September 10, 2007

Teaching Schedule and 16 Days

By xgravity23 in It's All Foreign to Me 2 Comments

My teaching schedule for this semester is finalized! I’ll be teaching two basic writing classes, two writing 2 classes, and two literature classes. It is safe to say that I am most nervous about the literature classes, because I have not taught a straight lit class before. I think that it is supposed to focus on building the students’ L2 reading comprehension skills, but I don’t think I’ll know for sure until I get to JLU on October 1. I love teaching writing, so I am looking forward to those four classes.

Here’s the schedule:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Writing 2 at 18:00
Wednesday: Basic Writing at 16:00
Thursday: Writing 2 at 12:00
Friday: Basic Writing at 8:00, Literature at 10:00 and 14:00

Looks like Fridays will be busy, but at least I have a little lunch break.

16 Days Left

We fly off this continent in 16 days. Yikes. Here’s what we still need to accomplish.

• Sell some stuff
• 1999 Nissan Pathfinder
• Computer desk
• All sorts of bakeware, Pyrex, and Corningware
• Whatever is left can just get donated, I guess
• Change our addresses
• Take boxes/cedar chest to Dad’s
• Take the kitties to Chris’s
• Visit Kansas City and St. Louis family
• Clean the apartment

Oh, and we still need a place to live in Giessen. Great.

As I drive around Springfield trying to take care of all the little things on my To Do list, I am frequently struck by the images that are “normal” to me. The streets I drive down everyday, the back way short-cuts that are so familiar and time-saving, the places to go for the deals… In less than a month, I’m going to be in a new city, needing to learn the new “back ways” and slowly seeing Friedrich-Strasse as familiar instead of Battlefield Road or Primrose. I am leaving all of the familiar comforts to go to a new place. Some days that seems like an adventure, and others, a chore. Some days I cannot wait to start my New Life, and others I want to write them an email and say, “Forget it! I’m happy here!” And I am happy in Springfield, but I am also happy to be moving to Germany, finally, after all these years of hoping to someday, of thinking that it probably wouldn’t ever happen, I am finally achieving one of my dreams.

I’m starting to get choked up and teary about leaving, too. I haven’t actually cried yet, but the tears are there below the surface. Which reminds me, if you are coming to our Goodbye Party at the Mud Lounge (8:30p – midnight, Friday, September 21–email me if you need more details or to RSVP!), I’ll have a memory book that my sister-in-law gave me before I left Germany. It was a really sweet gift, as she said she knew I was going to be leaving lots of friends and family here and a memory book is the perfect place to have them write messages, memories, and attach pictures. So be prepared to write in it or include a favorite picture of us. It’s a pretty like blank book, so there’s plenty of room for notes and memories.

Wow. 16 days left for me in America.

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