Talking English and Eating Chocolate

6/3:

Today I headed to meet the others for a full day at Vroni's (Veronika) school! This is my first experience at a true high school and I cannot wait!

We saw 6 classes - here are the highlights. 

Our first class was Conversational English with a phenomenal teacher, Rosemarie (we spend a whole day with her next week and I know she will be a good friend for life). We sat in small groups with the kids and had a conversation. Germany has had an influx of refugees and the kids were very interested in talking to me about our own immigration experiences in the US. It was so cool to have a class completely devoted to talking - I want to incorporate this more in my APES class for sure!

Later in the day we went back to Rosemary's for a Refugee English class - full of kids from different countries. Some kids walked from Syria - the longest for 39 days - and most were sent without their parents to avoid being recruited by ISIS. It was so touching to see Rosemary work with these kids and also see the kids so excited and happy to be in Germany, learning German and English. As a teacher in that classroom, you truly get the feeling that you are helping students - helping human beings in general. Seeing this class has been the most impactful and inspiring educational experience of my trip. 

After the day with Vroni, we went to lunch at her favorite spot for Doner! It's basically a Euro but so much better! Most people eat it for lunch or late night meals - the equivalent of our burritos.

Marianne and I spent the afternoon exploring Regensburg and it was so much fun! We wandered aimlessly, went into a couple churches and tourist spots, had Princess chocolates and lattes on a street patio, got lost in a city park, walked along the Danube, and heard an impromptu bagpipe concert at a biergarten. It was perfect Germany!

We headed back to Vroni's and went out to her favorite bar for a drink. The bar is called Schierstadt, and has a sister city connection! There is a clock for each sister city of Regensburg - including Tempe! 

I took a taxi back, feeling like I had finally found my place on this vacation. :)