Thursday, September 23, 2010

Multiple Choice Poetry

Here is some poetry that I "created" using the multiple choice answers for the quizzes I'm writing up. Enjoy! :]

I like the fall.
It's romantic.
Warm and sunny.


Yes, I would
Watch a movie.
It's chilly.


Stay inside and drink lots of water
Don't use the telephone
It's extremely windy.


In an office
She's an accountant
She's using a computer.


A chance for promotion
My ideal job
It's frustrating.


An excellent salary
Working in an office
I'd like a chance to travel.


If you can't tell, we're learning about weather and jobs!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Progress!

Today was the first day that I felt almost completely comfortable and at ease while teaching! Okay, well, it was the first day that I didn't feel sick to my stomach at the beginning of class (usually the feeling goes away after taking attendance and going over homework, but today there was no sick feeling at all!).

I'm teaching two classes, an intermediate speaking and vocab class, and an elementary listening class (both at the college level since I'm teaching at a university). I LOVE my speaking and vocab class! When I find a subject that they like, man, they neveeer stop talking! Which is great, because HEY, it's speaking class! Today we finished up weather terms and talked about extreme weather (typhoons/hurricanes, blizzards, and heat waves). It's always so interesting to hear them talk about their home countries. One of the questions was, "Which of these weather events is the most dangerous? Why?" I, as a resident of Ohio, think nothing of blizzards, but I thought a heat wave would be absolutely devastating. On the other hand, one of my students from Saudi Arabia said that he experiences "heat waves" every day, and that he's terrified of blizzards! I love learning about different cultures through my students! I have so many ideas for this class! On Friday I'm going to play a bunch of review games with them to go over the vocab from chapters 1-4, and then next Friday, after the chapter on careers/jobs, we're going to visit my friend at the radio station (she's in charge of the whole shebang and said she'd give us a tour!). I can't wait! Ooh, and we're having our first oral presentations on Friday, so I've got to write up a rubric for that!

My listening class is more difficult, because they're the lowest proficiency level that we'll take (Elementary II). I only have them for 2 hours every week, so I haven't gotten to know them as well as my speaking/vocab students. I have some students in my listening class who NEVER participate (unless I call on them...gosh I love doing that!) and just stare at me with glossy eyes. But the other half is always willing to say answers and actively participate. I even had one student who shot his hand into the air to answer EVERY question today! Of course, I only called on him a few times because I want everyone to participate!

I hope that I'm a good teacher and that my students are learning a lot. I'm not going to tell them that this is my first time teaching...at least not until the end of the semester! Also, the international students are going on an excursion on Sunday to a local outlet mall, and all the ESL faculty was invited to go along. I'm excited for this because it's a chance to talk to my students outside of class, and it's a good opportunity for them to get to know me as a person and not just their big, bad teacher (although I'm hardly big or bad!). I'm excited for this too :]

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Diving headfirst into teaching!

So, I got back from Germany a little over a month ago. I miss it so, sooo much and I hope to return to Dresden sometime in the future (perhaps with my boyfriend...I'd love to show him around Europe since he's never been!). I learned a lot in Germany and made awesome friends with my roommates (it's now weird to see them at school...I'm sad that we don't live together any more :( ).

I also graduated! I now have a degree in Cultural Anthropology and a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language! When I got back from Germany, I was really indecisive about what I was going to do with my life now. Should I look for a TEFL job? A desk job? Go back to school? Sit around and do nothing for awhile? That last one was rather tempting after working really hard for 4 1/2 years of school.

But then I got an awesome e-mail from my professor who taught all of my TEFL classes, asking if I was interested in teaching at our university. I answered "YES!" right away...and now I've suddenly gone from being a student to being a teacher. It's a complete 180. I get to be in charge of a classroom, which is a lot more fun and difficult than I could have imagined. I have the education of 30 students in my hands (between my two classes). I teach a listening class (extremely hard to teach, and I don't think my students are very comfortable with me...I've tried to get them talking, but they're super quiet :\) and a speaking and vocab class (LOVE this class! My students are hilarious and really chatty, which is awesome!).

I'm going into my third week of teaching, and I've already met and overcome a lot of challenges. But I had the most awesome feeling in the world when I went to the college book store a few days ago. I was picking up a book for my literature class (that I'm taking for FREE since I work at the university now!) and just for kicks I went over to the ESL section of textbooks and was poking around. I found the textbook for my listening class, and underneath there was a little placard that had all of the class information, like dates and times of the class, the call number, the required texts...and under instructor, it had my last name :] I freaked out because I was so happy and excited. I think I scared all of the other students around me. But that's okay.

It's been a difficult transition. I don't feel like an adult. I still feel like a student. And when people ask me what I'm doing now after I've graduated, I always say "I'm a part-time instructor in the ESL center at my university." I can't bring myself to say that I'm teaching...or that I'm *gulp*...a teacher. Because even though that's what I'm doing now, I still don't feel like it's my job. But maybe that'll change after I get used to teaching!

Saturday, July 31, 2010

So long, farewell

Auf Wiedersehen, adieu...

I'm leaving Germany tomorrow morning and I'm totally heartbroken over it. Sure I'm looking forward to seeing my friends, family, and boyfriend tomorrow night, but I'm so sad about leaving Germany. I feel like I've grown so much and I've come to call Dresden home. I learned so many things and experienced so many things and it'll be a long, LONG time before I forget any of those things.

I spent all afternoon walking around the city, saying goodbye to my favorite things. Goodbye German beer, goodbye Frauenkirche, goodbye Elbe, goodbye Zwinger, goodbye tram numbers 8 and 3, goodbye Katie's Garage, goodbye Neustadt and Alstadt, goodbye Theaterplatz and Albertplatz, and goodbye International Guesthouse.


Goodbye Germany. I hope I can come back some day :(





Thursday, July 22, 2010

Almost there!

So, I just took my last final of undergrad EVER, and I kicked it's butt (I think)! The only thing standing between me and my college diploma is a computer project that is taking me foreeeever to complete. Okay, it's taking me forever because I keep getting distracted! I'm just totally burnt out on school right now, so instead of doing my computer project, here's a list titled "Things On Etsy That I Really, REALLY Want Right Now!" To see what shop they come from, just click on the picture! Enjoy! Now I'm off to take a well deserved nap.

P.S. There's a theme. Bet ya can't guess what it is!






Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Annis Shawl is DONE!

Okay, so I haven't had that much spare time to knit while being in Germany. Well, that's actually a lie...I've had spare time, but I spend that time exploring the city instead of knitting! But, I finally finished my project that I've been working on, the Annis Shawl from the spring/summer Knitty (2010) by Susanna IC. I actually bought another one of her shawl patterns when the Ravelry was having their Haiti fundraiser, but I ended up frogging that one a bunch of times (always ended up with like 6 extra stitches at the end of the row, harumph!). Any who...I really enjoyed knitting this. The nupps were difficult at best, but I'm glad I did them to learn a new technique and to try something different. I think I might make another in purple for my step-mom for her birthday (in December) with beads instead of nupps (although I'll have to learn beading first!). I bought this lovely mohair/wool blend at this cute little yarn store here in Dresden. I LOVE the store because the owner remembers me every time I go and is nice enough to speak to me in English :]

Okay, prepare for a bunch of pictures because I'm really proud of this shawl! It's the first one I've done, and I really enjoyed Susanna's crescent-shaped construction of the shawl. The short rows made it interesting, but I could really tell how long it was until I had finished all the short rows. No, I haven't weaved the ends in yet (ugh, torture), and no it hasn't been blocked yet, but I couldn't wait to show it off! I love the blue and it'll go perfectly with my winter coat. The last picture is a diagonal scarf I'm whipping up really quickly for a friend that I'll be staying with in England for 6 days starting Saturday as a thank-you present for letting me crash her pad!






Sunday, July 18, 2010

Beautiful, gorgeous day in Germanland!

So, it has been hot in Germany late. Like, RIDICULOUSLY hot. One of our German friends said there has been record-breaking heat in the past couple of weeks. Wonderful :\ But today, the weather was gorgeoooous. I'm more of an overcast sky and rain type of girl, so today was perfect. There was a bit of sunshine, a lot of wind, and a lovely temperature of 68-70 degrees F! So my roommate and I decided to go to a really nice, HUGE park in Dresden called the Grosser Garten. There's a palace in the middle of the garden, surrounded by forest, gardens, and paths. There's also a little train that you can take for 2 euros that goes around the entire garden and makes stops along the way (such as the zoo, the VW factory, a small cafe, the palace, etc). We rode the train and weren't the least bit embarassed to be the only people there who were childless and under 65 :] It was so much fun. Then we walked around a lake and ate at a tiny cafe that was right on top of the water. We watched ducks and swans and people rowboating around the river. All in all, it was a super fantastically awesome day! I can't believe I only have 2 more weeks left in Germany :( Any who...pictures!

P.S. The gardens/palace are totally what I imagine Pemberley (sp?) to look like!





Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Mix Tape TUESDAY!


Okay, so I didn't have a mix tape put together yesterday (but I did have ONE song stuck in my head allllll day...which subsequently got stuck in the heads of my roommates!), but I've put together a mix for today! The theme is "Summertime Songs", or more specifically "Songs I Would Have Played at My 4th of July Party if I Had Been in the USA." It's just a mix of songs I think are perfect for summertime, or remind me of summertime in high school. I think every single one of these songs is totally singable, and I love them all. My roommates and I have had this mix on repeat ALL day now!

Summertime Songs
1. (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer
2. Desole Pour Hier Soir (Sorry For Last Night) - Tryo (I can't find a video for this because SONY doesn't allow me to watch it in my country :( But this song is AMAZING so youtube it!)
3. Someday - Sugar Ray
4. Long Cool Woman in A Black Dress - The Hollies
5. First Date - Blink 182
6. Energy - The Apples in Stereo
7. Days Like These - The Cat Empire
8. Mr. Jones - The Counting Crows
9. Snow ((Hey Oh)) - Red Hot Chili Peppers
10. A Surprise One :] (I bet you've TOTALLY forgotten this song, but to me, this song absolutely represents summer!)

Enjoy!
Erin

P.S. Totally, TOTALLY want those earrings! Click on the picture to get redirected to the shop!

Monday, July 5, 2010

...


"The wind is low the birds will sing
that you are part of everything."




:]

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

How do you communicate


with no words to use?

Sometimes living in a foreign country is absolutely frustrating. Everything is different, even if you never expect it to be. The plugs are different, the pillows are different, the public transportation is different...EVERYTHING! But most importantly (and most difficultly) the language is different.

About 75% of the time that I try to communicate with native Germans, I feel like an absolute fool. I know a couple words like "please", "thank you", "one", "I don't speak German", and some food names, but that is IT. I don't know any German, and I feel like a horrible person every time someone asks me if I speak German and I have to reply "no...sorry." I can only order food while pointing at something and saying "one, please", which has incredibly limited my diet because I'm a very picky eater and I have no way of saying "yes, but no tomatoes please!". So I've basically stuck to noodle boxes and pretzels when I'm eating on the run. Otherwise, I can just make food in my apartment (which has no oven, microwave, or toaster...grrr).

I had a very interesting (to me) encounter the other day. I was at the public viewing park for the World Cup games (okay America, we need some of these public viewing parks ASAP...they're so much fun!) and I went to the food tent to get some french fries and beer (sooo healthy, I know) and when I went to check out, the girl told me my total, which of course, I didn't understand. So I kind of smiled at her and looked at the cash register to see what the number was, and handed her my money. She then asked, "Next time should I speak in English?"

This totally surprised me. It's your country and your language, why should you have to change to cater to my needs? It was just kind of funny to me that she was willing to switch to English when sooo many people I've encountered in Germany obstinately refuse to use English, even if they know a bit.

Sometimes the language barrier makes me want to give up on living here and just move back home, but most of the time I see it as a challenge to myself and as a way to improve my relations and interactions with people who live in cultures different from my own!

Tschüss (goodbye)!
Erin

P.S. Lovely photo of the best World Cup team's flag by The Daily Photo.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tuesdays >:[



I think Tuesdays are the absolute worst. They're the pits. No matter what my class, work, or hobby schedule is from semester to semester, Tuesday are ALWAYS freaking terrible.

Today I sat through 6 hours of classes. In a row. In a tiny cramped room. With an itty bitty window. In 85+ degree weather. And I forgot my water bottle.

I think Tuesdays exist only to hassle me! But on a brighter note, I received a bunch of postcards in the mail from Postcrossing. You sign up and send out 5 postcards, and when the other person receives and registers your postcard, then you're next in queue to receive a random postcard from some random place in the world! It's fun and addicting and awesome! For the price of a postcard and stamp, you can connect with hundreds and thousands of other people around the world!

Cheers,
Erin

P.S. The picture above is a print from the seller Studio Tuesday, the only good Tuesday I know!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Mix Tape Monday!


I've decided that I missed Mix Tape Monday, and I was in a music-y mood this weekend, so I've compiled another mix, this time with a theme!

The theme is "Museums", because this weekend I went on a lovely visit to the museum inside the old palace in Dresden, where they keep all the beautiful treasures of Saxony (the region in which Dresden resides). I had gone to the old part of town just to walk around and watch tourists, but I got sidetracked and ended up in the palace museum for about 2 1/2 hours. So, to escape the very loud and animated Italian tour group that seemed to be following me around the museum, I popped on my headphones, and here is the play list I came up with:

1. My Rights Versus Yours - The New Pornographers
2. Leslie Anne Levine - The Decemberists
3. She'll Hang the Baskets - Cake
4. If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out - Cat Stevens
5. Foundations - Kate Nash
6. Syrup and Honey - Duffy
7. Slip Slidin' Away - Paul Simon
8. Ne Me Quitte Pas - Regina Spektor
9. How Am I To Be - The Watson Twins
10. Hail To Whatever You Found In The Sunlight That Surrounds You - Rilo Kiley

If you click on the song titles, you can listen to the song on Youtube (for those I could find...you should check out the other songs on Itunes though! They're good, I promise!). Enjoy the music, and hopefully it'll distract you from the tourists the next time you're in a museum! Also, comment if you like the mix, songs, etc, and if you have any ideas for a future themed mix!

Cheers!
Erin

P.S. The picture is of Rilo Kiley, one of my absolute favorite bands EVER. They rock.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Well hellooooo!


So, I've been on a bit of a hiatus, buuut I'm back now!

I'm currently living in Dresden, Germany...at least for the next 5 weeks (have already been here 6 weeks). It's absolutely amazing, and I've even made friends with the proprietor of a LYS. Every time I walk into the store, she says, "You're back!" and even remembers to speak to me in English (which is a huge blessing to me). It's so nice that she remembers me, because I don't think the cashiers at my LYS at home even remember me :( Well she probably sees me walking down the sidewalk and thinks, "Oh goodness. Here's that crazy American girl again. How many socks can she possibly knit in a week to be back for more yarn!?" But I've spent a good amount of my euros there :]

SOCKS! I finished my first pair of socks. They're rainbow colored and amazing! I love wearing them around the apartment, but it's much to warm to wear them outside :[ Oh well, I can't believe I'm actually excited for winter and coldness so that I can wear my new, lovely socks! I started a pair in blues and purples for my stepmother, but I'm only halfway finished with one sock :\ But I am ADDICTED to making baby socks...and I'm not even having a baby! I have a friend from high school who is expecting a new baby daughter at the end of August, so I'm knitting tiny socks for her like mad. I mean, they only take a little bit of yarn and about an hour to knit up! They're perfect for tram rides and bus rides! I've got 5 so far, and plan to make many, many more.

Yesterday I went to the historic center of Dresden to look for postcards and go people watching. I got sidetracked and ended up wandering around a museum for 2 1/2 hours. Dear me, I love Germany so, SO much!

Any way, that's it for now. I've got homework to do :( Blah!

Cheers!
Erin

P.S. Sorry the picture is so tiny, but that's me in front of a lovely fountain in Dresden :]

Thursday, February 4, 2010

For the first time in a long time

I finally have some good things happening to me!

First things first, I uploaded some new things to my shop, which can be viewed in my mini Etsy! I'm really excited about them all. I updated 2 skeins of art yarn (one of which has already sold, HOLY COW!), some handmade clay buttons (that I loooove and have used on some other projects already!), and a new hat (which, I believe, is super freaking awesome)! So check em out if you have a minute (my purple buttons really need some love :( )

Okay so I received some AWESOME news a few days ago! I'm a senior, and I thought that I had to take a few more classes in my major (anthropology) to graduate, and they only offer those classes in the fall, so I assumed I would be coming back next fall to finish out my degree, making me a super senior (or doing my victory lap as a friend described it). So I went to my advisor to discuss what I needed to take and LO AND BEHOLD I only have ONE more credit hour that I need to complete. One freaking hour! Wish I'd known that before registration ended...grrr! Anyway, it's super awesome news because that means I can graduate in August instead of in December (it's too late to graduate in May)! And that one hour will be covered in the study abroad I'm doing this summer...

I'M GOING TO GERMANY! I've wanted to do a study abroad since I began college 4 years ago, but I never managed to make it work. My friend (a fellow anthro student) told me about how she's going to Germany this summer to get her TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) certificate, and I was intstantly interested in going! She's doing the 4 week course, which is just a teaching practicum, but I was interested in doing the 11 week course, which includes all the classes you need for the certificate, plus the teaching practicum. I got ahold of the advisor, and he managed to squeeze my application in right before the due date! HOORAY! AND I'm rooming with my friend! Omgomgomg I'm soooo excited!

The program is in Dresden, Germany, at a university that I can't pronounce the name of (as I speak French, not German). As students there we get free travel all over the city, and 60km outside of the city. We're going to take weekend trips to Poland, France, and Belgium (where my mom has a cousin living, so hopefully I can stay for free). We live in apartments with actual German students.

But the best part is that the one part I was worried about, having to pay for my airplane ticket (as it's not included in the tuition and expenses I pay to the school for the program)...well, my dad offered to buy it for me!!! Which is great because, well, I don't have a thousand spare dollars lying around! My dad's buying my ticket tomorrow, I've applied for financial aid and grants, and I've applied (and been accepted) to the program...which means I am OFFICIALLY going to Germany! Squeeeeeeeeee!

And after I get back from Germany, I graduate, and am moving in with my best friend for a bit...rent free! Her boyfriend bought a house, but is being deployed to Iraq this June, so the army is going to pay his mortage while he's gone. She doesn't want to live by herself, so I offered to move in for awhile. I only have to pay for food and my share of the utilities.

Oh, and after I graduate, I'm going to talk to someone from the Americorps and someone from the Peacecorps, as I really feel like those things are calling to me right now. I'm a little hesitant about the Peacecorp, as it's a 27 month commitment, but I'd like to know as much as I can about both before I make a decision.

I just finally feel like my life is going in a concrete direction, and I'm so excited/happy/stunned!

So, because I had so much good news lately, I felt like I needed to do something to deserve all this good karma I was getting. So I cleaned out my room and ended up with a bag full of clothes I don't wear anymore, and a box of jewelry, CD's, accessories, etc that I never use, and I freecycled them. It feels nice to help someone else out, and to get rid of some stuff clogging up my closet!

All right, well I'm off to help my roomie (aforementioned bff) make chicken. We're having a medieval night and eating potatoes and cornish hens with our fingers and pretending to joust! We're silly...we know!

Friday, January 15, 2010

A little bit of organization!

My new year is starting off the right way! I want to be a little more organized, and this is helping me out a tonnnn! I got it in a swap on Craftster, and I'm totally in LOVE with it. So, here are some pictures of my new needle roll organizer thingie (now I just wish the rest of my room would organize itself!):





Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A Year of Change


I have decided to make this year a year of change. There are so many things I want to do, and I want to try and I'm just determined to make myself a better person.

I just got back from visiting my Dad in Arizona, and the desert was amazing and absolutely breathtaking (okay, I liked the desert, but I wouldn't like to live there...I love forests and streams and grass and meadows!). We climbed to the top of Cathedral Rock in Sedona. I'm not a very good hiker, and it was uphill (and up-rock) the entire way...I pretty much felt like I was going to die the entire time. But the view from the top was amazing, and completely worth the effort! My favorite thing up there was this older gentleman who was just chilling at the top with his hands in his pockets. He didn't have water or snacks or hiking gear or anything (we were pretty outfitted for a rigorous climb). He looked like he just walked to the top and sat there for awhile before climbing back down. He made me realize that I wanted to slow down, stop, and enjoy life more often. So that's when I decided that I wanted to make 2010 a year of change...a year that would really count. So here are the things I want to change:

1. I need to be more active. Even if it's not going to the rec every day (or even every other day), then just simply doing some kind of aerobic work out at home. Maybe I'll start every day with jumping jacks? I want to lose some weight...not copious amounts, because unlike most people, I'm actually okay with how my body looks, but just enough to go down a pant size (because last year I was one size, and this year I'm a size up, so I'd like to be able to use my old pants instead of buying more, yanno!?).

2. I'm going to try to be more patient with people. This is going to be really, REALLY hard for me, as my patience is the size of a pinhead.

3. I want to eat less crappy stuff. I have to stop eating spaghetti every night for dinner :\

4. I'm going to try harder in school. NO MORE PROCRASTINATION! I seriously wait until the last minute to do EVERYTHING. I'm going to try sooo hard to get everything done on time, or early! This is also going to be difficult, especially with my knitting and computer about 3 feet away :(

5. Random acts of kindness! I want to be a nicer person!

6. I'm going to try to stay out of the Etsy forums (because sometimes it makes numbers 2 and 5 really hard)(okay, I'm not going to completely stop posting, but I'm going to try to not get sucked into some of the inane threads) and actually concentrate on my business. I've kind of just been putting stuff in the shop and not really doing anything with it, so I want to expand my business and be an active shopowner!

Also, I'm currently working on a baby blanket for my friend who is about 6 weeks pregnant. I haven't talked to her in about a year, but I saw on facebook that she was expecting, and I thought it would be really fun for her to randomly receive a package from an old friend chock full of cute, hand-made baby stuff! You would like that too, wouldn't you?

If anyone has any tips or comments about the things I'm trying to improve on (especially healthy eating, I'd love recipes!) then feel free to drop me a comment! I can use all the help I can get! I'm determined to make this year a really worthwhile, really interesting, and really fun year!

Friday, January 1, 2010

New Year's Resolutions

Okay, I'm not usually one for resolutions, and I didn't actually think of this one until a few minutes ago, but I think I want to have a new year's resolution.

Basically, I want to expand my knitting repertoire. I want to make my first sweater. I want to actually tackle some of the patterns in my Ravelry faves! I want to knit more for my Etsy store (which I haven't made anything for in a few weeks :( ). I NEED to use up some of my yarn. I want to make a baby blanket for my friend who is expecting. I want to spin more yarn and become better at it. I want to start writing out all my patterns. I want to advertise more. I want to do a craft show. I want to GO to a craft show! I want to visit an alpaca farm and buy some yarn/wool :]

But mostly, I want to connect with other knitters on a personal level. I don't know many people that knit...actually, I only know one, and I taught her. She ended up being the person I drew for Secret Santa so I'm getting her some nice yarn (not acrylic stuff, which is what she's mostly been using), a 16 inch circular needle, some DPN's, and a hat pattern so she can try something besides garter stitch scarves! I think I might join my LYS's knitting group, but my LYS isn't really that local to me since the closest one shut down :(

Any hoo...just a quick update. I'm in the middle of knitting a hat, and I thought of my resolution, so I'm getting back to mah hat now! Peace!

Erin