I have officially been in Hamburg for one month! Since my last blog post I have learned even more about the German school system. At the elementary school where I am placed students from grades on to four remain with the same class, teacher, and classroom throughout all four years at the school. It has been really fun to watch the grade one students in my class build relationships with peers that they will spend the next four years learning with. I have also enjoyed getting to know the teachers at my school and am looking forward to attending my first field trip to the Hamburg concert hall (Elbphilharmonie) next week!
I have also enjoyed the weekly cultural program that has been organized for us by the University of Hamburg. Each week we attended a cultural event with mentor students form the university. Thus far our excursions have included a tour of the University of Hamburg, a city and harbor tour, a hike, and a couple of museum visits. These weekly outings have allowed us to explore many different parts of Hamburg while also meeting local students and learning about the process of becoming a teacher in Germany.
We have also been filling our weekends with lots of travel outside of Hamburg. A few weeks ago we took the train to Berlin and had a great time learning about the city’s rich history and exploring different plazas, museums, and restaurants! I have loved trying new German dishes including currywurst, Bienenstich (bee sting cake), franzbrötchen, and Spreewald gherkins. We are continuing our exploring this weekend with a trip to Copenhagen and Malmo!
I have been loving my time in Hamburg thus far and am looking forward to doing more exploring and learning in the coming weeks!