Finally in my favorite spot to write, the previously mentioned HADAG #62 Ferry on the Elbe. (One of the perks of an unlimited transit pass, the ferry becomes a floating café! If only they had wi-fi here…) Not only do you get that fun feeling of being on the water, but you get to watch all the tourists enjoying their first views of the truly awesome port of Hamburg. Right now, the ferry is rich with the unmistakable sounds of Austrian accents, as the Rapid Wien is playing the Hamburger SV in the big Europa-League game tonight. Your faithful correspondent will be in attendance tonight, and is rather excited, as it will be his first European soccer game! (A full report will, of course, follow)

As the last post was supposed to be a highlights reel, and turned into a rather lengthly work of prose, I am going to endeavor to keep this post relatively short, but talk a bit about what I have been up to at school, something which hasn't come up in this blog too much.
Things have been changing around a lot recently at school, as we perennially find ourselves a few teachers short… the unfortunate death of one of our colleagues, the pregnancy of the teacher with whom I worked most closely, and the wave of illness, including the swine-flu (PC: "New Flu") that hit the school, as if to announce for all of those who were unaware the arrival of old man Winter. The indications have been legion: the cold, the ever shorter days, the impenetrable fog, the sudden disappearance of all the tables and chairs from the sidewalks, or at least the stacking up and/or chaining together thereof, and last but certainly not least, the appearance of scarves around the neck of every passer-by. (See the picture of the HSV fans above!)
I spent the vast majority of my time at school working with the 7d and 8d, as their teacher CO**, knew she would be leaving sometime around Christmas break, and it would convenient for me to take over the class when she was ill, and make the transition easier when new teachers had to be found for the class. This point came a lot earlier than we though, i.e. last week, so I have recently been taking over a lot of classes. I've had some fun lessons with both of these classes, and we get along pretty well. The 8d has recently adopted a terrarium of "stick bugs" (there apparently is no better translation of Stabheuschrecke) as their class pets, and are always happy when I stay after class to help them feed their little friends. I also help out my mentor, Sel, with some of her classes, her 12b and 9e. With the 12th graders, we have been covering various aspects of the history and culture of India, as this is one of the possible themes for the Zentralabitur, the recently centralized mother of all final exams, required for acceptance at all German universities. I have also done a series of lessons on Media, both the MSM and the so-called "New Media" blogs, podcasts, and various forms of social media with Bo's 10 graders, an analysis of two poems with Tz's 13th graders, and am working with Htm on an ongoing series of lessons centering around the film "Erin Brockovich." This series will end with a mock trial-like discussion, which I think the kids will enjoy a lot.

** N.B. Out of respect for the privacy of the teachers I work with, I will be referring to them by their Kürzel, an abbreviation that every teacher at a German school gets. My Kürzel, in case you were wondering, is Smi.