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We all have our idols, heroes and role models. Sometimes they are people in our family or friends and sometimes they are strangers, who are just familiar to us because of their fame. A lot of times these strangers are our heroes for their looks or their talents. I have been a fan of Cornelia Funke ever since I read Inkheart. I love her imaginative young adult books and have read quite a few of them. I admire Funke's talent to bring stories to life and fill my head with vivid images that stay with me way after I am done reading her books. (After reading Reckless I can still see Jacob's world and whenever I listen to Peter Fox's Das Zweite Gesicht oder Ich deine Steine, Du Steine, as this was my soundtrack during the book.) After finding Funke's facebook page for her trilogy Reckless I sent her a message online. I didn't really think I was going to hear anything back from her, but I just wanted to leave a little note, telling her how much I enjoy her books. Little did I know that this little note would not only be answered 5 minutes later, but would also open up a wonderful opportunity not only for me but also for my students. Mrs. Funke offered to send autographs for my students as well as a signed book to PAMS. She even offered to personalize the autographed cars with the studens' names which I though was going to be a really great surprise for my students. In all of my German classes I collected the names of the students who had read Conelia Funke's books and send them to her office via e-mail. What we got back was just plain amazing. Not only did we get back 48 personalized autographs and one signed book, we got about 10 signed books (in German and English), about 30 more bookmarks with her signature and 2 audiobooks! I was down right stunned when I opened the package. As a Thank you, the students helped me to film a video to send back to Frau Funke (which is being edited at the moment) and every student signed the Shirt on the picture above.
I would have never thought that my one little message to Frau funke would lead me to receive all this for my students and me. The generosity Frau Funke has shown is amazing and really knocked me off my feet. Today, Frau Funke you have made a German teacher and her students very happy. Thank you for giving our school some of your greatest stories. Today you are my hero! ....nothing is going to get better. It's not. Dr. Seuss' famous words were true when he was still alive and they are now more true than ever. After we just finished a unit on the environment in German 1, there couldn't have been a better way to finish of the week than by watching The Lorax. The animation was amazing though unfortunately some of the dialogue was lacking a bit and didn't do justice to Dr. Seuss' writing style. Still, it's the message that is important: We need trees to live! We can't destroy our environment or we will pay the price.
As part of the environment unit I showed my class the documentary "Blue Gold: World Water Wars." I had told my students how this documentary made me stop buying bottled water. I though that the reference in the Lorax that "people will buy anything that comes in a plastic bottle" was just great. I hope that viewers realized that it is not just outrageous that air gets bottled in The Lorax, but it is just as ridiculous that we are buying bottled water when we can have the same for much cheaper from our tap. Great kids' stories like The Lorax are hopefully reaching children all over the country/ world teaching them what is really important in life. I hope that thoughtful parents take the opportunity to talk to their children after watching the movie and making sure they understand the message. The wonderful imaginary mind of Dr. Seuss presents great potential for life long lessons. Happy German American Day!!!! German American Day has been signed into law in 1987 by then president Ronald Reagan. "Few people have blended so completely into the multicultural tapestry of American society and yet have made such singular economic, political, social, scientific, and cultural contributions to the growth and success of these United States as have Americans of German extraction." -President Ronald Reagan, 1987 In my classes we celebrated German American Day with a Scavenger Hunt and by making posters ahead of time. But we're obviously not the only ones celebrating.... How did you celebrate German American Day? Did you wear the colors of the German flag? Did you eat some German food?
During this hot summer I had lots of time on my hands. I wasn't going away on vacation or back home to Germany and so I kept myself busy with painting and DIY projects. It was so nice to have time to do these things again after having been so busy with school and work. I love creating new things or revamping old things. There is something really satisfying about seeing the before and after of a painting project or the end result when creating something new. One of the things I made this summer is a mason jar light string. I saw different versions of this on etsy and immediately thought: "I can do this myself!" So off I went to get the materials I needed. And voila! in a really short time I created these lights. These lights really are an easy project for a lazy afternoon hour. They are quick to make and give off a really nice light. I was going to hang them outside but unfortunately we can't hang them there. They do still look fantastic in our bright blue living room though. And here are the instructions in case you want to make your own:
Materials: String lights (10 on a string- target), 1/2 pint mason jars (amazon.com, they come in a pack of 12 which leaves you two for jelly making!), wire (1/16" thick about 11' long depending on the length of your light string), drill (I used a 3/32" bit), stops and ferrules (you need to put a stop on each side of the mason jar, so you need 20 stops), super glue Instructions:
I hope these instructions where helpful! Good luck with your project! I hope you love your lights as much as I love mine. Wow, where did November go? I can't believe how fast this month went by and how much closer I am to not only be done with my last semester at West Chester, but also how much closer I am to being home for the holidays. We had the first snow on Thursday not only in Philadelphia, but also in Münster, where my family lives. If you ask me, it is way too early for this. What it isn't too early for though is to think about the upcoming Adventszeit. That's right - this Sunday is the first advent! For the advent time (the four Sundays before Christmas eve) Germans put out an Adventskranz with four candles. Every Sunday you light one candle, until at the fourth Sunday all candles are lit. Originally this is a Christian tradition, but there are many families who do this for, well decoration, not for the religious reasons. Whatever the reason, it is a nice tradition. My crafty brother actually just started making a modern wood version of this with the help of his wife, who takes care of the decoration. They are selling them with different decorations on their website. Here is what one of them looks like. I personally love candles and I don't think that there should be any reason to put this away right after Christmas. It just becomes part of your own winter wonderland in your living room. Gemütlichkeit is the keyword here! One tradition that I love more than anything is the Advenskalender. Who doesn't like to open a little present every day? And I have been pretty spoiled when it comes to this, as our Adventskalender are always hand-filled with nothing but our favorite candy or little treats. Noticed how I said are, instead of were? That's because my mom still makes me one every year. I am spoiled! There are so many different Adventskalender in all shapes and forms and it can be a lot of fun for crafty people to make their own. The Norddeutsche Rundfunk (NDR) has a great idea for a decorative Adventskalender, all together with a description on how to make it. Click here to view the video (German). Or how about this one, shown in the picture below? Adventskalender vital-genuss.de This Adventskalender from vital-genuss.de is also easy to make, cute to look at and made from environmentally friendly products. Just click on the picture to get to their website and the instructions (German). I hope that this might inspire someone to get crafty and make their own Adventskalender, rather than buying the, may I say, boring one that is already filled with the same chocolate everyday. I'd love to post a picture of the snowman Adventskalender that I made years back, but unfortunately it's still in Germany as it was too heavy and big to take with me when I moved. But maybe if I can find any time within the next couple days, I will make this one from vital-genuss. I will just need someone to come and fill it for me... typischer deutscher Weihnachtsmarkt With the holidays right around the corner, it is a nice time to learn more about some German traditions. The pre-Christmas time is easily my favorite holiday time in Germany. Trees are decorated with little white lights (very few families use colored lights), the smell of Mohnkuchen, Lebkuchen, Glühwein and Kinderpunsch is in the air and friends and families are getting together from all over the country - or in my case - from all over the world. It's the one time in the long winter months that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside even though it is usually cold and dark outside. One of the best German traditions is the German Weihnachtsmarkt. Depending on the size of the town the Weihnachtsmarkt might last from a single weekend up to a whole month. There are many little wooden houses that are put up and decorated with evergreen tree branches, white lights and Christmas ornaments. They sell food, handmade items, Christmas decoration, hot drinks and much more. It always makes for a great night to go for a stroll with some friends, eat something, enjoy some hot chocolate or hot wine and look for some items to decorate your house with. Unfortunately, not all of us can go to Germany to take part in this wonderful event, but there are some similar events, right here in PA. There is the Bethlehem Christkindlmarkt every Thursday through Sunday from November 26th to December 19th. Another Weihnachtsmarkt is right in front of City hall in Philadelphia. The Christmas Village in Philadelphia opens its doors from November 25th until December 24th. While certainly not as great as the original, the events are worth checking out. Enjoy some German treats and get into the spirit! Midterm elections were held yesterday in the USA. The Democrats lost many seats to the Republicans. They lost their majority in the house of congress, but held on to the senate. Die Tagesschau is featuring an article about the outcome of this vote today. Read it here, in German, to get an outsider's opinion on the election.
There are so many different stereotypes about Germans that are true, partly true or complete humbug. It is hard to stereotype over 80 million people, because not everyone of them is punctual, tall, blond, efficient or enjoys a good bit of Schadenfreude. Another problem with stereotyping is that two Germans from two different regions will have stereotypes for each other, much like you find them in the U.S. On "Die deutsche Welle" I found a little category in which Germans are separated by region to show you what a real Münsterländer or Bayer is like. This, while also not true for everyone, is much more accurate than most of what you will find in a textbook.
When I first heard about this documentary I was eager to pledge for it to be able to see it. While I am not a big movie person, I really like watching documentaries and this one, being about the current state of education in the U.S., seemed to be right up my alley. Well, I went to see it with a friend of mine last week and the beginning enthusiasm about this documentary quickly faded.
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