Is this thing on?

Hey there, all! I set up this blog so that I can keep in touch with you all and so that you can keep up to date with my adventures in student teaching. (And in romping around Europe! RAWK!) I'll try to post as much and as often as I can once I get over there, and I hope you guys compulsively check in and leave comments too!

For those of you who haven't been filled in on the specifics, here goes: I've accepted a student teaching placement at a U.S. military base in Vilseck, Germany. Yes kids, this is the beautiful town that I will call home in the fall! Vilseck is about an hour and a half drive north of Munich and 30 miles west of the Czech border. The Vilseck American Middle/High School has an enrollment of about 490 with an almost equal mix of Whte, African-American, and Hispanic/Latino students. I'll be doing my entire 16 weeks in the high school with the same teacher, teaching 9th grade honors English and 10th grade honors literature in conjuction with world history. (Pretty sweet classes. I know.) I think I'll also be doing some kind of reading lab, but I'm not sure exactly what that entails as of yet.

The town of Vilseck itself is inhabited by about 8,000 people, and the military base has a population of about 10,000 people. From what I've read, the base in Vilseck is predominantly used by the U.S. Army for "transition training and fielding new equipment," which I think means that soldiers are sent to train there before going to combat. Although I'll be teaching on the military base, I'll actually be living in a charming lil hotel in downtown Vilseck and riding the bus every day to the base. This pic here shows my downtown digs. I'll be living in that orange building with the white trim straight ahead. Not sure exactly what kinds of amenities I'll have in my room, but do know they have a "biergarten." ;)

I've posted some links on the right so that you can check out where I'll be living and working until Christmas. I haven't yet ordered my plane tickets, but I anticipate that I'll be leaving around August 13ish, as all faculty have to report to the school by August 23.

So, that's about all I've got for y'all for now. Keep checking back periodically. I'll probably keep posting other tidbits of info and random thoughts as I get them throughout the summer. Thanks for visiting! :)

P.S. Even as I'm typing this at the end of April, I'm already beginning to miss you all dearly! Pathetic? Yes.