Winter Wonderland

Yesterday school was cancelled for the first time since I have been here. It was a good thing, too, because ice covered everything.  Fortunately, a few inches of snow have fallen since then, and it was safe to walk around and take pictures today.  I felt like a tourist again in my own town. I already have pictures of most of these things already, but what doesn't look prettier with a few inches of fresh snow?

Schneeflöckchen, Weissröckchen

Coming from an area that sees an inch of snow a decade, I wanted so badly to have snow during my first winter in Germany.  Of course, I barely saw any.  This December, though, my wish came true just in time for my Texan visitors. What better place to have snow than in picturesque Rothenburg ob der Tauber?

Mom and me in Rothenburg

  

We saw some big flakes at the Christmas market there, but by the time we got to Bamberg the following day, it had almost all melted.



Bamberg Altstadt

  
It didn't matter, though, because just a few short days later we have lots of snow right here outside of my window!

view from my window at 4:30 pm--it's still snowing!

Seasons

It finally snowed this morning! It's not much by German standards, but it's enough to cover the ground and to make me feel that winter has arrived.

Seeing true changes in seasons is a new thing for this Texas girl.

view from the balcony in August

November

January

I love fresh snow!  I quickly took some pictures this morning because I knew the snow wouldn't last.  On my walk to the grocery store, it started raining.  On the way back, then, I carried groceries uphill for half a mile in the snow while it rained. Jealous? ;)

The Beginning

I have been teaching in a Texas public school for several years now, and lately I have wanted to do something different.  I like my job and my school, so it wouldn’t be enough just to change school districts—I want to get out of the country! 

With that in mind, I attended an international job fair. For my first job fair ever, I picked a big one, with over 120 schools from about 60 countries attending despite the crazy weather. The fair organizers said keep an open mind, cast a wide net, interview with schools from places you’ve never heard of—the problem with that was that I did my homework, and by the time of the fair, there weren’t any places I hadn’t heard of. I knew which schools I was interested in (and Texas schools weren’t yet talking about laying off teachers). So, I did exactly what the fair organizers said NOT to do:  I focused on only a handful of schools, knowing full well that I could end up going back to my current job. In the end, it was as good strategy for me. I only had three initial interviews, but I ended up with two job offers—both in the country I had dreamed, hoped, and prayed I’d get a job in:  Germany. 

My departure date is July 31^st… it sounds far away, but that’s only four months to pack up everything (or just get rid of it) and start a new job in a new country!    

Lots of snow at the fair in Boston...good practice for Germany!