It has been a crazy, busy and long week. I am so thankful the weekend is here, and although I still have no idea what I'm doing next week, I'm ready for some fun! I have 22 kids, although one hasn't shown up yet, and another one starts September 6th. I might also be getting another new one on the first of September. I don't know why they're giving him to me. I do have the smallest classroom - size wise. The head teacher (like the principal) walks through the rooms almost every day, and she happened to come at a time when the kids were calm and doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. That doesn't happen very often with kindergartners. But whatever. I was complimented on the control in my classroom and she said she was very impressed, especially with it being the first week and all. That was nice to hear, especially since I had gotten reprimanded for how my kids had behaved in the lunchroom on the first day. They weren't bad, it was just chaotic...and they're 5. They aren't going to act like adults in the lunchroom.
I will add more details later, but overall I have a great group of kids. I am having a few issues working with my assistant teacher. We have a little bit of a power struggle going on, but I think it will work out. So far though, I'm not a fan of having an assistant in there all the time. She's a native German too, and I've learned that they don't beat around the bush with anything. They tell it to you like it is, straightforward, blunt and even quite rudely sometimes.
I'm getting to know the other teachers, which has been fun. A bunch of us went out last night after school to a park in the city. They had tents where you paid a 2 euro deposit for a wine glass and then could buy glass of wine for 2-4 euros each. They also had food vendors. We all put in 4 euros and got big loafs of bread, olives, cheese, and different spreads. It was nice getting to know the other teachers outside of school. Some brought their husbands or boyfriends and kids. It was GREAT people watching too.
Today Ashley and I are going to go to Bornheim and Jen, another kinder teacher is going to show us around, because it's a nice area to live. Tonight we're meeting at another teacher's house for drinks and then going out to an Irish pub.
I'll post more later. Lots to update on, but I'm starting to settle in :)
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
So much to tell!
The first day of school was....awesome! Thank goodness. I was starting to have those feelings of "what the heck am I doing?!?!" Sunday evening, I ate at the same place I had eaten the not so great pizza the night before, but only because it was one of the few things around the school and one of the only places open nearby. Lots of things close on Sundays. I ordered pasta this time and salad because I could read pasta carbonara and understand that mozzarella tomaten basilikum was probably a Caprese salad. I've also learned that salat is salad, zwiebel means onion, pilz means mushroom, ei means egg and knoblauch means garlic. However, I get really scared to use the little German I know. Yes, it's stupid and I need to just use it, but I get scared I'll pronounce things wrong...and I know I probably will but I won't learn unless I practice.
The salad was good but the pasta was gross. No flavor. Maybe that's what I get ordering Italian food from a Middle Eastern dude. I was so nervous on Sunday night. I didn't realize how anxious I get. My stomach was upset (maybe from the pasta) and I couldn't sleep at all. I had nothing to worry about though. I walked into the school at 9 and was delighted to see it was so different from what I expected based on the external appearance of the school and surrounding area. It was beautiful. I guess it used to be an old office building and they converted it into a school 4 years ago but have continued to do renovations and even added on this year. They are continuing to add on more this upcoming year, because the school is growing so much. I'll have to take some pictures this week and post them on here.
We started with a staff meeting of just the new teachers and administration. They had the best gipfeli ever, which I've learned are croissants...they had one dipped in chocolate so of course I ate that one. After getting to know one another a bit, they took us on a tour of the school and we were able to see our rooms. They look great, and boxes were piling up of new supplies and things for the classroom, so I'm pretty excited to open those tomorrow. There was a lot of paperwork to fill out on Monday and I signed up for health insurance, 3rd party liability insurance and travel insurance. The school pays for half my health insurance so it won't be too much which is nice. Lunch was ordered from the place that I had the gross pizza and pasta, but apparently they're known for their donner kebabs. They were delicious and might be my new favorite food. Someone was saying something about them being Turkish, but I have no idea...all that matters is that I found something delicious finally. After lunch, we were driven to Rodelheim's "city hall" to register as residents. It kind of reminded me of the DMV. It was really hot and muggy in the buildings, and Peter told us that apparently air conditioning is a relatively new concept for Germany, as it's pretty expensive and not many public buildings (at least in Frankfurt) have it.
After getting back from "city hall", we were done for the day and I was exhausted. Before I went back to the hotel, I met up with my teaching aid, Anja. She's originally from Germany so that will help. Last year was her first year at MSF. Part of me is excited to have an aid, but then again, it's hard to get used to someone else being in the room all the time. I'm kind of torn. I wish I had the room all to myself, but I know she will be a big help. She's also not in the room the whole time, as she helps teach German at times and also has duties throughout the day.
After meeting Anja, I came back to the hotel and planned on eating dinner at the bistro in the lobby. Another kindergarten teacher, Ashley, had arrived with her boyfriend and their bull dog puppy, Ruby. We took Ruby for a walk and then came back to the hotel for dinner. I had my first official German dinner of spaetzle and turkey. It was actually really good, but heavy and filling. By the time we finished dinner, I was ready for bed. I looked a little bit for apartments online but was too tired to do any real searching. Hopefully I have more time later this week.
Today was a tough day, just because we did a lot of sitting. It was pretty much a PYP induction so we listened to our PYP coordinator and did a few activities. I'm really excited for the program and I think it will be great, but it's just overwhelming right now. They are great though, and stress to us that they know it's overwhelming and they don't expect us to jump into it all right away. It's just a little stressful learning about this new program, not knowing the curriculum, not having our rooms set up and school starts on Monday. I have a feeling I'll be there pretty late on Friday and probably on the weekend. I just want to be as prepared as I can be. Thankfully Monday is only a half day for the students. Ashely and I went back to the little restaurant for lunch today so we could have another donner kebab because they are just so tasty.
After school, Ashley and I went with both of our teaching aids into the city center. They drove, which was nice, because we got to see more around town. We started at Starbucks and thankfully the main items were in English :) They have the same stuff as in the states, but the food in the case was a little different. It looked good though. It was nice sitting outside just talking and getting to know one another. I can't stand how much people smoke outside though. Thankfully in Frankfurt at least, you can no longer smoke in bars or restaurants, but the streets were filled with smokers. Sick. It was giving me a headache. Another teaching aid met up with us and we decided to go to dinner at Die Kuh Die Lacht (The Laughing Cow). I was still full from our deliciously huge kebab, but had a salad. I actually ordered in German, but then switched to English when I realized she spoke English back to me. I need to just stick with it! Their burgers and fries looked really good though, so I'll have to come back for that next time. I also had their hausgemachte limonade (house made lemonade) with mint, which was delicious. After dinner we walked around the city center a little bit and realized a lot of damage could be done shopping in this area. :)
I just got home a little bit ago and have some reading to do before tomorrow's morning. I think we get time in the afternoon to work on our classrooms, so I'm excited to start arranging it and figuring out what the heck I am doing. Today was definitely overwhelming, so I'm hoping tomorrow will be better.
On a side note, there are several Australian teachers here and I just LOVE their accents and their terminology. I even find myself saying "lift" instead of "elevator" and "mate" instead of "friend". Australians also say "car park" instead of "parking lot". How fun is that?! I also noticed that if you're stopped at a red light in Frankfurt, the stoplight turns yellow before turning green again and I think that is so neat. It's like a little warning. People park all crazy here too, up on sidewalks and stuff. I don't know how they know where to park. The driving is a little crazier too. It's probably good I don't have a car here...I probably wouldn't do too great. At least not yet.
I'm feeling a lot more positive about my decision to come here after these last few days, although I still miss home a lot. It's so much better now that I've met more people and have actually seen some sights. That's all for now...this got pretty long and I am beat.
Tschüs
The salad was good but the pasta was gross. No flavor. Maybe that's what I get ordering Italian food from a Middle Eastern dude. I was so nervous on Sunday night. I didn't realize how anxious I get. My stomach was upset (maybe from the pasta) and I couldn't sleep at all. I had nothing to worry about though. I walked into the school at 9 and was delighted to see it was so different from what I expected based on the external appearance of the school and surrounding area. It was beautiful. I guess it used to be an old office building and they converted it into a school 4 years ago but have continued to do renovations and even added on this year. They are continuing to add on more this upcoming year, because the school is growing so much. I'll have to take some pictures this week and post them on here.
We started with a staff meeting of just the new teachers and administration. They had the best gipfeli ever, which I've learned are croissants...they had one dipped in chocolate so of course I ate that one. After getting to know one another a bit, they took us on a tour of the school and we were able to see our rooms. They look great, and boxes were piling up of new supplies and things for the classroom, so I'm pretty excited to open those tomorrow. There was a lot of paperwork to fill out on Monday and I signed up for health insurance, 3rd party liability insurance and travel insurance. The school pays for half my health insurance so it won't be too much which is nice. Lunch was ordered from the place that I had the gross pizza and pasta, but apparently they're known for their donner kebabs. They were delicious and might be my new favorite food. Someone was saying something about them being Turkish, but I have no idea...all that matters is that I found something delicious finally. After lunch, we were driven to Rodelheim's "city hall" to register as residents. It kind of reminded me of the DMV. It was really hot and muggy in the buildings, and Peter told us that apparently air conditioning is a relatively new concept for Germany, as it's pretty expensive and not many public buildings (at least in Frankfurt) have it.
After getting back from "city hall", we were done for the day and I was exhausted. Before I went back to the hotel, I met up with my teaching aid, Anja. She's originally from Germany so that will help. Last year was her first year at MSF. Part of me is excited to have an aid, but then again, it's hard to get used to someone else being in the room all the time. I'm kind of torn. I wish I had the room all to myself, but I know she will be a big help. She's also not in the room the whole time, as she helps teach German at times and also has duties throughout the day.
After meeting Anja, I came back to the hotel and planned on eating dinner at the bistro in the lobby. Another kindergarten teacher, Ashley, had arrived with her boyfriend and their bull dog puppy, Ruby. We took Ruby for a walk and then came back to the hotel for dinner. I had my first official German dinner of spaetzle and turkey. It was actually really good, but heavy and filling. By the time we finished dinner, I was ready for bed. I looked a little bit for apartments online but was too tired to do any real searching. Hopefully I have more time later this week.
Today was a tough day, just because we did a lot of sitting. It was pretty much a PYP induction so we listened to our PYP coordinator and did a few activities. I'm really excited for the program and I think it will be great, but it's just overwhelming right now. They are great though, and stress to us that they know it's overwhelming and they don't expect us to jump into it all right away. It's just a little stressful learning about this new program, not knowing the curriculum, not having our rooms set up and school starts on Monday. I have a feeling I'll be there pretty late on Friday and probably on the weekend. I just want to be as prepared as I can be. Thankfully Monday is only a half day for the students. Ashely and I went back to the little restaurant for lunch today so we could have another donner kebab because they are just so tasty.
After school, Ashley and I went with both of our teaching aids into the city center. They drove, which was nice, because we got to see more around town. We started at Starbucks and thankfully the main items were in English :) They have the same stuff as in the states, but the food in the case was a little different. It looked good though. It was nice sitting outside just talking and getting to know one another. I can't stand how much people smoke outside though. Thankfully in Frankfurt at least, you can no longer smoke in bars or restaurants, but the streets were filled with smokers. Sick. It was giving me a headache. Another teaching aid met up with us and we decided to go to dinner at Die Kuh Die Lacht (The Laughing Cow). I was still full from our deliciously huge kebab, but had a salad. I actually ordered in German, but then switched to English when I realized she spoke English back to me. I need to just stick with it! Their burgers and fries looked really good though, so I'll have to come back for that next time. I also had their hausgemachte limonade (house made lemonade) with mint, which was delicious. After dinner we walked around the city center a little bit and realized a lot of damage could be done shopping in this area. :)
I just got home a little bit ago and have some reading to do before tomorrow's morning. I think we get time in the afternoon to work on our classrooms, so I'm excited to start arranging it and figuring out what the heck I am doing. Today was definitely overwhelming, so I'm hoping tomorrow will be better.
On a side note, there are several Australian teachers here and I just LOVE their accents and their terminology. I even find myself saying "lift" instead of "elevator" and "mate" instead of "friend". Australians also say "car park" instead of "parking lot". How fun is that?! I also noticed that if you're stopped at a red light in Frankfurt, the stoplight turns yellow before turning green again and I think that is so neat. It's like a little warning. People park all crazy here too, up on sidewalks and stuff. I don't know how they know where to park. The driving is a little crazier too. It's probably good I don't have a car here...I probably wouldn't do too great. At least not yet.
I'm feeling a lot more positive about my decision to come here after these last few days, although I still miss home a lot. It's so much better now that I've met more people and have actually seen some sights. That's all for now...this got pretty long and I am beat.
Tschüs
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Rain, Rain Go Away
Not much happened today. For one, it was pretty rainy, and because I STILL don't have my other suitcase, I didn't have any kind of sweatshirt or jacket with me. Lame. I did take a little walk in the afternoon, but there really wasn't much on the other side of the hotel. The school and hotel are in a much more industrial area than I thought. There are a few houses and buildings that might have apartments, but I definitely don't want to live within walking distance of the school. The city center is only 10 minutes by car and 7 minutes by bus. The S-Bahn stop is about a 15 minute walk from the school. There might be a bus that has a stop closer, but I'm not sure yet.
I met the Australian family at breakfast today. They seem really nice and it was fun actually having an English conversation with someone. :) They have two little girls who already getting tired of living in a hotel. I don't blame them. I'm getting kind of tired of it myself. Hopefully I can look at some apartments next weekend and get this show on the road. The school's director had dropped off a brand new electric kettle and microwave for all the new teachers. This will be nice if I need to heat stuff up, but we don't have a fridge in the room, so that is kind of a bummer.
I did a lot of reading today...finished reading some PYP information and some other teacher books. It was honestly a pretty lazy (and kind of boring) day. The rain didn't help either. And I was told that most things are closed on Sundays too. I did see evidence of that on my short walk today. Hopefully some place will be open so I can eat dinner later...
I can't believe school starts tomorrow - for teachers anyways. I am excited to have something to do from here on out, a schedule to follow, and I'm also excited to meet more people and start doing more things. But I'm definitely missing home.
I met the Australian family at breakfast today. They seem really nice and it was fun actually having an English conversation with someone. :) They have two little girls who already getting tired of living in a hotel. I don't blame them. I'm getting kind of tired of it myself. Hopefully I can look at some apartments next weekend and get this show on the road. The school's director had dropped off a brand new electric kettle and microwave for all the new teachers. This will be nice if I need to heat stuff up, but we don't have a fridge in the room, so that is kind of a bummer.
I did a lot of reading today...finished reading some PYP information and some other teacher books. It was honestly a pretty lazy (and kind of boring) day. The rain didn't help either. And I was told that most things are closed on Sundays too. I did see evidence of that on my short walk today. Hopefully some place will be open so I can eat dinner later...
I can't believe school starts tomorrow - for teachers anyways. I am excited to have something to do from here on out, a schedule to follow, and I'm also excited to meet more people and start doing more things. But I'm definitely missing home.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Day #2
Last night I was able to get a hold of United Airlines. After giving them the other two baggage claim numbers, they gave me the number I needed for my missing suitcase. I tried calling the baggage tracing office at the Frankfurt Airport this morning (multiple times) but nobody answered or the line was busy. I gave up and went downstairs for breakfast because I was starving! Breakfast was delicious. I devoured a ton of fruit salad and yogurt but was still hungry so I went back for some rye bread, meat and cheese. It was the first good meal I'd had since leaving Portland.
After showering, I decided I needed to go explore the area around the school. I remember a cute part of town on the way from the airport but I couldn't remember how far away it was. I asked the woman at the front desk what was around the area and she admitted, "not much". Across the street from the hotel is a huge area of dirt and machinery. It looks like they're going to start building something there. There's a building next to the hotel, not sure what it is, and then right next to that is the school. I walked East past the school and all around are office buildings. There weren't any restaurants or shops right in this area either. To the North a little bit was a huge, very neat looking tower thing. I don't know if you can call it a tower, but I walked in that direction to check it out. To my delightful surprise, it's part of a bier garten. Hooray! It wasn't open yet, but they had an inside seating area as well as outside. I continued past the bier garten to a cute little park. Past the park, there were just so many large buildings and I couldn't remember if that's the way the taxi had taken me from the airport. Apparently it wasn't, because eventually it turned into a not so very nice area. I heard chickens or roosters so I walked toward the sound, but I found a trailer park-ish area. It wasn't really a trailer park, but the houses were kind of like little shacks. So far I haven't felt scared here, but being in this area by myself made me kind of uneasy. I decided to walk back towards the bier garten and go in another direction.
I ended up walking for a few hours, just checking things out. Eventually I found the cute part of town with other restaurants and shops. It's not too far from the school and there are several bus stops and train stops in the area. It was fun just walking around and exploring, but honestly, it's kind of overwhelming to be in a city where you can't read any of the street signs and not many store signs. I was still missing my bag so I decided to suck it up and go into a grocery store to find some toiletries. There weren't many choices and it was kind of chaotic. I knew my purchase was going to be less than 10 euros, but I couldn't understand the guy at the check out so I just handed him 10 euros, hoping it wasn't more and then took my change.
I definitely shouldn't have worn my flip flops today, but I didn't know I would be walking for so long. My feet are not too happy with me right now. Anyways, I eventually found an amazing park with a river running through it, bike paths and play structures. That was a neat surprise. I walked through the park and then headed home. By train, I'm only 10 minutes from the city center, so I'm kind of excited about that. I haven't taken the bus or train yet...maybe that will be tomorrow's adventure. One step at a time :)
When I got back to my hotel, I tried calling the airport again and finally was able to get a hold of someone. She told me that my bag came and they had given it to the delivery service. Yesterday, I didn't know what hotel I was going to be staying at, so I gave them the address of my school. I asked the woman to change the delivery address, but she said I needed to contact the delivery service myself. That was another hour long adventure. The man who answered the phone said he didn't speak English but to call back in 10 minutes. An hour later, I was able to talk to someone who spoke English. I tried to explain my situation and give them the new address. We'll see if we actually understood each other. :)
After showering, I decided I needed to go explore the area around the school. I remember a cute part of town on the way from the airport but I couldn't remember how far away it was. I asked the woman at the front desk what was around the area and she admitted, "not much". Across the street from the hotel is a huge area of dirt and machinery. It looks like they're going to start building something there. There's a building next to the hotel, not sure what it is, and then right next to that is the school. I walked East past the school and all around are office buildings. There weren't any restaurants or shops right in this area either. To the North a little bit was a huge, very neat looking tower thing. I don't know if you can call it a tower, but I walked in that direction to check it out. To my delightful surprise, it's part of a bier garten. Hooray! It wasn't open yet, but they had an inside seating area as well as outside. I continued past the bier garten to a cute little park. Past the park, there were just so many large buildings and I couldn't remember if that's the way the taxi had taken me from the airport. Apparently it wasn't, because eventually it turned into a not so very nice area. I heard chickens or roosters so I walked toward the sound, but I found a trailer park-ish area. It wasn't really a trailer park, but the houses were kind of like little shacks. So far I haven't felt scared here, but being in this area by myself made me kind of uneasy. I decided to walk back towards the bier garten and go in another direction.
I ended up walking for a few hours, just checking things out. Eventually I found the cute part of town with other restaurants and shops. It's not too far from the school and there are several bus stops and train stops in the area. It was fun just walking around and exploring, but honestly, it's kind of overwhelming to be in a city where you can't read any of the street signs and not many store signs. I was still missing my bag so I decided to suck it up and go into a grocery store to find some toiletries. There weren't many choices and it was kind of chaotic. I knew my purchase was going to be less than 10 euros, but I couldn't understand the guy at the check out so I just handed him 10 euros, hoping it wasn't more and then took my change.
I definitely shouldn't have worn my flip flops today, but I didn't know I would be walking for so long. My feet are not too happy with me right now. Anyways, I eventually found an amazing park with a river running through it, bike paths and play structures. That was a neat surprise. I walked through the park and then headed home. By train, I'm only 10 minutes from the city center, so I'm kind of excited about that. I haven't taken the bus or train yet...maybe that will be tomorrow's adventure. One step at a time :)
When I got back to my hotel, I tried calling the airport again and finally was able to get a hold of someone. She told me that my bag came and they had given it to the delivery service. Yesterday, I didn't know what hotel I was going to be staying at, so I gave them the address of my school. I asked the woman to change the delivery address, but she said I needed to contact the delivery service myself. That was another hour long adventure. The man who answered the phone said he didn't speak English but to call back in 10 minutes. An hour later, I was able to talk to someone who spoke English. I tried to explain my situation and give them the new address. We'll see if we actually understood each other. :)
Friday, August 6, 2010
It's been an adventure so far...
Well I made it. I'm here in Frankfurt, Germany and it has been quite the adventure so far. Even though I thought I was pretty much packed by Wednesday afternoon, I still had one more suitcase to go. After doing laundry that day, I realized I had way too many clothes that I wanted to bring and they weren't all going to fit in my last suitcase. That led to a few freak outs and meltdowns as I had to figure out what to leave behind after playing kickball and drinking out of DAS BOOT a few hours earlier. My mom and brother had to intervene so I could actually get everything packed by midnight. In the end, we fit a lot more than I thought. I highly recommend the rolling technique for clothes!
After finally getting to bed around midnight, my alarm went off at 3:15am so I could shower and pack the last few belongings. It was hard leaving for the airport and I definitely had tears rolling down my cheeks as we drove towards PDX. I'll miss Portland and my family and friends. Even though I knew this was coming up and I am so excited for this new adventure, it came too fast! It's definitely bitter sweet.
We got to the airport a little less than 2 hours before my flight to Chicago took off. Should have been plenty of time. Apparently not with United Airlines. I didn't even have THAT much stuff...2 carry ons, 2 checked bags and 1 extra box. After waiting in line for 20 minutes, I finally made it up to the counter to one of the self-service machines. It wouldn't let me check 3 bags, because I had to pay for the extra one. The lady behind the counter didn't know what to do and couldn't answer my questions. I'm pretty sure I'm not the first person to have 3 items to check. Another lady was trying to help 5 people at once and then the stupid ticket machine wouldn't print my baggage tickets. It was pretty much a disorganized, chaotic disaster. 10 years later they figured out how I could check my box and pay for it, but then I had to stand in another line so they could check my passport. Good times. By the time I made it through security, they were already boarding the plane. I was hungry, irritated, and tired. Not a good combination, but I was looking forward to reclining and relaxing on the flight to Chicago.
I'm pretty sure I had the only broken chair on the flight from Portland to Chicago. All I wanted to do was recline. Is that too much to ask for?! I ate some sort of breakfast sandwich on the plane and then tried to fall asleep, because I could not keep my eyes open. I was able to sleep for many an hour or so. It's hard to sleep on a plane, especially sitting upright.
I thought almost 4 hours between flights at the Chicago airport would leave me with loads of time in between...but apparently that isn't so. Especially when I'm an idiot and I bring a massively large tote bag (not on wheels) as my second carry-on. I packed that thing so full, but I didn't think about the fact that I'd be lugging in all over the place. And lug all over the place is what I had to do. It was a pretty big hike to the tram that took me over to Terminal 5. Once at terminal 5, I had to find Air India. I know - weird. Why would I be taking Air India to Germany. Apparently it was the cheapest flight. Of course I stood in the wrong line for 15 minutes. I didn't have bags to check - I just needed my boarding pass. Eventually I got my pass and headed down to security. After grabbing a sandwich to go, and standing in line through security again, I made it to my gate with an hour to spare.
The Air India plane was massive! Thankfully I had an aisle seat. I almost lucked out with having nobody sit next to me, but then a couple moved to the seats so they could sit together. They enjoyed invading what little space I had too. Apparently people like to take off their socks and shoes on Air India flights. I have never seen so many bare feet on an airplane...it kind of grossed me out. Especially the man sitting across the aisle from me. He had some funky toe nails. Sick.
Thankfully my seat reclined on this plane. Dinner was really good too. It was lamb curry and rice with vegetables. I ate that and the roll. There were a few other containers with funky looking gelatin and pudding stuff in them. I smelled the "pudding" and tasted the tiniest of bites, but was not a fan of the flavor or texture. Thought I'd give it a shot. After eating and watching a movie, I tried to read but my eyes were just so tired. I gave up and dozed off for a couple hours. I think I got pretty restless around hour 6 and 7. I couldn't sleep or get comfortable. Eventually I was able to slouch down in my chair and get comfortable enough to nap for the last half hour before landing.
I was exhausted after getting off the plane. All I wanted to do was get my luggage and go to my hotel. Of course it wasn't that simple. I found my way to baggage claim, and I think the guy checking my passport was trying to joke around with me, but I couldn't understand him and I was so tired. Right away my box and my giant, green backpack made it out. Lots of black suitcases came sliding down too but not mine. I went and check the oversized area but didn't see it. I stood by the baggage claim thing until it literally stopped moving. I found someone who could help me report lost luggage, and this is when I started to freak out. The United Airlines people (in Portland) had given me two baggage claim slips and then my receipt for paying extra for my box. I figured that receipt was my baggage claim slip. Not so. Apparently they never gave me my baggage claim slip for my big, black suitcase. So that means, I don't have the number and no way of tracking it. I also just realized that this suitcase has all my toiletries, jackets, sweatshirts, most of my shoes and of course, socks and underwear. GREAT. Anyways, the woman filled out a bunch of paper work and took a description of the bag. She's contacting Air India, but I need to call stupid United Airlines.
Oh ya, and while I was waiting for my bags, a pilot from Air India started talking to me - asking me what I'm doing in Frankfurt and how long I'll be here. After I said 2 years, he got really excited and said that he visits Frankfurt often and wanted to get a drink with me. He even told me where he was staying. Uh NO. Thanks but no thanks.
I finally found the taxi guy that was supposed to take me to my hotel. He was holding a sign with my name and picture and the name of the school. He seemed really nice, but as I shook his hand, he asked if he could keep the picture on the piece of paper. At first I said I didn't care, and then I asked him why he wanted it. He just smiled at first. I asked him again, and he told me that he was going to blow it up big. I kind of laughed (because I was shocked, embarrassed and uncomfortable) and then said "no, no no". He laughed and said, "Yes, yes. Make it big. I was excited when they gave me this picture and saw I was picking up such a beautiful girl." I laughed uncomfortably, thinking of how to change the subject. I ask him how long he's lived in Frankfurt and if he likes it. He said he will give me his number so he can show me around in the car (free of charge of course). Seriously?! I just ask you how you like living here. I don't want a tour from a creepster who wants to keep my picture. I even lied and said I had a boyfriend at home. That didn't seem to stop him either. He was very persistent about going out for drinks or showing me around. Again, thanks but no thanks. The best part is, he knows where I'm staying for awhile and where I'm working. GREAT.
I made it to my hotel, got check in and decided to take a nap. I know, I know. I was suppose to just stay up and go to bed by 10 Frankfurt time. However, 3 hours of sleep the night before plus 16 hours of traveling and 2 hours dealing with luggage makes for one tired person. I couldn't figure out how to turn any lights on or how to work the TV. I only wanted to sleep for a couple hours, but woke up 5 hours later. Oh well. I needed it, and I have no doubt that I will sleep well tonight. I successfully figured out how to turn on the shower, but definitely had to go ask about the lights. There's a little card holder thing by the door and I have to put my keep in in to get any sort of power, even in the electrical outlets. Crazy!
There's an Australian couple who will both be teaching at the school. They came in today too with their two kids, but I have yet to meet up with them. Tomorrow will be a better day for exploring. I'm excited to walk around, maybe check out the school and meet some new people. Maybe even get my lost luggage. My luck has got to start turning around sometime :)
After finally getting to bed around midnight, my alarm went off at 3:15am so I could shower and pack the last few belongings. It was hard leaving for the airport and I definitely had tears rolling down my cheeks as we drove towards PDX. I'll miss Portland and my family and friends. Even though I knew this was coming up and I am so excited for this new adventure, it came too fast! It's definitely bitter sweet.
We got to the airport a little less than 2 hours before my flight to Chicago took off. Should have been plenty of time. Apparently not with United Airlines. I didn't even have THAT much stuff...2 carry ons, 2 checked bags and 1 extra box. After waiting in line for 20 minutes, I finally made it up to the counter to one of the self-service machines. It wouldn't let me check 3 bags, because I had to pay for the extra one. The lady behind the counter didn't know what to do and couldn't answer my questions. I'm pretty sure I'm not the first person to have 3 items to check. Another lady was trying to help 5 people at once and then the stupid ticket machine wouldn't print my baggage tickets. It was pretty much a disorganized, chaotic disaster. 10 years later they figured out how I could check my box and pay for it, but then I had to stand in another line so they could check my passport. Good times. By the time I made it through security, they were already boarding the plane. I was hungry, irritated, and tired. Not a good combination, but I was looking forward to reclining and relaxing on the flight to Chicago.
I'm pretty sure I had the only broken chair on the flight from Portland to Chicago. All I wanted to do was recline. Is that too much to ask for?! I ate some sort of breakfast sandwich on the plane and then tried to fall asleep, because I could not keep my eyes open. I was able to sleep for many an hour or so. It's hard to sleep on a plane, especially sitting upright.
I thought almost 4 hours between flights at the Chicago airport would leave me with loads of time in between...but apparently that isn't so. Especially when I'm an idiot and I bring a massively large tote bag (not on wheels) as my second carry-on. I packed that thing so full, but I didn't think about the fact that I'd be lugging in all over the place. And lug all over the place is what I had to do. It was a pretty big hike to the tram that took me over to Terminal 5. Once at terminal 5, I had to find Air India. I know - weird. Why would I be taking Air India to Germany. Apparently it was the cheapest flight. Of course I stood in the wrong line for 15 minutes. I didn't have bags to check - I just needed my boarding pass. Eventually I got my pass and headed down to security. After grabbing a sandwich to go, and standing in line through security again, I made it to my gate with an hour to spare.
The Air India plane was massive! Thankfully I had an aisle seat. I almost lucked out with having nobody sit next to me, but then a couple moved to the seats so they could sit together. They enjoyed invading what little space I had too. Apparently people like to take off their socks and shoes on Air India flights. I have never seen so many bare feet on an airplane...it kind of grossed me out. Especially the man sitting across the aisle from me. He had some funky toe nails. Sick.
Thankfully my seat reclined on this plane. Dinner was really good too. It was lamb curry and rice with vegetables. I ate that and the roll. There were a few other containers with funky looking gelatin and pudding stuff in them. I smelled the "pudding" and tasted the tiniest of bites, but was not a fan of the flavor or texture. Thought I'd give it a shot. After eating and watching a movie, I tried to read but my eyes were just so tired. I gave up and dozed off for a couple hours. I think I got pretty restless around hour 6 and 7. I couldn't sleep or get comfortable. Eventually I was able to slouch down in my chair and get comfortable enough to nap for the last half hour before landing.
I was exhausted after getting off the plane. All I wanted to do was get my luggage and go to my hotel. Of course it wasn't that simple. I found my way to baggage claim, and I think the guy checking my passport was trying to joke around with me, but I couldn't understand him and I was so tired. Right away my box and my giant, green backpack made it out. Lots of black suitcases came sliding down too but not mine. I went and check the oversized area but didn't see it. I stood by the baggage claim thing until it literally stopped moving. I found someone who could help me report lost luggage, and this is when I started to freak out. The United Airlines people (in Portland) had given me two baggage claim slips and then my receipt for paying extra for my box. I figured that receipt was my baggage claim slip. Not so. Apparently they never gave me my baggage claim slip for my big, black suitcase. So that means, I don't have the number and no way of tracking it. I also just realized that this suitcase has all my toiletries, jackets, sweatshirts, most of my shoes and of course, socks and underwear. GREAT. Anyways, the woman filled out a bunch of paper work and took a description of the bag. She's contacting Air India, but I need to call stupid United Airlines.
Oh ya, and while I was waiting for my bags, a pilot from Air India started talking to me - asking me what I'm doing in Frankfurt and how long I'll be here. After I said 2 years, he got really excited and said that he visits Frankfurt often and wanted to get a drink with me. He even told me where he was staying. Uh NO. Thanks but no thanks.
I finally found the taxi guy that was supposed to take me to my hotel. He was holding a sign with my name and picture and the name of the school. He seemed really nice, but as I shook his hand, he asked if he could keep the picture on the piece of paper. At first I said I didn't care, and then I asked him why he wanted it. He just smiled at first. I asked him again, and he told me that he was going to blow it up big. I kind of laughed (because I was shocked, embarrassed and uncomfortable) and then said "no, no no". He laughed and said, "Yes, yes. Make it big. I was excited when they gave me this picture and saw I was picking up such a beautiful girl." I laughed uncomfortably, thinking of how to change the subject. I ask him how long he's lived in Frankfurt and if he likes it. He said he will give me his number so he can show me around in the car (free of charge of course). Seriously?! I just ask you how you like living here. I don't want a tour from a creepster who wants to keep my picture. I even lied and said I had a boyfriend at home. That didn't seem to stop him either. He was very persistent about going out for drinks or showing me around. Again, thanks but no thanks. The best part is, he knows where I'm staying for awhile and where I'm working. GREAT.
I made it to my hotel, got check in and decided to take a nap. I know, I know. I was suppose to just stay up and go to bed by 10 Frankfurt time. However, 3 hours of sleep the night before plus 16 hours of traveling and 2 hours dealing with luggage makes for one tired person. I couldn't figure out how to turn any lights on or how to work the TV. I only wanted to sleep for a couple hours, but woke up 5 hours later. Oh well. I needed it, and I have no doubt that I will sleep well tonight. I successfully figured out how to turn on the shower, but definitely had to go ask about the lights. There's a little card holder thing by the door and I have to put my keep in in to get any sort of power, even in the electrical outlets. Crazy!
There's an Australian couple who will both be teaching at the school. They came in today too with their two kids, but I have yet to meet up with them. Tomorrow will be a better day for exploring. I'm excited to walk around, maybe check out the school and meet some new people. Maybe even get my lost luggage. My luck has got to start turning around sometime :)
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