Frau Stephens

So, here are the latest entries from my teaching internship...it's been a little slow because of Easter break-and now it's testing season.

Break was wonderful, I went to Graz and Budapest, saw a 5 hour opera in Budapest-Wagner's Parsifal...and I'm glad I had previously studied it because the untertiteln (subtitles) were in Hungarian!
In Graz Nathan and I biked around the whole city with a 5 Euro bike rental :) and discovered the wonders of Baerlauch Suppe...which is a seasonal Austrian delight. We made some for dinner last night. Nathan sprained his ankle, so he's been hobbling around cripple-style. Europe is NOT handicap friendly.

Baerlauch Suppe:
Otherwise known as "bear's garlic" or "Ransam" I guess. It's a leafy plant that tastes soo good.

2 Liters of water, with boullion cubes (we used vegetable, a.k.a. gemusesuppe werfeln)

fry the baerlauch in too much butter until all dark green, then add the leaves to the boiling broth.

Keep the butter juices and fry a small chopped onion.

Add a quarter liter of cream to the soup pot

add the onion when it's ready

Add as much white wine to taste

If you would like...add some grated cheddar on top with some chopped Basil

SERVE!


Okay so back to the journal:
Thursday A big bust! Today there was a huge student strike at Stephansdom against the new demands made by the minister of Education. Only two kids were there, a boy and girl. Heidi explained to me that these kids were outsiders and the reason they didn’t know about he strike could be attributed to their lonerness. We had a talk about some things I’ve adjusted to by living in a forgein country and I got to know two students a little better in return. It was a nice dialogue, Heidi left the room to take care of some other business and I chatted with the students.In the second period I led a lesson about Identity protection and what worries the new generation holds for the future. How our facebook and myspace pages might effect hiring processes in the near and far future. To my surprise most of the kids didn’t have a facebook or a myspace, and the class was a little small. So the discussion wasn’t entirely fruitful, but I think I did get them to thinking a little bit.
Friday I wasn’t needed because the student are all preparing for the Matura, which is a great test at the end of the year most comparative to an exit exam and the SATs all in one. It’s a source of great stress to students and covers all of the major subjects (including English). I’ve been working with Bernadette Fina all year to prepare her for the English portion of the Matura, although I doubt she needs the help-she’s an enormously talented girl. Anyways, today they took a practice test, which was their last school exam before the matura. If a student fails the Matura, they have two more attempts before they have officially failed at the gymnasium level…it’s a serious thing. Anyways, I got to sleep in  Heidi also gave me some chocolate liquer-filled Easter eggs for the season.  I’m very excited for Easter break (and here I can actually call it that). Heidi has also invited me to travel with her into the Alps right after finals! I’m going wandering with a real Austrian!
Thursday/Friday I came in Thursday for second period, because its test season, and Heidi didn’t need me for her first class. In the second hour I led the same lesson about Identity protection to a different set of students.
Identity Protection

What is dangerous about posting compromising photos online?
What consequences could this potentially have on our future?
What are some ways you can use your myspace/facebook/twitter/etc. without putting yourself in any trouble?
What is your opinion on our generation? What makes us so well documented? Is this a positive or negative thing?
We discussed the repercussions of the future and what we think might happen in presidential races when we become eligible. We talked about the differences in a 16 year old holding a beer in Austria versus the US…and about how a deleted picture off of facebook still remains on the data base. We also covered the validity of emails as legal documents and how technology is changing the documentation of our young lives. Heidi split the class into two groups, and had most of the girls with me at first. We finished our talk pretty early, and I invited them to an open forum discussion with me, about anything they’d like to talk about. I learned that they went to Chicago for three weeks in October and attended an American high school! I asked them what kind of things they did in the city and what they liked or didn’t like about our system. In Austria, the students have a home room and the teachers go class to class. They laughed when the bell rang and I asked them if they needed to take off. “No, YOU have to get going!” Oh…yeah…I knew that…They are really fascinated with America and California in particular. So that’s easy points for me!
FridayI was again not needed for the little ones or the older kids…testing! I feel bad, but I don’t mind sleeping in.