Fertig!

I just finished my last final!  Time to relax, do a bit of partying, get some more Xmas shopping done, and do my packing!  I'm also heading off to Hamburg tomorrow to spend my last weekend in Germany with Oli.  It's been long distance this whole time, but pretty soon we're going to have some serious distance between us. :-(  He's planning to visit me in Boston in February, so I don't have too long to wait!

Amanda and me at American Night in the Gutz
Club (yes, she's wearing my Wisconsin Cheesehead
and Kanye West America sunglasses!)
Photo by Kate Patrick

If I make it there in time tomorrow night (weather permitting), we're going out to the H1 Club to see ATB and the Kontor Party.  I realize that those names probably mean nothing to most of you, but I've been an ATB fan for over 5 years now, and I'm really excited for this!  The night after that we're going to see House Rockerz at a club by Oli's parents' house, and they play one of my all-time favorite songs ("Nur Tanzen"), so I'm really getting spoiled this weekend!  If I'm extra lucky, we're going to drive to a nearby town, Dörpen, on Saturday night to see Rob & Chris, my favorite German DJ's who are from Hamburg but have only been playing in Austria until now.  Before I came to Germany I didn't realize that all of my favorite artists come from the same general region, but now I have even more motivation to move to Hamburg!

On Friday I also have a mini-interview/tour of an English school in the outskirts of Hamburg.  I'm just going to introduce myself, explain my situation, and leave my CV and Coverletter with them.  I've been in touch with members of the American Club and the American Woman's Club, and they've all been extremely helpful with giving me advice and offering to help me get my information out to employers.  I'm starting to feel less scared and worried about my future, but there are still so many uncertainties.

My grades for this semester aren't as good as I hoped.  I got the 1,0 (A) in Middle English, which turned out to be a lot more impressive than I originally realized, now that I've compared it to the other grades I've received.  I got a 3,0 (B) in my Word Building Patterns in German class, but that was because the formatting on the paper was all wrong.  I think the teacher should have cut us a break because we don't know German formatting procedures that well (we asked a few people here, but they said there isn't anything special).  She said we could correct the format and turn the paper back in for a better grade, but of course that's not possible since BU needs the grades by Monday.  At least I can be happy knowing that she thought the content was good, and a B for a research paper written entirely in German is still something to be proud of.

I got a 2,0 (A-) in my Teaching English class, which I'm happy with.  The test was just oral question and answer, which isn't my specialty.  I would have done much better with something written, but the professor had to do an impromptu exam with me since I'm leaving before the semester is over.  He's a nice guy though, and he offered to write me a Letter of Reference for when I apply to jobs.  I haven't gotten my grade for Deutsch als Fremdsprache yet, but I don't think I did too badly on the test (I mostly just struggled with the verb-preposition pairs.)  The reading and writing were easy at least.  My German has really improved since I came here.  I can read and listen with almost full comprehension now.  Fluent self-production is next on the list...

By this time next week I'll be in Boston!  First stop on my list: Fitrec.  I love Turbo Jam, but after a month with aerobics as my only exercise option, I'm ready to go back to my 4-story gym!