Saturday, October 20, 2007

Schön!

Hi all. Hope everything is going well across the pond or where ever in the world you may be. Things here in Germany are going pretty well. Just doing the school thing and taking care of business. I've started teaching classes now which has been a lot of fun. The kids seem pretty interested and I'm doing a variety of topics in many different classes. At the moment we're learning about the American Dream in my 12th year class. It's harder to teach than I thought it would be because it is so varied and changes from generation to generation. Definitely encouraged me to form some new ideas about immigrants in America.

A room in my apartment was renovated last week and we now have a 6th roommate. It's a little crowded but we're rarely all in the apartment at the same time so it seems to work. The newbie is Hendrik and he's just as interested in languages as I am which makes from some good nerdy linguist conversation.

I'm trying to find a class at the university that I can take in the evening which will fit my schedule. Also thinking about working part time as a tutor to make some extra money on the side. Last Sunday was beautiful so I decided to jump on my bike and get lots of pictures of Münster. Here are just a few. Hope you guys enjoy them and I'll be writing again soon.

This is my school in Coesfeld. There are about 800 students so it's pretty big.



This is where I live. My room is the one on the fourth floor, single window, opened slightly at the top. Can you see me?


This is the Promenade, also known as the Bicycle-Autobahn. It circles around the old part of the city and you usually have right of way on it so it's a great way to get around the town. Very pretty in the Fall.


This is Lake Aa. (Yes, just two A's. Pronounced like the A in "Amen") It's not really big enough to be called a lake but a little too big to be called a pond, so I guess they aimed high. It runs pretty far into the city and is a great place for running, cycling, strolling and BBQing.


This is the University. It's in a big palace that some sort of royalty used to own. I think it looks pretty cool and believe it or not they have buckeye trees in front of it! (not pictured) Behind it there's a botanical garden and a restaurant.


Call me childish but I think this is really funny.


This is the Stadtturm and Prinzipalmarkt (City Tower and Prinzipal Market) They're pretty much in the middle of the city. Very old and medieval looking.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Mind the Gap II

The sunset on Brighton Beach. The structure standing in the ocean next to the sun was a pier. It burned down about 8 years ago.

A picture of one of the main streets in The Lanes, a district of Brighton with VERY narrow streets. Many of them are too narrow for three people to walk side by side in.


London skyline. The funny looking tall building is the Gherkin, which I found to be particularly interesting.


Kamila and I. Kamila spent a year studying at OU. I stayed with her in London.


This is the Notting Hill market. It's a bit like a flee market that takes place every Saturday. Lots of good stuff though.


That's it for now. Hope everyone is well.