Schools
In Hamburg, there are two kinds of school systems: Gymnasium, and the Stadtteilschule. For us, the Gymnasium is the test and grades based-pressures of IB/AP programs, but in its own separate system. This system starts in secondary programs – from Grades 4-6 and upwards – and then skips Grade 11, as Grade 10 in the Gymnasium is effectively the same as Grade 11 in the Stadtteilschule, before finishing at Grade 12. Stadtteilschule, meanwhile, are akin to public schools in Alberta, with students ranging in knowledge from -1 to -2 and even -3, all in the same classroom.
For Stadtteilschule, Grades go straight to 13, although you can opt out of Grade 10, and go straight into an internship and to a technical school. Some students prefer to begin at the Gymnasium until Grade 10, then go to the Stadtteilschule for the rest of their journey, so they do not have as much pressure on them when they have to do their Abitur, a final project – which is essentially an amalgamation of your final grades, including the government exams, from Grades 10-13, or 10-12, depending on which system you were placed into.
The teaching in the Gymnasiums is, unsurprisingly, rather strict, focussing more on teaching to the test and rote memorization skills rather than something more open-ended, like group projects with different presentation formats, or a gamified class unit. Lessons I saw in the Gymnasiums were very much “take out a worksheet, fill it out, then do a test, and hand it in”, with no room for critical thinking or questioning of material. On the other hand, students in Stadtteilschule, unless you were a lucky teacher and got a lot of smart kids, were reluctant to think critically and ask questions about material, as most observations were surface level at best.
Aside from this, when it comes to the kinds of courses students have to take, unlike Alberta, students across both systems only have Maths, English, and German as core courses; we, here, have Social Studies, Maths, Science, and English as core courses. So, for students in Hamburg, the Sciences and Social Studies are viewed as options. This can be viewed in two ways: a) a good thing, because it means the engagement you would get in a course like that would likely be enthusiastic and out of genuine interest for the subject, or b) a bad thing, because students should have that level of background knowledge before going out into the world, post Grade 12.
The Work
As one should expect, going to a country where English is not only a non-native language, but a secondary or even tertiary – yet, still mandatory language – the role that a TABer will play is primarily language support. Meaning, you will frequently be asked by teachers and students if their English is good – 99% of the time, it is quite good – and it will be difficult to find things that are within your specialization, whether or not that is a good thing. If you want to be in the classroom, great! You’ll be in the classroom. If not, well, in this edition of TAB Hamburg, there was nobody assigned a role outside the classroom and in a gym.
A good idea to get started with both the students and teachers is to introduce yourself at the beginning of your first class with them (you might not see them again, either, depending on how much choice you have in who you can see and when – this depends upon how many bilingual classes are in your school), and if possible, if you know you will be sticking with them, a day or two to think of questions they would like to ask you, in German or English, about Canada, why you are there, how long you are staying…etc. What you will find is that most students are not that confident speaking English in front of others, especially in front of a native English speaker, so it is highly suggested to get them to work in groups and think of some questions or things they would like to say with their peers first, before talking to you directly.
Mostly, what these students need is the confidence to speak English regularly, and to practice English reguarly, so be sure to engage with them throughout the class as much as your partner teacher(s) see(s) fit. Some helpful conversation starters, to get the class talking in English and asking questions, are primarily Canadian money (bonus points if you bring Canadian Tire money), and trinkets that show Canadian symbols, like Polar Bears, Loons, Maple Leafs, and other Prime Ministers, too. This is a great opportunity to introduce students to Canadian culture and Canadian society, although activities like this will only be about ten minutes in length, so do not expect to be lecturing about your country in full just yet!
Food
Here’s a tip: if you’re ever wondering if you should order take out or cook for yourself, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Cooking for yourself, though, will require an oven, just to be sure.
I do not recommend takeout at all. You will need a German SIM card, or a SIM card that notifies you when your delivery driver is calling. Unlike in Canada, due to GDPR restrictions, not only will takeout apps not track your driver’s location, nor give you your driver’s number, but your driver cannot leave your food at the door, take a picture of it and send it to you, then leave. You always have to contact your delivery driver and receive the order in person. Aside from this, generally, the quality of the food for takeout is worse than what you would receive in restaurants, as some of it does feel pre-packaged, and does not taste as good.
As for cooking for yourself, you will find a number of grocery stores that carry various items you might want to cook with. However, they all do not carry the same things, and the quality and availability of these items vary greatly. These four stores are: Lidl, Edeka/Kroger, Aldi Nord, and Rewe. I personally recommend doing your shopping at Rewe, as they generally have the avaliability and quantity of fresh ingredients that are closest (but still way less) to what we have at home in Calgary. Generally, there are NO “supermarkets” in Germany, so if you want to get fresh bread, you might have to go to a bakery for that. From my experience, Rewe carries the fresh eggs and milk (not refrigerated) that one would expect in a grocery store, but they might not have as diverse amounts of butter that a Lidl or Aldi might have, for example.
Food, in general, is hilariously cheaper compared to what we have in Canada, and for the most part, generally higher quality, too. I will note though, that you might find the mayonnaise untasteful, but this is because it is actually real mayonnaise (not miracle whip), so it might be a bit “eggy” for some (even the vegan stuff). Most of the foods that you see that are ready to grab and eat, such as a salad bar or a food bar, are vegetarian or vegan. You will be surprised at how little meat is eaten, although, you can still grab meat for cheap, but make sure to avoid the beef, as the quality is not as good as Albertan beef. Pork, chicken, various kinds of fish, and lamb are still great quality, all things considered.
If you do not know this, Germany is home to over one million Middle Eastern refugees, and quite a few more Turks, so if you want to go and eat out classic German food, you’ll have to hunt for it. The vast majority of food to eat outside of your home is Middle Eastern. So, if you love donair, kebab, or baclava, you’re in real luck, because not only is it fairly cheap to get, it is also better than what we have at home in Calgary, and there are at least a thousand of these on every street. It is a great time to support these refugees, too, so enjoy!
One more thing: if you have an Android phone, like a Pixel, Google Lens’s Translate feature is your friend. Use it all the time. Translating fully Turkish/German menus to English with Google Lens is a life-saver, pretty much anywhere, as it takes the stress out of ordering or buying things with labels you might not be able to read. No, I was not paid by Google for this. Yes, I would like to be.
Transit
PLEASE NOTE: If you plan on getting the EURail pass, you need to book reservations MONTHS in advance. Otherwise, DO NOT GET THE EURail PASS. It will be more expensive to buy tickets individually, per leg of the journey, but it is far more reliable than the EURail pass. They DO NOT GUARANTEE A SEAT, NOR CLASS ON ANY TRAIN THAT REQUIRES RESERVATIONS. You can have a 1st class EURail pass, and end up sitting in 2nd class because of this.
This is interesting. Compared to Calgary, the frequency of train and bus service is much better; however, be warned that there will sometimes be outages or frequent delays of up to five to twenty minutes on the trains you want to take from the city centre outwards, and bus drivers can and will kick all the passengers off at a random bus station because of mechanical issues with the bus, and leave you stranded, waiting for another train. If you are planning to do day trips with the RE/RB lines (lines that serve suburbs and towns within Germany and connect them to bigger cities), you need to know that delays from these trains can be extremely costly, as some only come every two hours outside cities. It is by far and away better to leave earlier, just in case your train is delayed, so you can guarantee being on time for your next connecting train outside the city.
Apps to get: HVV (Like the Transit app, for Hamburg), you can buy single tickets and day passes on here, just like the Transit app; MOIA, this is super cheap ridesharing courtesy of VW Electric Busses, however, this only works north of the Elbe, not south, and also in Hanover, too; FreeNow, this is a cab service that works all over Europe, but these are fairly expensive, so use this as a last ditch option.
Stay
Generally speaking, you will absolutely have to pay over C$3,000 for your two month stay in Hamburg. View this as the minimum for something that is a) not a hovel, and b) has reliable internet – a must, a clean living space and amenities, and things like an oven. You will very likely have to buy your own body scrubs (only avaliable at stores like Rossmann and DM, NOT Pharmacies (Apothekes)) and soaps, at a minimum. Staying in Hamburg is quite the balancing act. Hotels really are too expensive for the stay and you are limited in that you cannot cook for yourself, but your room will be maintained for free, including linens. The downside of this is that you will have to go to a laundromat to do your own laundry. AirBnB’s really are the best options, as staying close – within walking distance – to public transit, grocery stores, and restaurants are really necessary to living comfortably, if you do not want to have to constantly go on the train or walk 10-15m to get something small.
I cannot recommend enough finding a stay as early as humanly possible when you are given the go-ahead to book, as prices will only get more expensive as you get closer to your time, and there will be less available. Having a stay where you have a kitchen to yourself, as well as a washer and dryer, is a good minimum to look out for, as it will take the daily hassle of trying to figure out what and how you can cook for yourself, and the logistics of doing laundry in a laundromat entirely out of the equation. If you can, ensure the place you are staying at has a freezer, so if you want to have frozen foods for quick meals, you can. If not, and you don’t want to cook fresh, not being close to a grocery store that has the kind of foods you want or need might become tiresome, as you will likely be going multiple times a week outside of your house to attend to your food and work related needs.