Room to Grow

In conversation with my colleagues, I have heard the phrase "career path" often. Most teachers around me have an idea of some leadership role they'd like to hold at some point, along with the path they must follow in order to do so. One of these teachers with whom I recently traveled to China on a school trip asked me if I had considered a particular role, in this case pastoral. I allowed that I hadn't, and it led to an admission that I had never truly considered a leadership role. It's not that I have no ambition or confidence in my abilities, but simply that there were few options open to me until now. 

In the American system, there were two main roles into which I could grow. The first was science department chair.  This involved organizing schedules, equipment orders, professional growth opportunities, and the like, all activities at which I could excel.  I did consider this a possibility, but the position was eliminated in Calvert County and replaced with the more data driven role of Core Lead. This largely involved analyzing test scores for the one subject Maryland tested, biology. I felt less interested in and less qualified for this position. One of the teachers I respect the most, Rob Halstead, served as Core Lead of the Math department for a year and seemed to hate it for all the reasons I thought I might as well, most notably that it replaced teaching time with number crunching. 

The other leadership roles to which I could aspire were vice principal, principal, science coordinator for the county, and various roles at the board office. All of them, even at the lowest levels, would require me to give up teaching all together. I enjoy teaching, and I think I'm pretty good at it, so these positions held even less appeal to me. Many good teachers must have agreed with me, as in my experience these positions were often occupied by people who either didn't like classroom teaching very much or weren't very good at it. There have been administrators who were quite talented teachers, but sadly they've been few and far between in my career. I often found myself in the position of being supervised by people I felt were far less qualified for the job than I, but who had the only advantage of actually wanting the job. Most of the principals and vice principals I had in 13 years of teaching in the USA were former gym teachers. I don't know why the PE departments churned out such large numbers of administrators, but they consistently did so, at least in my schools. 

So, I had always been happy staying in the classroom and being the best teacher I could be. The leadership positions I occupied were either accidental, as with my performing arts roles that no one else wanted, or somewhat opposed, as with my international trips I organized that my school district discouraged. 

Now that I am teaching in the UK, however, options suddenly abound. One reason is that every step along the way still involves teaching, and the other is that there are two categories of leadership positions, academic and pastoral. 

On the academic side, there is a physics department head, a science department head, an academic deputy head of the school, and head of the school. Each step in that chain involves fewer lessons to teach, but at least they still teach. The head doesn't teach at all, though she certainly could if she wished. Every subject is tested, so the science department has a refreshing balance of physics, chemistry, and biology teachers. There are obviously numbers to be crunched, but far more academic leadership is involved than I've witnessed before now. I have already discussed with Jenny the prospect of growing into a physics department head, and she is of the opinion, at least, that I could do it quite well. 

Pastoral duties are ones that don't even exist in the USA to my knowledge, at least not with the teachers. Britain takes the duties of the high school guidance counselor and splits them among the teaching staff. There is a form tutor, a head of year, and a pastoral deputy head. I am a form tutor now, which means I am assigned a group of 16 students (mine are in year 12) with whom I meet each morning. I register them (meaning I take attendance), give any announcements for the school, speak to them about how life and school are going, and basically take care of them en loco parentis. When they are stressed, having trouble academically, considering different university options, or anything else we Americans would consider the realm of the guidance counselor, it is from me that they seek help. I communicate with their teachers and parents. I communicate any concerns to the head of year, who advises on courses of action and has the final say in all big decisions. Each key stage in their schooling (years 7-9 are Key stage 3, years 10-11 are KS4, years 12-13 are KS5) involves a single form tutor and head of year that follow them throughout. So, I will have my form for two years, until they finish their schooling all together. At boarding schools, there are additional levels like house master/mistress that take on the unique responsibilities involved with housing the students. The colleague with whom I spoke in China aspires to be a house mistress at a boarding school one day herself. 

My current supervisors on both the academic and pastoral side are all talented teachers from a range of subjects. My head of school is even a physics teacher. So, not only do I feel quite effectively managed by a talented group of people, but I also feel an urge to grow within this framework. Both paths seem equally likely at the moment, but we shall see which opportunities actually present themselves. 

I do sense more room for growth in this system, but as another colleague in the Math department pointed out, it seems that the best teachers in the USA are motivated to stay in the classroom while the best teachers in the UK are motivated to leave it. Interesting consequence indeed. 

Nettles--the scourge of the outdoors

That plant right there is called a nettle.  Or a stinging nettle.  Or "Oh, for f***'s sake!" as I tend to call it every time I encounter it.  Apparently it exists in North America, too, but I'd never seen it or heard of it before moving to the UK.  Here, it's everywhere.  It's not exactly dangerous, but damn it, it's annoying.

You know exactly when you have even lightly touched it, because whatever touched it instantly stings and gets covered in bumps. For a first timer, the experience of leaning back in the grass and feeling your hand burn and swell up with bumps nearly instantly is just a tad disconcerting.  There is no label saying "don't worry, this will go away with no ill effects." For all you know, you may be covered in welts soon, they may have to amputate something, or you may have minutes left to live unless you get immediate medical attention.  Anyway, it stings.

This is because the leaves are covered in tiny hypodermic needles perfectly adapted to inject histamine into whatever unfortunate patch of skin it encounters.  It doesn't wait for you to be allergic so it can create a histamine response, like civilized plants do.  The little devil plant carries its own supply of histamine to make for damn sure you're temporarily allergic.  That's why you swell up immediately.  That's what histamine does.  The burning comes from something else, and I imagine it's the acidic blood from the Alien movies.

And it's just plain green and boring looking.  At least poison ivy looks somewhat distinctive to warn you to steer clear.  Nettles don't warn you.  They derive their little plant joy from luring in unsuspecting people and ruining their lovely day outside.  Evil little f***ers!

A basic UK civics lesson for mama and papa

The UK just had a general election for the leadership of the government of the kingdom (it's a kingdom, it's in the name), and I tried unsuccessfully to explain what was going on to my mother.  When I told my colleagues about that, they weren't surprised.  They even pointed out that the US government was created by a bunch of British folks that were frustrated by the British government, so it only makes sense that they'd try to make something a bit more sensible.

First of all, let's acknowledge that the UK government had no moment of creation like the US government did.  It grew organically over the span of a millennium or more.

So, start at the top with the head of state.  That's the Queen.  She has to sign off on the laws that are passed in Parliament before they are official, just like the President of the USA has to sign the laws before they're official.  Nothing is official without her approval.  Obviously, she's not elected.

The election was for Parliament, but only one half of it.  Parliament is made up of two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.  The Lords are not elected.  They are lords and dukes and earls, that sort of thing.  It's the house of aristocracy and clergy, and it used to hold most of the power.  Now it has very little.  The real power is with the House of Commons.  It is the legislature, writing and passing all the laws.  It is the one that is elected.  Every town elects a member of parliament (MP for short), and the boundaries of the districts are often goofy.

Those MP's are members of parties, just as in the USA, but there are more represented ones than our two.  The two largest are the Conservative Party and the Labour Party.  There are also the Liberal Democrats (LibDems, another left party), the Green Party (environmentalists), the UK Independence Party (UKIP, very conservative anti-EU and anti-immgrants), the Scottish National Party (SNP, that supported the secession referendum), and a few smaller parties.  All of those parties have at least one MP,  The more MP's a party has, the bigger a say it has in creating policy. Every party has a leader.  The party leader guides the party agenda, proposing policies that reflect their priorities.  The Conservative Party leader is David Cameron and the Labour Party leader was Ed Milliband (until Labour did poorly in the election).  The party leader is usually an MP, but not always.  UKIP's leader is Nigel Farage, who is not an MP at all, but he does gather support for the party and its policies.

The point is obviously to get a majority of seats in the House of Commons.  If a party manages to do that, then the leader of that party is now the Prime Minister.  The Prime Minister is not the head of state.  That's the Queen.  The PM is the leader of the majority party in the legislature, so he or she is the head of the government.  In this election, the Conservatives won just over half the seats, so David Cameron is, and remains, the Prime Minister.  Cameron represents his party, but when people went to the polls, they only got to vote on the MP from their district. In 5 years, the process will happen again.

That's about as well as I can explain it.

As active as I've ever been

It has been three months since I blogged publicly, but not because I've stopped thinking.  It's more because my thoughts have been uncertain on a great many things, and I like sorting out my confusion privately.  I blog privately, which is the modern techie way of saying I keep a journal, and when my musings come to any certainty, I like to share them publicly.  The simple fact that I do that helps remind me that the facebook-twitterverse is full of what people want me to see.  That explains all the gym photos I encounter.

I have no gym body to share, nor do I have stories of discovering the joys of steamed vegetables.  The latter would probably worry you, I imagine.  However, this particular week has reminded me that I've successfully become far more active than I ever had been before.  Sunday was softball practice and a run, Monday was beach volleyball and beer, Tuesday was a league softball game and beer, Wednesday was indoor volleyball and beer, Thursday was supposed to be another league softball game but got rained out, and today is tennis.  And probably beer.  My hope when moving to London was to find a more convenient environment in which to live an active life.  Apparently I've been somewhat successful.  A colleague said to me yesterday that women so often seem to be able to get together for no reason other than having company, while men "always seem to have to be doing something."  Well, she's right about me, that's for sure.  For that reason, meetup.com is a godsend.

Volleyball was my first discovery in London.  It's indoor and inherently social, so it seemed a perfect fit.  I found a group that is fun and likes to go out for a post game drink, and that's exactly what I was hoping for.  Volleyball is just about the perfect social game, because everyone rotation gives everyone a chance to do everything, and it's hard for one person to dominate everything.  Even if one person does, it's rude and people will start to avoid him/her.  It's pretty easy to pick up on the game, as evidenced by the fact that I am getting better quickly.  It now occupies my Wednesday nights every week, and used to also occupy my Sunday mornings until I found softball.

Would you believe that they play softball in the UK?  I thought it unlikely, too, so I didn't even search for it.  Then I got a suggestion from meetup.com to check out a new group.  There are slow pitch leagues, fast pitch leagues, and even full baseball leagues. There aren't too many purpose-built fields yet (though some are being built), so they just play in the parks.  I decided to stop by and meet the slow pitch folks, and apparently they are quite intensely into the game.  I'm not even that good, but they were friendly anyway just because I'm American and already knew the rules.  I ended up getting along with them well enough that they invited me to play in a tournament with them.  I didn't have a glove, and it's not easy to find a sports shop that sells any here, but luckily I have a kind brother with nearly identical sized hands that found me a good one and shipped it over.  I successfully caught one fly ball and hit a double during my 4 games at this tournament, so they asked me to join the team.  Two, actually, since there's a London city league and a Windsor League west of town (many of my teammates are British Airways employees that live near Heathrow).  This Tuesday, for the first time in my life, I played an actual softball game that counted for something.  I've played socially before, but never for a team that had jerseys, umpires, and league standings and everything.  I chased down one fly ball, gunned down a guy trying to stretch a single into a double, and got a single myself, so no one is regretting the decision yet to invite me onto the team, which is nice.  We won the game, too.

I've always loved playing sports, I'm just not very good at them.  As a kid, we'd play whatever was in season or whatever could be played with the number of available friends we had that day.  At Cornell High School, however, the teams were rather limited.  Football, basketball, baseball, and golf were the only guys choices, none of which are my strengths.  We did start a tennis team my senior year, and I joined the golf team because they only had 4 people and needed one more to field a team.  It took me about 10 years before I found another team of anything to join, and that was a volleyball team and soccer team that played over an hour's drive away from where I lived.  That was difficult to keep in my schedule.  Now, all of the sudden, options seem to abound.

I don't know what the health effects will be, since all my teams like to grab a beer after games, but I sure am having fun.  

Oh, sweet karma

Today, I smashed a tennis racket.  It was only partially because I messed up a shot, and mostly because something needed to be destroyed.  Composure, self-restraint, maturity, and a racket frame, all seriously dented in one swing.

The thing is, I should have seen it coming.

On Friday, I spoke with a student about life, the universe, and everything, and I asked if she had a pretty fierce temper.  She said, "Oh yes.  How can you tell?" I had never seen her lose it, but I had seen her relentless public positivity.  I recognize it as similar to my own, and I certainly have a temper.  I have been told it goes along with being German, and along that vein, I have explained it to people as "I'm cool. I'm fine. Then, BOOM! I invade Poland."  She seemed surprised to know that I have a temper to lose, and she immediately wanted to know how I keep it under control.  That's the thing about us temper-management folks.  We don't want to lose it.  We hate it when we lose it.  We are embarrassed after we calm down.  I wanted to tell her that I'd found a Jedi solution to this, but I had to admit to her that I'd just screwed up enough times to recognize riskier situations I should avoid.  I had to admit that I still lose it now and then, and it's usually when tiny things pile up. Well . . .

It started with getting the "just friends" speech from a person with whom I had enjoyed two lovely dates.  Dates are rather hard to come by, and of course I thought things were going swimmingly, so that was a bummer.  But just a little bummer.  Then a friend called me up, and while mostly we had a great time talking, she mentioned all the dates she'd had since deciding 2 weeks ago that she was ready to date again.  Of course, she'd met this amazing guy, blah blah.  I'm normally happy for friends in that situation, but the timing was just a tad "salt in the wound" ish.  Then I decided to explore the London theater scene more.  I found an interesting little play opening next week. So, I bought a ticket.  Only later in the day did it dawn on me that I bought it for the wrong night, when I will be at work until 8:00.  Then I decided to go to the movies, because I had a gift certificate.  The only movie I wanted to see, the reason I traveled 30 minutes instead of going right down the road, was sold out.  At this point, the steam was starting to come out of my ears.

It's okay, because volleyball and tennis would calm me down, right? Well, volleyball was completely booked.  My Sunday group usually has 10 free spots at least, if it runs at all.  Not this time.  That's okay, it's sunny.  More tennis.  I confirm with my tennis partner, and I get the dreaded text "I'm bringing a friend.  Is that okay?" Firstly, that is not a question.  There is no socially acceptable way to say, "No, it is not okay.  Screw your friend." Secondly, tennis is designed for two or four people.  Not three.  Lastly, I hate being a third wheel in any situation.  Relaxing tennis day became awkward third wheel pretending everything is hunky dory day.

So, that racket was toast.

Then a second friend of my partner came by late to make a full doubles game.  And I'd smashed my racket already.  So, embarrassment followed quickly on the heels of rage, as per usual.

On the bright side, I have a great story for my student the next time we talk.

Why I am staying at NHEHS

Last year, I made the huge leap across the pond, and the excitement of the change lasted for a good 3 months.  When it wore off, I got lonely and depressed, not to mention a bit worried that the risk I took was not going to pay off.  One benefit to pulling off big changes, whether or not they work, is that every subsequent challenge is accompanied by the thought of "well, now what do I do about this?" If you can identify the problem, you can find a solution.  I clearly didn't feel quite like I fit in, both in my school and my town, so I changed both.  To change it, I had to accept a one year contract in London, but I had a great feeling about the school.  I figured after this year, I could make a clear decision on whether or not to go back to the USA.

As it turns out, I am staying in London.  My gut feeling about NHEHS was spot on, as was my hunch that I'd enjoy living in London.  I assumed that the maternity cover position I had would necessarily limit my time in this school, but my bosses and colleagues seem to really like me, as do my students.  So, they offered me a permanent position, and I accepted their offer.

I still miss my family and my friends immensely, and I have promised my parents that I'll visit more often next year, but I feel more at home right now than I've felt in years.  "Home" means many different things.  When anyone asks where I am from, I say Pittsburgh.  That is where I was raised and where my family still lives, so that will always be home in some sense.  My best friends are all within a couple hours of Washington DC, so when I tell my students stories from "back home," I am usually thinking about there.  When I say I feel at home here in London, I mean that in a pretty selfish way.  All of my passions and interests are being indulged right now.  As I discover new interests, this city provides a way for me to explore them.  Still, if I didn't love my school, I'd probably go back to the USA.  I mostly feel at home because of NHEHS.  Here are a few things I love about it, in no particular order:

• My teaching is judged on its effectiveness, not its style.  I probably talk too much, but only because I'm a damn good talker.
• My students make me feel loved.  Either they really like me or they are really good liars.
• Students take every comment of mine to heart.  It makes me feel like I am Yoda.
• Jenny, my head of department, takes every question seriously and never makes me feel dumb for asking so many of them.
• Jenny makes it clear that she's very happy I'm here.
• Lucinda, my head of school, makes it clear that she's very happy I'm here. 

Let me pause for a second there to reiterate how important those last two things are.   It has been several years since I felt both respected and appreciated at work.  That feeling, more than anything else, is reason enough to stay at NHEHS for a while.  For anyone reading this, if you enjoy your job and feel respected and appreciated there, stay.  It is rarer and more important than you might imagine.  If that joy, respect, or appreciation isn't there, look for a new place to work. Don't necessarily quit, but definitely look.  You owe it to yourself to look.  Back to my list.

• My students ask for more homework.  Those are the kinds of students I have.  
• My students wait outside the door until I let them in, and they wait at the end of class for me to dismiss them.  They are amazingly respectful girls. 
• My students are genuinely interested in my stories, and not just the ones that are clearly tangential to the actual lesson.  Those, too, and they do love peppering me with questions about America, but I mean the physics stories.  Once or twice, they've been riveted by my stories. It makes me feel like Carl Sagan.
• My school has assemblies and in-service days that are generally useful.  This is a novel concept. We have a 20 minute assembly three days a week, and it is generally an open forum for any teacher, group of teachers, or group of students to run.  They will share stories of trips and adventures, advertise clubs, give timely advice, and sometimes go over current events.  I even helped run one dedicated to little ways to stay positive in the dark days of winter.  The in service days are always scheduled for the very beginning of term, giving a nice way of easing back into the routine of coming to work.  The in service days, therefore, are always partly a joy.
• So many people thank me for little things I do.  The thank-yous I receive seem disproportionate to the size of my contribution, which shows you why I feel so appreciated.  For example, I volunteered last minute to help with that assembly, and my contribution consisted of five minutes telling happy stories and advertising smiley cookies.  I was complimented and thanked for this far more times than I probably deserved that day.  I helped a little bit with the sound for the play, and I added a pair of hands on set construction day, and I received heaps of appreciation far greater than I probably earned.  This is how you make someone want to help even more.
• I get to focus primarily on physics.  People ask me for help with a field trip here and a photo contest there, and I oblige, but I am not overwhelmed with responsibilities outside my training. Anytime a new responsibility was handed to me, as has been necessary when one staff member quit and an other became seriously ill, every effort was made to make sure I was given a helping hand whenever necessary.  

Being surrounded by great students, great colleagues, and great bosses, I know I am a lucky man right now.  I am staying put for at least another year.

Gender Roles

I have encountered the terms "man's role" and "women's role" unusually often recently.  It seems that women are more likely to say what a man's role is and vice versa, oddly enough. No one is in perfect agreement about what those roles are, but lucky for everyoneI have been listening closely. I have figured out the pattern. Here it is:

A man's/woman's role is to do whatever shit I don't like doing. 

That's it. Personal preference stated as a universal rule. 

An exploration of Germany

Thursday 12/18/2014 Cologne

I took the Eurostar from St. Pancras to Brussels, where I would connect to Cologne. Usually, train travel is far less complicated than air travel, but I had the weird luck of having the longest, most frustrating tube ride to St. Pancras. To be fair, this is the first time the tube had ever caused me such grief, but that was little comfort when I got onto the train at Acton and sat there waiting for it to move for 10 minutes. Eventually, we all jumped onto an adjacent train that had far more stops, but was at least moving. When I saw the better train actually moving a few stops later, I jumped back on. A few stops further down, it halted again. It did this several times, extending what should have been a 30 minute ride to close to an hour. Then they actually stopped the train and announced that they'd been instructed to wait a few minutes to even out gaps in the service. I was really pushing it now, time wise, so I got off and took yet another line. In the end, I made it to my train about 5 minutes before boarding. 

I got to Cologne in the late afternoon, and I dropped my stuff off at the hostel, which was right around the corner from the station. I've lucked out with the locations of the hostels on this trip. The first thing you see in Cologne is the cathedral. It's impossible to miss, as it's right next to the train station. I took a walk around inside this beautiful building that took 600 years to complete, then I went through the Christmas market outside. These things really are cheerful and fun, and I saw at least 4 of them all around town. The food and gluhwein are the main attraction for me. For my first dinner in Germany, I got some bratwurst and a schwarzbier. I could deal with that on most days. I walked around town, but there really isn't much to see at night aside from the cathedral. So, I crashed and got myself the longest night of sleep I'd had in a while. 

Friday 12/19/2014

Only in Germany is it totally okay to have pretzels with breakfast. After finding my normal breakfast pastry, I got a butter pretzel. It was divine. My main destination for the day was the chocolate museum. I could have spent all day there. It was sponsored by Lindt, so Milton Hershey was not mentioned anywhere. There was an in depth explanation of the history of chocolate, from mesoamerica through today. It also showed a lot about how it is grown and processed. They also had a working, open chocolate square making machine. They gave away free chocolate at several locations. Apparently, Rudolf Lindt's main contribution was forgetting to turn his machines off and accidentally making extremely smooth chocolate over the course of a weekend. Happy accident. 

Unfortunately the museum closes, so I couldn't just stay there all day. I took a walk down the river, and since it was still raining and cold, I decided to explore one of the saunas that are so popular in Cologne. It's a huge complex, with several pools and hot tubs, along with an array of wet and dry saunas, and it was incredibly relaxing. It was exactly what I needed to start my vacation. The one thing you must get used to if you want to enjoy a German sauna is nudity. The pool area is clothing optional, but the sauna area is clothing forbidden. Nudity just doesn't bother Germans. It's expected. And it takes a little mental effort on my part to act like it is totally normal for me, too. Once you realize no one is staring at you or anyone else, it becomes no big deal. However, it did make me realize that this is an awesome way to motivate myself to work out more. The people who looked like nude models were greatly outnumbered by us folks who are quite happy baggy clothing is a thing, but I still thought it must be nice to look good naked. That's the point of working out, really. Maybe some people like being healthy or improving flexibility so they can attain nirvana via yoga, but I just want to look good naked. 

Saturday 12/20/2014 Heidelberg

The German train system, Deutschbahn, is quite efficient. The trains are punctual, and they stop predictably enough along the station that maps are shown with the location of each car, including the class and what each car can fit. I may need to reserve seats from now on, though, as the process of finding an open seat is a bit hectic. 

In Heidelberg I was unable to get a bed at my preferred chain of hostel, Hostelling International, so I was unsure what would await me upon arrival. However, my hostel was fine and right by the train station. I rested and got some lunch before heading into town. It's a small town with a very long pedestrian shopping street. The town was spared the carpet bombing that erased much of the architectural history of the country, so I saw many narrow streets and old inns. I went up to the castle, which is mostly intact, though way up on a hill. It was nice, but not the classic German castle I hope to see now and then. There were great views of the town from up there, though. After exploring with all the daylight I had left, I got myself a burger and beer at a place called "Moe's American Grill." I couldn't resist. It was basically a 50's style diner with better beer. It was fine by me. I crashed and rested up for some hiking the next day. 

Sunday 12/21/2014

I saw a big hill on the opposite bank of the river from the castle, and I was in the mood to hike. It was a steep and long hike, but I was rewarded with some fun discoveries. I expected to find great views of the city and valley, and I certainly got those, but I wasn't expecting to come across an amphitheater at the top of the mountain. Apparently, the place was built specifically for nazi rallies in the 30's. Wow. I'll say this for goebbels: he built a hell of an amphitheater. Today, it was being used for athletic training, as kids were running the stairs. Farther up the hill, and the very top, was an old monastery. It was in ruins, but the tower was still intact. I became quite certain I could find no higher point for a look down into the valley, so I enjoyed it and went back to town. 

I love cities with big hills and mountains very nearby. It's what stood out about Edinburgh, too. I love to hike.  I'll hike all day if I can. But afterwards, I want pizza. Today, that's what I got. Pizza Hut was waiting for me. I get local foods at dinner time, but I just want something simple and familiar for lunch. 

After refueling, I wandered along the river for hours. I came across a hill with many cars parked along it and people walking up. I figured something must be up there, so I followed. First, I passed a big church. If everyone was there for a Sunday service, I would understand. But the crowd kept going. Further up, there was a Christmas tree farm. That drew most of the crowd, though I wondered why they'd walk so far up for a tree they'd have to carry back down. Since I saw no one carrying trees down, I assume there was another solution. Still, people went farther up, so I followed. At the top of the hill, there was a sport center with a pool, lots of courts, and saunas. It seemed like a cool place, but there was parking, so why so many people were walking up there remained a mystery. So, I headed downhill through some cool neighborhoods on steep slopes that sort of reminded me of home. It took me longer to get back to town than I had imagined, but by the time I got there, I was ready for dinner. The places I'd marked on my map were either full or infested with screaming kids, so I wandered down side streets until I found a nice place. I got a good dunkel I had not tried before and a plate that was gluttonously full of meat and potatoes. It had a steak, pork chops, and sausages along with a mound of fried potatoes. To top it off, the German soccer league was on. It was glorious. After two big beers and a whole lot of food, I headed back to the hostel where I could stream the steelers game and then fall off into a food coma. 

Monday 12/22/2014 Munich

Munich is a beautiful city with lots of parks, and since the sun was still shining after I checked into my hostel (right next to the train station again) I went for a long walk. I remembered seeing river surfers in the English gardens the last time I visited, but that was in the summer. Surfers are apparently as committed as golfers, because I saw them again despite the cold. It actually looks really fun. I sucked at surfing the one time I tried, but I'd like to try this if I get a chance. I wandered farther into the park and got beer, bratwurst, and a pretzel at the market in the middle of the park. By the time I finished this wonderfully German dinner, I had run out of daylight, so I headed back to town. I passed a museum that was open late, so I took a chance they'd have something interesting. They didn't. €12 for three galleries full of modern German artists that were okay, but not great to my untrained eye. Still, art is fun. 

I wandered through the Christmas markets on my way back, then grabbed a beer at the hostel bar. Hostel bars aren't normally great, but this one was nice. I chatted with a college guy from Boston who was studying in Montana because it was closer to good skiing. He was at the end of his semester abroad in Austria, again chosen for its proximity to skiing. He admitted that he didn't like either university very much and probably shouldn't have made skiing the top priority. Live and learn, I guess. We were having a fun chat when he started flirting with a group of girls and everyone wanted to play a drinking game. The last time I'd played a drinking game I ended up in my underwear because of Bryan Sammons, then teased by my vice principle since his daughter was at the same party.  This one wasn't as bad. It does seem a waste of German beer to force people to drink it fast, though. The conversation marked the first time the egg drop was mentioned in random conversation, which few suspected I could comment so intelligently about. We also decided that German beer, as good as it is, lacks variety. That's a European thing, I think. The beer styles are very regional. I miss the endless variety of beer in the USA. 

Tuesday 12/23/2014

I was pleased to wake up in my hostel bed after a restful night of sleep. It was a big improvement over last time when I woke up in a hospital wearing a diaper. The sun was shining brightly and the weather was quite warm for December, so I decided to dedicate my day to walking along the river. It was a good choice, as there are parks and trails all along the river. I stopped midday for some milk and chocolate that I'd never heard of, and this was a simple little highlight of the day. I passed by the home of Oktoberfest as well as the Bavarian Hall of Fame. The hall of fame is really a big monument with mounted busts along an exposed wall. Still, it was closed for some reason. They did, however, leave one gate unlocked, so I got in there for a little while. Fearing the reputation of the German police, I didn't press my luck for long. Most of the day was really spent strolling along the river and enjoying the sun.  Not wasted time, in my opinion. As the sun was getting low, I passed a big science museum. I had to check it out. Only €8 and well worth it. I was basically geeking out for two hours and hadn't made it through even half of the museum. I may return to Munich just to devote more time there. I saw the first jet engines, some Messerschmitt fighters, V1 and V2 rockets, a homemade airplane designed to help a family escape east Germany (they were arrested a day before the planned flight), an amazingly well designed optics exhibit, a tabletop cloud chamber (I filmed this for my students), some old printing presses from the Gutenberg era, and an exhibit on engineering toys like Lego, then I ran out of time. I was a geeky kid in a candy store. After that, I went to my namesake brew house to get some Schneider Weisse and dinner. Great beer, great food (another variety of meat and potatoes), and a cool dessert called apfelschmarn, which was caramelized pancakes with apples. The only downside of the experience was being ignored by the waitress. I tried flagging her down for the bill five times over the span of 20 minutes or so. She didn't even look my way. I eventually gave up, added up the menu items I ordered, left the money on the table and left. 

Wednesday 12/24/2014 Leipzig

Traveling first class on a train is worth it in Germany. The price isn't hugely different on long journeys, and long journeys are when it feels the best to have a quiet car, plenty of space, and a power outlet. December 24 is Christmas in Germany instead of the 25th, though I don't exactly know why. So, the town was completely shut down. I wandered around a bit, but I spent most of the night back at the hostel watching soccer and chatting up the cheerful Latvian hostel worker that drew the short straw of working on Christmas. She had a positive attitude on nearly everything except Russia. The look she gave when cursing the whole of Russia to hell made me realize that Soviet tensions take a while to dissipate, especially with Putin acting all Stalin-like. 

I also took the time to send a few Christmas wishes to some German friends. One, my former colleague Kathi, lived about 30 minutes up the road and was home for the holiday. She invited me up for lunch the next day. I felt a tad awkward accepting, as I thought I'd be intruding on family time. Not only that, I'd be a rude guest that forced people to speak English. Still, Kathi insisted it would be cool, so I accepted. 

Thursday 12/25/2014 Graefenhainichen

I took the train up to Kathi's hometown, and she picked me up at the station. We went over to her parents and grandparents new house that is being renovated from the ground up. It used to be a doctor's office and a few flats, but now it is one big home and an office for the family business. Mr. Walther spoke little English, but he was excited to show me around the place and show off all the work he has been doing. One of his first additions was a massive whirlpool bathtub. This is a man who knows his priorities. We enjoyed a wonderful holiday meal of turkey, rabbit, potatoes, veggies, and wine. Then the family exchanged presents, and they even got me something! This family that randomly invited me just yesterday made sure I had some chocolates and treats waiting for me after lunch. I was quite overwhelmed with the hospitality. Kathi took me on a walking tour of her hometown, which happened to be the birthplace of an astronomer, J G Galle, that discovered Neptune by mathematical prediction. I tell the story of that man's discovery a lot, yet I didn't actually know his name. We went to a lake that was a filled in strip mine. Apparently, this coal mine was active 24 hours a day for the first few years she lived here. When it closed, they turned the mine into a lake and the abandoned equipment into a makeshift concert venue. Kathi saw Metallica there, and when we drove over to take a look at the place, I could see it as a perfect heavy metal venue. As we were talking in the car, I mentioned that I would be going to see the Berlin hockey team, Eisbaren Berlin, in a few days. Kathi and her dad immediately got onto the phone to a relative that could get me a ticket. Seriously, this family was killing me with kindness. By the time I headed back to Leipzig, the day had turned into one of the most unexpectedly great Christmases of all time. 

Back in Leipzig, I took Kathi's suggestion of checking out a restaurant called Keller that was featured in Faust. Goethe was from Leipzig, after all. I had dinner there, choosing some Saxon dish of veggie soup with strips of beef, with a side of rice and a Kostrizer beer. It was divine, and possibly the first time I'd enjoyed a dish that had more veggies than meat. Coach Sammons would be proud. I wandered around town a little more until I decided to call it a night and head back to the hostel. There, a roommate discovered that I was a physics teacher and decided to tell me all about how quantum physics leads to a higher consciousness, telekinesis, and a realization that you can think gravity away temporarily. I calmly explained that, while I was no expert in quantum physics, I was pretty sure she was misinterpreting everything about the field. I also had to calmly explain that Deepak Chopra is not an expert on quantum physics either. She seemed nice enough and actually asked honest questions about quantum physics, and I answered them to the best of my ability for two hours. How often do I get these questions in daily conversation anyway? Plus, if I didn't answer them, someone like Deepak Chopra would make stuff up that sounds more magical. 

Friday 12/26/2014 Dresden

Wow, it got cold! It was a little chilly in Leipzig, but it was freezing and snowing in Dresden. This is winter! I found the hostel easily enough, but only because Google Maps is a gift from Olympus. Dresden doesn't believe in straight lines, and I am quite certain I would have gone in circles a few times if I didn't have a personal GPS tracker. I went out for a wander through the old streets of Dresden, but everything was still closed. It made it a bit of a challenge finding a place for lunch. I wandered through half the city before discovering that the only place open was Burker King in the train station. America! F*** Yeah!

When I was fueled again, I wandered back to the city center to notice that the museums were open. The sun was going down and it was getting much colder, so my interest in museums grew. There was a complex with three museums right next to one another, so this was perfect. The first was an art gallery. The German painters are/were talented, but there are only so many times I can see Jesus and the same few saints painted before I get a little bored. However, I did see a few examples from Hans Holbein, court painter to Henry VIII of England. I don't think I'd ever really appreciated how good he is. The man was photographically detailed. I leaned in close to a portrait he did of an ambassador, and there were wrinkles in between the fingers, texture of the leather gloves, and folds of the man's brow that were uncanny. I stared in amazement more at that painting than I had at any in a long time. 

The second museum was a collection of old scientific and mathematical instruments. Needless to say, I spent more time in there. I had never seen such a museum, and it made me appreciate the Saxon kings a little more, since this was a personal collection. There was a mechanical calculator made by Blaise Pascal! There were astronomical clocks charting the position of each planet daily! There were parabolic reflectors designed to melt metals! The precision of these centuries old instruments was incredible. This is the second geek-out experience of the trip. I saw Wankel's prototype rotary engine in Munich, and I saw Blaise Pascal's mechanical calculator in Dresden. Love it. 

The third museum was dedicated to porcelain, as in the nearby town of Meissen was the first European porcelain factory. There were many Chinese examples, so you could see that it took Europeans a while to approach that level of skill. However, they did think big. They made huge statues and centerpieces in the shapes of animals and people. Honestly, I didn't know that was ever done. I know stoneware statues are common enough, but I'd never imagined porcelain versions. There's a reason why, too, because most statues had large cracks caused during the heating process. Many had no glazes because they weren't sure what damage another trip to the kiln would do. Still, the pieces were impressive enough. 

Saturday 12/27/2014

One unfortunately unavoidable aspect of hostels is having to survive snorers in the room. I was in a two person room, as the larger less expensive rooms were all booked, and I shared the room with an elephant mixed with a Diesel engine in the form of a short Asian man. My earplugs are not designed to block out those decibels. I ended up having to switch to my earphones and put on loud yet relaxing music. It was the only way to get any sleep and not contemplate murder. I mean, it's not his fault. He is not intentionally snoring. Still, my goodness does that man have volume!

It was even colder today, but thankfully the stores were all open, so I stopped frequently to escape the cold. I saw some beautiful churches and a statue of Martin Luther before I decided that more museums were in order. Dresden had some quirky ones, starting with the museum of health. It was devoted to the human body and everything involved with it. Some of the displays were in English, but most weren't. Still, it was fascinating. There was a display on movement that included a video comparing average walking speeds and strides in several countries. Apparently, the Irish are the fastest and the Brazilians are slowest. I have no idea how this was compiled, but it doesn't seem to be a difficult thing to measure. There were also videos showing the quirks of regional dancing. The Russian display was incredible, as was the Spanish flamenco and the Bavarian knee/foot slapping thing. For America? Square dancing. That's right, square dancing. Oy. Anyway, there was also a computer filled room with interactive bilingual activities exploring memory and aspects of the mind. There was even one that had me strap on an electrode headband and try to control a ball by relaxing my mind. Apparently thinking "holy shit, this is awesome!" is not relaxing, so I lost that game. There was also a room devoted to sexual behavior and function. This is a heavily kids-friendly museum, too. The Germans just are much more open about sex. I think this is a healthy thing. 

The other museum that took up most of my day was the military history museum. The Germans have a long and complex history with military things, and they were totally open about it. The display on WWI was the first I had ever seen from the perspective of the Germans. It was eye opening. Apparently there were as many pacifist movements in Germany as anywhere else. They were as excited by war at the beginning as every other country, and just as horrified by it after a couple months. What I hadn't realized was that the German navy mutinied in 1918, seeing no point in the fighting. That was a big thing that brought the Kaiser down and ended the war. Having survived 8 years of George W Bush, I understand the idea of being embarrassed by the leadership of the country. There was even an excavated and reconstructed trench, complete with artifacts found at the dig. It was quite a display, and quite a museum. On a side note, I also learned that the region of Hessen, from where my ancestors moved, was in the dead center of the fighting during the 30 years war of the 1600's. Much of the fighting then was done by mercenaries, and the Hessians got used to the profession, being geographically center as they were. That started their military mercenary days, which is why the British started using them when the Hanoverian kings (who were German, after all) took over Britain. 

After a day of museums, I browsed for a place to eat on my way back to the hostel. I ended up finding a nice Italian place advertising local beer from Meissen. I discovered that pasta does in fact go very well with German lager. The Axis makes gastronomic sense. 

Sunday 12/28/2014 Berlin

The train to Berlin was efficient as ever, and I took my last journey quite happy to have done the country by train. Hauptbanhof (main train station) is becoming familiar now. I got some lunch before walking to the hostel. I probably should have taken the subway, but I do enjoy a good walk. The hostel was my second Wombat's hostel, and I am starting to like them. They are a small chain in Berlin, Munich, Vienna, and Budapest, but they organize themselves well. The rooms are nice, the showers are hot, and they provide lockers that are operated by the room key card. That's pretty slick. They also integrate a decent bar into the hostel, which is always fun. 

I rested, took a shower, and then wandered around the area to familiarize myself. I was very close to Alexanderplatz, which is a major shopping and transport center in the city, so that was nice and convenient. Since I needed to take a bus to the airport from there, I made sure I found out where to catch it. Since I had two more days in Berlin, I decided to relax on is one, taking advantage again of these saunas that are so popular in Germany. Since it had become quite freezing, a sauna is perfect. Plus, there was NFL to watch. The Steelers game decided the division, so I wanted to watch. However, it was the night game at home, starting at 2:30 am Berlin time. Hey, I am on vacation. I wanted to watch. So, I slept for about 4 hours before the game, then I streamed it on my iPad downstairs. When the game ended at 5:30, I went back to bed, happy to have seen a good game. 

Monday 12/29/2014

Most of my explorations before had been on the western half of the city or along the wall, where all the touristy parts are. So, I decided to wander around the eastern half today. I started down Karl Marx Allee, which had originally been Stalin Allee, and I saw why it was considered the model of the communist thoroughfare. Long, wide, straight road with imposing but not overly tall buildings, all pretty plain and functional in their grandure. It was a freezing day, so I was eager to stop wherever I could. I happened across a museum dedicated to video games, and I just couldn't resist. They had a mini arcade that reminded me of my childhood, and I played asteroid for a while. The museum was small, but it did cover every aspect of video game design and history. It was fascinating. Well, for me. 

It has snowed heavily the night before, but the sun was shining bright. It was my first beautiful winter day of the season, and there were many parks in the east, so I wandered through them. Kids were sledding (or sledging, as the Brits call it), dogs were frolicking, and the snow was shining. It was gorgeous. For a relatively flat city, the parks had little hills in them, and these would make more sense the next day. 

I headed back toward the center of town and stopped by a couple churches, including the Berlin Cathedral. This cathedral was dedicated to the major figures of Protestantism, but it was grand nonetheless, which I found mildly ironic. The church had several video stations throughout explaining historical and architectural things in a rather cartoonish way. They had English and German versions, so I checked out almost every one. Not surprisingly, Martin Luther was portrayed rather heroically. I explored the dome, which was supposed to have great views of the city, only to find that the snow had forced them to close the outdoor part. I continued through the center of town toward the Brandenburg gate because I always have to see that thing. It is just pretty. It was never anything but symbolic, as it never served as an actual gate. It was night time, and the English language cinema at the Sony center was not far away, so I decided to check out a movie, along with the joy of having beer and popcorn at the movies. I saw the Stephen Hawking biopic "The theory of everything." It was okay, and the acting was good, but the film felt rather forced and pretentious. 

Back at the hostel, I found myself in conversation with my two roommates from Brazil. They were incredibly talkative and incredibly cute (hostels sometimes have coed rooms). Daniela was an engineering student studying in Nuremberg, and Veronica was a medical student visiting her. I learned that Brazil has a government program that pays fully for a year of study abroad in certain subjects like engineering, provided you return to work in Brazil for at least a year after graduation. Daniela had her tuition, room & board, and living expenses paid through this program. That is just brilliant. We had a long discussion about soccer, exchanged travel stories, and talked about general safety in different countries. They thought first that the USA was less safe because of guns, but as we spoke, they mentioned oddly common occurrences in Brazil.  One is getting phones stolen right out of your hand by people running or riding by on a motorcycle. Veronica had hers stolen when she was in her car sitting at a red light. She was sending a text, someone reached right through her open window, snatched it, and sped away. That's disturbing enough. The fact that she said it's relatively common is even worse. It was nothing compared to Daniela's experience of having her father and brother kidnapped by people waiting outside the garage.  They jumped in the car, forced them to drive to the bank and withdraw as much cash as possible, then let them go. Both girls say it is common to look around before stopping at your own garage, as kidnappings of this sort are not unusual. After talking a while, the girls admitted that maybe Brazil is a little unsafe. They hadn't even thought about it, apparently. It's amazing what you get used to. I also found out a little about the Brazilian educational system, another one that has become enamored with standardized tests.  They go particularly far, though, making one big test to rule them all.  The girls thought that's what the USA has with the SAT, but I had to explain that it isn't a required test, or even a highly trusted one in some circles.  Actually, kids in the UK think our SAT is a required test, too.  Anyway, the Brazilians are now pretty well ranked by their performance on this one big test at the end of high school.  That's an incredibly bad idea.  

Tuesday 12/30/2014

My Brazilian friends told me about a WWII bunker tour they loved, so I decided to check it out. I am so glad I did. It was in a subway station, which is why it is still around (most were dismantled, along with all other military/defensive structures post war). It was built mainly for air raids, and though it was used, it wasn't hit directly. This is a very god thing, since it wasn't actually built to the correct specifications. It basically made people feel safe, while not actually providing the thick reinforced roof and ventilation needed to survive a serious assault. One notable feature was the use of glow in the dark paint throughout. If power was lost, the paint would glow for an hour or two. Smart. There were artifacts from other bunkers that had to be dismantled, including an SS one. I saw an SS license plate, which I found to be randomly interesting. He more interesting things were the artifacts from immediately after the war. People were encouraged to "up cycle," or turn whatever lay around the city into useful tools. All the military equipment that lay around was repurposed in this way. I saw a helmet with holes drilled into it to use as a strainer, and others with handles affixed to make them into pots. There were lighters made of old bullet casings, an oven made from a large bomb casing, coffee cups made from artillery shell caps, curtains and dresses made from parachutes, and many others. I learned that many of the bombed out buildings were cleared of bricks that could be used again, then basically left as huge piles of rubble that had no serious practical value. The rubble piles were too numerous to be cleared, and the equipment to do so was rare, so they decided to just cover them with dirt and plant trees. These turned into the hills that are a feature of Berlin parks. If you dig into the beautiful hills that kids were sledding down, you would eventually find the remnants of bombed out buildings. They are called rubble hills. Some of the largest ones are the remnants of bomb shelters/antiaircraft towers. They wanted to destroy them after the war, of course, but they were specifically built to withstand bombing, so they proved rather difficult to destroy. They normally collapsed whatever they could, and again made a tree covered hill. One example was across the street, so I checked that out after the tour. It was big hill indeed on one side, but the other side is a completely intact bomb shelter/antiaircraft tower that now serves as a beautiful lookout over the city. 

That evening, I joined my friend and former colleague Melanie, along with her family, for a hockey game. Mel and her kids had never seen a hockey game before, so I explained the rules as the game went on. It was a great game, too, with the hometown Berlin Polar Bears (Eisbaren) falling behind 2-0 in the first period, then getting a goal in the second, finally tying it late in the third, and winning it with 5 seconds left in overtime. By the end, everyone was cheering like mad, and the kids were hooked on hockey. I was cheering like the loud fan I am throughout, and I received several odd looks from the surrounding crowd. I guess I was louder than the average local fan. Or maybe it was just that I was screaming English phrases like "tee it up!" and "put him in the boards!" that were unfamiliar. Benny, Mel's oldest son, said that he thought the players on the ice might be able to hear me. I said, "I hope so, Benny." The family graciously offered to drive me back to the hostel, and we parted in good spirits. It was approaching midnight, and I needed to get a couple hours of sleep before an early flight back to London. 

Wednesday 12/31/2014 London

It has been a wonderful couple of weeks in Germany. I saw beautiful landscapes, met friendly people, had great food and beer, and learned some interesting history. I will be back again, I am sure. German landscape reminds me enough of Pennsylvania that it's easy to see why so many German immigrants settled there. I see familiar quirks in German behavior that make me realize just what mom meant when she would say "that's the German in you" when I was young. Germany is my ancestral home.