The Day I Fought a Crocodile

This was a big week for me - I started German classes on Monday, and they're great. It's three hours a day, from 9 - 12:15, and they move at a great pace. I'm so eager to learn the language that I'm taking to it very well, and I can already say a lot more (viel mehr) after just three days. I can't wait to see where I am in two months. I plan to take the A1 - A2 (beginner and advanced beginner) courses and then see if I know enough to learn the rest through usage. It's also nice having somewhere I have to be every day.

I stopped into the DAI on Tuesday and introduced myself to the hiring manager. I'm coming back next Monday to teach a fake class to her and a couple interns, which is a sort of interview for the job. It should be fun - and after my TESL course, I'm very ready for that sort of thing. The only problem is that all of the Fall semester classes already have teachers, so the most work I can get this year is substituting, privat tutoring, and sitting in on other teacher's classes. If I do well I'll have my own classes starting in January...but that's still a long time to go with no income, so it's going to be a bit tough. This means I have to look very hard for my own private students and other work opportunities.

So I'm in my first play here in Tübingen - I'm playing Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" with a theatre troupe that operates out of the University. We had our first rehearsal tonight - I'm the only native English speaker in the group, which is wild. The play seems very informal - rehearsals once or twice a week, drinks afterwards, parties every two weeks. It's as much about the social part of theatre as the art - and I would be lying if I said I wasn't okay with that. It seems as though there might definitely be opportunities for me to create my own projects sometime in the future - a Tübingen longform improv troupe, or a production of a play I've written... there's tons of interest and people willing to take part in theatre, and that's all you need really.

I found out today that the lease on my apartment won't be extended (there was a chance that it would be) so I have to move out the end of October. Apartment search time!

I'm thinking about a possible excursion to Paris next month. It's so cheap, and I had a blast in London.

I didn't really fight a crocodile. I'm sorry I lied to you.

That's all for now. Tschuss!