Post-Christmas Gloom

Christmas craziness over, my feet are now safely planted back on German soil. One week back and being back home in England already seems like decades ago. I felt a little bit like Taz-mania whilst I was there. With only two short weeks I had to fit in last minute Christmas preparations, Christmas day, meeting up with as many of my friends as I could possibly cram in, having my whole extended family come to stay (but granted, it is not exactly huge. In fact, I could well win awards for the smallest extended family in the history of time), working at Kempton racecourse, and going to London for the New Year (great fun, but resulted in a lost phone, an angry parent, and memory loss). Add to all this the stress of two very very long journeys which included uncomfortable night trains, choppy seas, delayed ferries, and exceedingly lengthy coach drives and you can understand why I do sort of feel like I've been punched in the head (I know, bring out the violins, right?). But to all of you doing, about to do, or thinking of doing a year abroad, either as part of your studies, gap year, or post-graduation year, be prepared for the shorter holidays. University really spoils us. I used to have a drawn-out, month-long, leisurely Christmas break, and so this year I realised how much I failed to appreciate them. What a fool!

But now, to settle back into being a 'teacher' again. Having only been to a week's worth of lessons so far, there is not really much extra to report so far. I did have to plan and implement my own lesson for the second time, and it really wasn't as scary as it seemed the first time around. I guess it's just a case of ripping off the plaster. I've actually quite enjoyed putting my own lessons together, and for anyone who happens to be about to do a scheme with the British Council like I am doing, or anything of a similar ilk, I recommend the following book: http://www.lazyteacher.co.uk/about_book.html. It is such an easy-read, and absolutely packed full of ideas on how to make your lessons more interesting. It is especially useful for anyone without prior teaching training (like me) who has no idea where to start, but I can imagine also useful for anyone already in the teaching profession too. It's been more valuable to me than a golden palace full of gold coins and platinum rings.

Til next time. Until then, here's a video of a cute baby to help banish those January blues:
http://www.faithit.com/dad-sings-beautiful-song-for-baby-girl/