LEOLingo Camps für Kinder, Neumarkt, Germany

First Day of Training: Friday, July 22, 2011 

I was suppose to meet Daniel at the Nürnberg station so we could both catch a train out of the city to Neumarkt, but because I got in 20 minutes late, and I couldn’t find wifi, and I couldn’t read the German on the pay phone, I had little time to call his number.  After I did ask two girls if they spoke English and if they could help me, they called the number and I got a voicemail of a guy speaking German and giving me another number to call! I talked to information and then got in line to buy a ticket for Neumarkt when an older man noticed that I was clicking English and aimlessly rummaging through the ticket options.  He spoke no English whatsoever, and I’ve gotta say, after that pay phone experience and wasting $2+ on pointless phone calls, and running out of time to catch my train, I was running low on confidence.  At first, I kind of blew him off, just because of the moment and then I flashed back to Paris when that turd of a man ripped me off! But I could see the trust in his eyes and he was probably mid-70s…isn’t it funny when people just automatically trust old people?

                  He gathered another random guy, and the his two friends to make 5, bought a 5 pack of tickets (which are cheaper than individual tickets), and then they helped me to the train and saw me off to the correct stop! WOW. I am really getting to love Germans… like seriously.  I got to Neumarkt at about 12noon and I just prayed that Danny got on a train anyway, and sure enough there he was standing in the doorway in Neumarkt. We instantly laughed and hugged, telling both of our sides of the story. We went outside the station where I instantly met 20 of my co-counsellors; people I’ve been waiting nearly 5 months to meet! Meep! After all of the facebook messages, and picture-stalking, and inside joke-making, this moment was finally here!  Everyone is so wonderful and outgoing for the most part. That majority of us are from the US and UK, but we have one girl from Sydney, three Canadians, a Scottish girl, and one from Belfast N. Ireland!  We went through the basic format of the camps, but then the rest of the day we learned songs, games, and then took turns in pairs introducing and presenting the game to the group. (It was our first test as teachers to 10-year-olds).  That pretty much took us to 7pm when our host families picked us up.

My host parents are both SO sweet; I can tell that they are both intelligent and very successful as well. They just built a new house that they’ve only been in about a year and a half.  They have two daughters, 9 and 10. Their house is a bit out of the city but they’re going to lend me a bike, or they gave me maps so I could take the bus or the train in town every morning.  They gave me a tour of the house and it was so cute, the whole family just followed along into each room, just watching me. We had a “traditional” German dinner: 5 different kinds of sausage/bolognas and 3 cheeses, avocado, butter, vegetables, ae: things you all put on bread, and my favorite: peanut butter!  Most of the meal was me listening to German, but that’s okay because the girls were a bit shy to speak English; I didn’t mind.  After dinner, I helped clean the kitchen while Andrea put the girls to bed. I stayed up until about 11:30pm talking to them about school systems, LEOLingo camps, I showed them some pictures of home and Uni too. We talked about travling, news papers/National Geographic, family, etc.  I can tell that my host mom was the one that was all about hosting me.  She is a very motivating person and she expressed to me how much she loves studying other languages and cultures.  Just talking to Andrea I get so exciting for my journey on the weekends or after camp. Next weekend they’re having a music festival in Nürnberg so I hope I can ge there. I told them that I’m a history geek and I said I wanted to visit the courthouse of the Nürnberg trials… I hope I stay a bit next weekend yet so I can!

Day 2 of Training: Saturday, July 23, 2011

                  Day 2 was long but fun. We did more training and teaching games to each other. Afterward, Andrea (co-founder of LEOLingo) hosted us all at her lovely house for a BBQ and campfire. It was lovely, and her and her husband had just moved in about a year ago after building a beautiful home in the country.

                  Anyway, Andrea and her husband, Tobi have adopted two adorable little Thai boys= ADORABLE! It just makes me really excited for my Godchild someday.   Anyway, there was good company at the cookout; we sang songs and had good beer and laughs, etc. Eleven o’clock came around and my host father picked me up. On the way home, I couldn’t get over how many stars were so bright in the sky. We’re a bit in the country so the sky is lit up with stars compared to street lights.  We returned back to our house and my family was actually attending a block party for their street.  They had been out all night, cooking, dancing, drinking.  I arrived for the last 10 or so campfire songs.  Surprisingly, a few of them were in English.  They all knew the words, even though it was fun to listen to their accents anyway.  There was a moment where we sang “Country Road” and I actually teared up a bit. ‘Take me home, country road’. . . whatever, it’s a good song!  I couldn’t help but take it in. There I was, sitting amongst all Germans, somewhere in the countryside, with a great crisp night air and an awesome warm fire.  I have been waiting for this: for the camp to start, for me to physically be in Europe again.  It was all happening.

                  I ended up talking to a man sitting beside me and his relatives are from LaCrosse.  People in the “koom-by-ah”” circle all knew I was American, right away. Almost all of them tried to at least say something to me, and one guy spoke a bit of spanish with me! Just true, kind Germans.  My host mother kept saying that their kindness has enhanced by all of the wine… I didn’t care! Willkommen in Deutschland!

Day 3: Today was a rough fight for energy, and it seemed that same way with my two host sisters. Granted, they’re 9 and 10, but let’s just say that the breakfast table wasn’t very lively this morning.  I had a new sausage (surprised yet?), and then ended breakfast trying to perk myself up by eating the pink rose yogurt (yum!).

At camp, we each got another new game and presented it to the group. Andrea had individual meetings with us today and ask about our preferences. I told her I wasn’t planning on taking vacation time, that I preferred night camps and night shifts, and that I was interested in the other camp in the Baltic Sea at the end of the summer… we’ll see what happens!

I biked today and on the way home, I couldn’t help but take photos. A segment of the ride is right along side the railroad tracks and on the other side of me? Fields of tall grass with the neighborhoods and bluffs in the backdrop. Dinner was good and I just know that the girls understand me, but they’re too shy. My host dad and I rode up to some old castle ruins to catch the sunset. It sits atop the tallest bluff in Neumarkt and there are only stone dumbled walls and one tower left. No one knows when it began occupation but the earliest date that is documented there is 1120!  Afterward, we went to another former castle in town, which is now the courthouse. The little square there is so cool! (Yes, not to worry, I took photos!)

The time in the car brought great conversation. My host dad is an extremely intelligent man, or so I am quickly learning. He’s the quiet type that just watches, but you know he’s thinking something or solving the world by starring at whatever people are doing. 

Anyway, in about 40 minutes of driving, I noticed less than 10 houses did not have solar panels on their roofs.  After my 21 questions, my dad explained that there was a law passed that regulations say that if you build a new house, there are certain percentages that need to be sustainable energy with solar power.  Their house is less than 2 years old, and he said that just their one panel alone takes care of all of the hot water supply.  Remind me again, why don’t Americans care about stuff like this? That was a good question that I actually asked him. (lol).

Of the many things that they have already done (ae: printed out concert line ups, given bus/train tickets and plans, handed out maps, fed me, fed me, etc. etc.) my parents actually gave me one of their old cell phones. I got a SIM card today so the last thing I needed was a new phone, and now, I have one! They are just so wonderful and helpful!

After a long weekend of training, the first "mock week" was a test of our counsellor skills at the local school. We were all put in teams of two so that we could co-teach a class of kids.  It was their last week of school and while we weren't conducting whole days, 8am-12pm is still hard work when you're nervous about following program procedure and keeping German kids in line.

I was paired up with Rob, the hysterical Brit whom never hesitates to speak his mind.  We had a blast together and I feel that we work fairly well together. I can only hope that we'll be together in the coming weeks!

This first week of training took a lot of energy out of me. I would leave the house by 7am and get home about 7pm.  Two of the nights, a good group of us met in Neumarkt at a biergarden.  Both nights I enjoyed a nice, lengthy bike ride home beneath the stars and singing my way through the countryside fields.  One night Danny and I laid beside the railroad tracks while we gazed at the zillions of stars and talked about life. Summer was in full swing and I was loving it.