I arrived in Hamburg on the 26th of August, tired after two weeks of travelling around Europe. It was so nice to finally unpack my suitcase in the apartment that will be our home for the next several weeks. After unpacking and stocking up on groceries, I have settled into a routine here in Hamburg that I am really enjoying!
Although we have had a lot of rain the last week or so, we’ve still suited up in our rain gear to explore Hamburg and the surrounding area. We’ve been on a couple of group excursions led by our liaison and student mentors at the University of Hamburg during which we have explored the university campus and major Hamburg sites including Elbphilharmonie, Rathaus, and the warehouse district. We have done some of our own exploring as well, including visiting the Friday morning Isemarkt, walking around Alster Lake, and taking the train to Travemunde to see the Baltic Sea.
Aside from exploring the area, we have also completed our first week in our school placements. I spent three days last week in a grade one classroom at Schule An der Gartenstadt and had a blast! It has been so much fun to meet and connect with the students and teachers at the school. The first day of school was on August 25th, so I have been learning the daily routines alongside the new grade one students. Students are in school from 8am to 1pm each day, which gives us lots of time to complete our own course work in the afternoons.
Going into the second week of our placement at Schule An der Gartenstadt, I am looking forward to engaging with students despite the language barrier and learning more about what teaching in Germany is like. I am also looking forward to exploring a new city (Berlin) next weekend!
