Big Sigh of Relief

Things have been going well, but not as well as I hoped. The school is fine and I like it so far, but I came at an awkward time and things are just going to start settling down this upcoming week. I have a very full load (so much so that another teacher commented that I might pass out from running up and down the stairs so much), but I'm thankful for it. A full load of classes means I'll be kept busy instead of sitting in the lounge trying to find my place. But these are all classes I'll be working with in one form or another in the future, but as of right now I'm there observing and getting to know how other teachers function.

Mrs. W has been a big help, but due to this past week's schedule I haven't gotten a chance to really sit down and talk with her. I wrote up my first assignment for a class for Monday too--- a fill-in-the-blank listening exercise that I'll dictate. The 6th grade class is learning vocab about accidents and emergencies, so I made up a short story. Nothing big at all, but I'm happy I'm starting to do anything really.

But back to Starbucks. We had school today for Open House and afterward I went to Starbucks to just read for a while and be around people. It was fine and all, but I couldn't concentrate and went back to my room for a while. Here I was listening to iTunes and lamenting my self-inflicted isolation-- wondering what the hell was wrong with me and the sudden disappearance of my personality. I am outgoing, dammit. I don't care what fucking country I'm in I'm not going to change-- language barrier be dammed!

Easier said than done of course. So I went back to mulling over things and it wasn't until I heard "The Long and Winding Road" by The Beatles that I vowed I wouldn't come back to the hostel until I met someone. And I did. Hell yes.

Met three really nice girls, all with excellent English. One girl invited me to do some shopping with her and I soon realized that she is my alternate life in living form. She's getting a law degree from the University here and wants to work for the UN, especially in one of the tribunals (Rwanda, in particular). She's very ambitious about her career, but we had some interesting conversations about how Americans are usually picked for jobs in the UN (something I hadn't realized but that she was dealing with). Also got some good insight into life in Cologne and how it's somewhat of an anomaly compared to other German cities (more on that later).

I'll defnitely be seeing them again and we're meeting soon at a bar a couple of blocks away, which is owned by a woman from California and is where "all the Americans hang out."

A week ago I arrived. Five days ago I was lonlier than I had ever been in my life. And today none of that matters anymore. Whatever happens after today I know I'll be okay, no matter what.