So much has happened in the last few weeks, and one thing had been on my mind throughout that time; the fact that on the 2nd February 2011 I would have to deliver a tour in German to a bunch of fourteen year olds. I remember what I was like at fourteen years old, and could imagine how some of my classmate would have treated someone with as limited a grasp of German as I have giving a tour, so I was understandably nervous.
The tour did not go perfectly, and for the first hour I was stumbling through all the concepts and facts I wanted to explicate with such conviction as to give the kids something to think about. However, by the end I knew what to expect, I was on solid factual ground and I was confident, and my German began to improve as a result. A predecessor of mine who has become quite a good friend said all the way back in September that giving tours are 'Dead easy like!' (He lived in Chester for a while, surprisingly enough), and I can see where he gets that point of view from. It wasn't easy, but I know the next tour will be better simply because I'll know what to expect. So all in all a very positive experience, and I got a few cheeky thumbs up from the group at the end, which is always a good thing!
Aaaanyway, I haven't been huddled by my laptop and talking to myself in my room for the entirety of January. In fact in January I celebrated my 22nd Birthday in a number of ways. First I folded about four hundred flyers for the 'Remembrance Book' project, before being accosted by a number of middle aged ladies (I work in the Catholic Dachauer Forum - middle aged ladies always abound where the word 'Catholic' is present!) and wished a Happy Birthday. I smiled bashfully in my Hugh Grant English way. Then my wonderful colleague Ludwig Schmidinger, part of the Catholic Chaplainy to the memorial site, popped in with a small present of his own; a short biography of Bl. John Henry Newman. I really do enjoy my work.
That evening, accompanied by ex-volunteer Dasha, I finally got round to seeing 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' at the Museum Lichtspiele in Munich, where the film has been shown every Friday and Saturday night for about twenty five years. There is even a purpose built cinema which looks like Professor Frank. N. Furter's lab. The film was, of course, amazing, and it was too difficult not to sing along, so I gave into temptation. I fear Dasha will never be the same again...
As I mentioned earlier, I was present at the Bundestag on the 27th January for a Holocaust Memorial Day hour of remembrance, but more on that when I haven't got so much stuff to do...
No comments:
Post a Comment