, shower, and get out.  So, if you are moving to Europe (as I have seen this in many places now), expect things to be on a smaller scale.  

When I was originally looking at homes to rent online prior to getting here, I was falling in love with all of the old ones.  You know...the quaint ones with charm, character and OH, A LOT MORE WORK TO BE DONE TO THEM!!!!  Ryan and I didn't write them off as no good.  We were willing to embrace living off base in every aspect.  We had officially one week to find a home before they forced us into a 2 bedroom apartment home on base or cut-off our temp living expenses.  Go Figure!  So, out we hustled to the mad dashery of German house hunting.  This would have been a perfect show for House Hunters International.  When we saw homes we liked from the outside...they were crap on the inside. Mold, mildew...permanent state of moist.  ICK!  Ones we liked inside were often faceless or emotionless on the outside.  Cinder block squares of less then creative architectural design.  That was until we found Dr. Zeigler's small beauty.  Our house is tucked away in a small courtyard off a small road to a small village.  Nothing fancy which is just the way we like it.  Although the outside is cement, it has a shade of blue to it while also having beautiful accents of wood beams.  Not so bad for the outside.  Then you step into something that has a touch of old-world character and modern day convenience.  The house's interior of exposed wooden beams, terra cotta colored floor tiles, wood molding and an open feel of our home in Tampa.  It isn't big like the other two homes we liked (see...perfect candidates for House Hunters Int'l).  Ryan and I had to keep reminding ourselves that we didn't need a lot of space.  It's just the two of us...no kids yet, no pets yet...minimal guests and way less space to work my Cinderella cleaning magic on it.  It was a great choice and we are happy to call it home for the next period of time.

This brings me to my closing thought.  HOME.  I have learned that HOME is just a state of mind.  A home can be a physical place...but it can also be a place in your heart and in your head.  I don't even know where I would call home these days.  I guess, anywhere that Ryan and I find ourselves...TOGETHER.  To me, that is home.

What or where do you consider home?

Erica