General Updates

And so ends another weekend in Zwonitz. Its been a while since I posted a proper entry, and, really this is just a result of my general lack of activity. Last weekend I went to Dresden and met up with a couple of Fulbrighters who are stationed there (my jealousy is unbounded). It was a lot of fun, Dresden is a sweet city. You have the historic, touristy downtown area with the standard old buildings and churches that provides many a photo opportunity. There is also, as in most European cities, a sick river with sick bridges running through the city center. Along it are cafes, beer gardens, and walking paths with many fine areas to sit and read, which of course I took advantage of.

On the other side of the river is “Neustadt” which means “new city.” This is relatively bohemian and has a lot of clubs and bars and young hipsters out making the scene. My hostel was in this part of town, which is pretty awesome. There are hordes of punk rockers blocking the sidewalks for blocks at a time, drinking and carrying on. I like to pride myself on rarely feeling unsafe in “bad” neighborhoods, but these dudes were pretty intense, and made me not a little concerned for my well being. But I got my drink on and my—well, that’s about it actually.

The following week was pretty normal, I am actually teaching lessons now, which has been somewhat challenging but also pretty enjoyable. One teacher seems obsessed with my explaining the American system of measurement in comparison with the metric system, so I’ve done that a few times. I’ve also done a few lessons discussing the differences between British and American English, which is cool, but I worry might not be all that relevant for students who hardly know English to begin with. With my tenth grade class, I did a lesson about school violence and the idea of installing hidden cameras in schools. This class can actually read and speak, so we were able to have something of a discussion, which was cool. I think this is the first time I’ve had a job where I actually look forward to increased responsibility and work. Mostly because I’m bored, but also because I’m finding that I actually enjoy teaching.

I am still waiting on my first payment, so funds are a bit tight at the moment, and I didn’t have an opportunity to get out of town this weekend, which sucked. Friday was a holiday here, celebrating the reunification of Germany. So on Friday night there was a big bonfire on top of a mountain with a bar and a cover band playing American classic rock songs. I decided to check it out, and as I’m rocking out to a rollicking cover of “Sweet Home Alabama” (?), a group of my students approached me. I had had a few drinks, but was far from drunk—unlike my students. These were 9^th graders, and they were each toting backpacks full of beer. I was amused, of course, and it reminded me of my youth to some extent. I was concerned that perhaps I was in a bad situation, as surely an American school teacher cannot be drinking beers with a bunch of 14 year olds who are also drinking beers; but there were plenty of responsible-looking adults at the function who didn’t seem to notice that they were drinking, so I assume it was fine. One of them invited me to a party at his house on Saturday night, an invitation I of course declined. After a couple of beers, more kids started showing up, and some of them were actually pretty hammered, so I decided at that point that I should probably go. Hopefully I don’t get called to the principal’s office tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t do anything wrong.

Other than that I’ve spent the weekend doing a whole lot of nothing. I’m reading Moby Dick, which is pretty good so far, and it’s a book I’ve always felt I should read, so that's cool. I finished Dostoevsky’s The Idiot last week, and was frankly disappointed. The first two hundred pages were great, but I was dismayed when there was no brutal murder, abject poverty, and drunken insanity. The one consumptive in the book is pretty weak, by Dostoevsky standards, all he does is bitch about his “death sentence” and he doesn’t seem to get any closer to dying. Ultimately, for its length, not a whole lot happens. It deals mainly with wealthy families and their beautiful daughters trying to find suitable husbands. The protagonist, the “idiot” from the title is pretty weak. His simplicity is supposed to make him a Christ-figure, but from my perspective, he didn’t do anything all that great. The back of the novel claims that his simplicity will lead to disaster for everyone involved—but there is little disaster. There are overly dramatic women and plenty of gasping, but nothing really catastrophic happens. Where is a scene parallel to the beating of the mare? Or to Marmeldov the drunk getting run over by a horse cart? These graphic and horrifying images are what make Dostoevsky awesome, and The Idiot seemed lacking greatly in that department.

So another week begins, which I’m thankful for. I will make a concerted effort to go somewhere next weekend, but where I do not know. I see the Phillies are doing well, which is very pleasing to me. I also see that BC beat NC State, which is nice, though we don’t even seem to be living up to our usual mediocrity and unfulfilled expectations this season. Alright friends, thanks for reading, send me emails, as you can see, I’m extremely bored and alone.