School and Cold Feet

This is not my school or the kids but
some of the school buildings here are just
super cool.  This is just one of the many
schools I passed walking to my class. 

Well, I was a touch nervous but my feet really were cold in the freezing sense not in the nervous sense as it had snowed overnight and my walk to my first day of German classes was quite slippery.
Just before we left for Athens we got a call that there was room for me in the German class A1.2. It was interesting because I am clearly a beginner and the message (which went to Marty's phone) was a woman speaking German very quickly.  So quickly, in fact, that he and Josie had to listen to it several times to get the call back number correct.  If the message had gone to me and I didn't have anyone in my life that understood German how in the world did they expect me to know that there was a space for me?  So crazy that they wouldn't leave the message in English.  But maybe they don't know where I am coming from and which language I speak but still at least she could have spoken really slowly and enunciate her words.

I had tested into this class but there was no room so I opted to take the very first class offered A1.1 because if I didn't I would have had to wait until at least the middle of February or even mid March before there would be a guaranteed space.   But since a spot opened up and the class was offered in Zehlendorf (A1.1 only had place in the Steglitz class) and because the A1.2 class had Fridays off instead of Tuesdays I jumped at the chance.  I was a bit nervous as I do understand a bit of German but not sure I was at the level to skip an entire 5 week /16 hours a week course worth of German.

But off I went.  I made my lunch along with the kids in the morning and after school drop off I made my way to my class.  From the map it looked to be just behind the Sbahn station.  It turned out to be a much further walk but I made with 15 minutes to spare.  Starting something new is hard and I thought about how nearly effortlessly both Benjamin and Josie started school here this year.
I was the first one to arrive at the classroom so I found a chair and put down my things and pulled out the books I had borrowed from a friend who had already taken this class -the books I ordered had not arrived yet.
The class slowly starts to fill up.  I talk with a couple of people are from the US who are sitting across the room.  When the teacher arrives there are about 15 or 16 of us sitting in a U-shape.  The teacher seems very German.  All business and all in German.  I'm a bit nervous because I know I skipped a level and not too sure what to expect.  It turns out 95 of the class all took level A1.1 together for the past 5 weeks so most people know each other.
The class proceeds all in German.  In fact, if anyone speaks English at all the teacher scolds you and says "kein Englisch" It is interesting because she never says that when people speak Arabic to each other or other languages.  Just English.
I understand nearly everything she says.  She speaks very clearly and slowly which helps and I know the context which also helps.
My classmates are all kind. There is an interesting mix of young and old.  There are 2 women (one in her early 20s and one is probably her early 50's who are both from Brazil.  There is a guy probably in his mid 20's from southern Italy.  There are a handful of students from Middle Eastern countries.  There are 5 of us, including myself, from the US.  One guy is from the Middle East originally but lived in Italy for 20 years and found it too stressful and too difficult to find a good job.  There is one woman from Norway who has a Pakistani father and a German mother.  The mix is truly interesting and the one thing I notice more than anything else is how seriously they are all taking this class and how supportive they are of one another.  I really don't "need" to take this class.  I'm interested in learning German but with Marty and Josie and some newer friends I could get help with German if I really needed it and as a teacher I could get a job teaching or subbing without really knowing German.  My guess is there are a lot of people in the class who really NEED to learn German.
So I mess up a few times but really try to understand everything and do the right thing.  It is funny because after teaching Spanish I now know what it is like to be on the other side of the table.  To not really understand everything or what the teacher is asking.  So... to my former students, I apologize for not being more sympathetic.  It is hard to remember what it is like to not understand something.  It seems that once you know how to speak a language you can't remember ever not knowing how to.

By the end of the class my brain was fried.  I was so tired and it felt like I had run a mental marathon.  When I got home I told Marty I really liked it but can't believe I have to do it again the next day and every Monday-Thursday for the next 5 weeks!! Yikes!! I made some popcorn and the kids and I did our homework together.  Josie thought it was HILARIOUS that she is about 100% better at German than I am and that she was able to help me with my homework.