So much has happened since then, and half the stuff I said in that post has changed. But rather than get ahead of myself, I will do a short update about what has been keeping me so busy!
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| Graduating in style - Celebrating my degree with a makeshift Mortarboard |
November went by with little to think or worry about, just normal pre-christmas work stress. Until December 4. This was a huge day, and not because of any great event. This was the day that everything changed.
I was called into my boss' office for a chat. I thought it was just about doing another round of training for the English staff or something. Then she dropped a bombshell on me. I was being transferred. Of course my immediate thought was that I had done something wrong, that I had upset someone or that I was not working hard enough. It has been a tough start to the school year in September with more than half the class now being only just 3 years old (2 were still 2). I really worried.
I was assured it was because I was needed elsewhere, and that my boss had regretfully agreed. The head boss had personally requested me and my skills to go and aid in the transformation of a newer centre that was just not yet functioning. I was to be a helper, not just to the English but the Germans as well. But the hardest part was not telling anyone, not yet. Only my small team was allowed to know. Which was really tricky the following day as we attended our staff Christmas party, and I got to meet several of my new team (who all knew I was coming to them - try telling them to not say a word to my old team!).
The following week I spent a few days at the new centre, meeting me new team and kids. I cried. Not because it was horrible, but because it wasn't where my heart was. I did not want to leave my old group. It took days for me to really talk to myself about the change. In the end, I knew that I had to have been chosen for a reason, that people believed in me, and that I could really use this as a stepping stone to further my career. I was going to make this work!
But before the change happened, I was going to enjoy Christmas. This year it was extra special as we had guests coming from Australia. Not family this time, but as close as. My best friend and ex-teaching partner Carlie was coming for 3 weeks, along with her daughter Maeve, her mum Sue and her aunt Robyn.
The three weeks that they were here went by so fast, and yet it felt a lot longer than 3 weeks because we crammed in so much. Sadly, the first week they were here both Michael and I had to work, but the girls learnt quickly how to get themselves around, and saw possibly more Christmas markets than we did this year. They loved the sights, smells and sounds, not to mention the different tastes of the markets. Oh, and the shopping!
Luckily, by the 23rd, I was able to leave work early and join them at the last market before we went home to settle in for Christmas. Of course here, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th. This was a bit of a boon for Maeve, as she got to open her presents early! But presents were not until late evening, after a full festive feast.
On the 25th, we jumped in our hire car and drove down to Austria where we were hoping to give the clan a white christmas. We didn't quite make it on Christmas day, but on the 26th, we went up a ski lift and found more than enough snow for "buttsledding" and we were happy!We also enjoyed copious amounts of delicious foods, walked along a very high wire walkway and laughed lots.
On our way back to Munich we stopped off at Schloss Linderhof - one of König Ludwig's other castles!
Back in Munich, I had to return to work, but Michael was able to take the others to a few cool places, including Schloss Neuschwanstein, and Rothenberg ob der Tauber. As of December 30 however, I was on holidays and we were able to really enjoy things.
New Years Eve we saw in with another food feast - this time Raclette, a European New Years tradition apparently! This was followed then by an enormous fireworks display right outside our balcony. Literally. There were fireworks being lit on balconies to the right of us (same building) and on the balconies of the building opposite us, as well as on the ground floor right below our balcony. Amazingly, these fireworks liked to explode somewhere between 12 and 14 storeys of height. We live on the 13th....
It certainly made for an interesting night full of screams and squeals and laughter.
January 1st was a quiet day, one for recovery mostly - and so we took Maeve to the Zoo. Naturally I dressed up to visit my family.
January 2nd was a day to visit the Munich Royal residence, and allow the others to do some important shopping in town.
January 3rd however was special. It was Carlie's Birthday - and what better way to celebrate than with a surprise birthday holiday! We packed Carlie up and jumped on a train, not telling her at all where we were heading. Eventually we told her, but not until we were underway. We were off to Berlin for 4 nights of fun. We did presents and even cake on the train (it was a 7 hour journey).
While Berlin was lovely, and we had fun, but the weather was TERRIBLE. By terrible I mean so cold that we could not function. -17 degrees! It ended up ruining a lot of our plans because it was just too cold to be outside. My teeth were in agony just thanks to the cold.
We still managed to do many fun things, including Carlie's birthday dinner with a very funny Italian waiter. We went up the Berlin TV Tower and watched the sunset, we saw the Jewish Museum, and Michael and I took Carlie and Maeve to see the Blue Man Group.
While the others went on a sight seeing bus tour (the only way in the end to see some of the sights) Michael and I went to the Gaming Museum which was a bit of fun for us. Was nice to see Michael revert to being a big kid again.
On our last night in Berlin we found a really amazing sushi restaurant which pleased Carlie no end. But more than anything else, it was the way in which the sushi was delivered that was cool. Instead of a train it was boats floating on a moat.... twas awesome!
Before we left Berlin, we took one final detour and braved the cold to see the East Side Gallery, my favourite part of Berlin. Luckily for us, this time a large section had recently been cleaned and was still behind fencing. This meant the view was obscured by metal instead of graffiti paint, but we got a much cleaner, nicer view of the images than last time (2.5 years ago).
Our visitors also managed to squeeze in a short trip to Salzburg before they had to head home. We joined them for one of the days.
Back in Munich, it was not long until it was time to say goodbye to Carlie and co. This was sad for many reasons, but it also meant my holidays were over, and that my transition to my new centre was just days away.
My farewell from Biederstein was amazing and heartwrenching at the same time. I even contimplated asking if I could change my mind still. But through the tears and the drama, I plucked up my courage (and my 7 boxes of teaching supplies) and walked out the doors one last time (I've since been back at least 10 times for other reasons!).
The following week I started my new role in Parkstadt. I am now 11 weeks into my new role and I feel like I am winning at life. While shaky at first, I have since been made aware of the immediate effect I had on the place from day one. I don't want this to be a toot my own horn thing, but I am proud of all that I have achieved and for the first time in my life, I actually feel like I can say that I am a good teacher. That I can make the change that everyone else sees me capable of.
This included Fasching... my favourite German celebration of the year. You might recall in previous years I have created themed rooms for my kids to play in such as the Jungle last year. Well this year was all about Under the Sea.... It certainly got me noticed by my new colleagues. They realised very quickly I am slightly crazy, but in the best possible way, that I work hard and I am never satisfied with my own work. But I had fun doing it!
Oh, and 5 weeks ago, I turned 30. I did so in style too! But that..... that is for the next post!
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