Wednesday's update...posted two days late

Wednesday, January 14th

While I wrote just a day ago, there is much to say about the events of the past three days and what is to come. I will not have a chance to write again this week, so posting today seemed to be a logical choice. Tomorrow evening Tom and I will be attending the DoDDS Jazz festival outside of Hiedelberg, a concert with both a Jazz band and choir and features the best players and singers the DoDDS high schools have to offer. The concert will run late in the evening and I will be staying the night at Tom’s house so he does not have to drive an hour out of his way to take me home. His house, according to Sandy is quite the place and I look forward to seeing it. Friday, being the beginning of a three day weekend, offers another chance for adventure, and I will head out to most likely Munich and the concentration camp that is near by. It looks to be quite the weekend.

Back to the events of earlier this week. On Monday, Tom and I headed to Baumholder’s Middle/High School and observed his colleague Patrick F. Casey. He is a very talented teacher and his passion for the subject and his students shows. I was asked to present a little bit about the range of the clarinet and talked to the students about it’s tone and the amazing range the clarinet has. I was able to show them that I too am still learning, as in my private practice I have been working on successfully playing the high A. It’s a work in progress to say the least. After his first class, one of Patrick’s students approached me saying he’d always wanted to play an instrument like the clarinet because of it’s range, but couldn’t because he was missing his pointer finger on his right hand. We talked instead about the variety of instruments he could play and how brass instruments, like the french horn, have a large range, is challenging to play, and only requires three fingers. He was able to get excited about the prospect and left with a smile on his face. A “completely random happenstance” occurred in the next class, in which a student approached me to say hello. She was a former MCT camper and had had me as a counselor for counselor switch during the 2007 camp season. She was unable to return this past summer due to the fact she was living abroad! I couldn’t believe that even over here I would run into students from my past.

After school, Tom and I went to Kaiserslaughtern to get dinner. We had a little time to kill so he took me to the train station and I made reservations for my trip to Berlin and Paris, on ICE trains (very quick - to Paris in two hours - and with a meal). It is very exciting to have that ready to go, as the dates are quickly approaching. We then went to dinner at Club 21, a cafe on the 21st floor of the Kaiserslaughtern’s tallest building. The dinner and the view were both wonderful. We were able to take our time and enjoy the meal as well as the company. After dinner, Tom took me to play in the German community band he is a part of. It was a learning experience to say the least and I was surprised at how easily I was able to follow along with the rehearsal, although none of it was said in English. Music is a universal language after all, and while I would have struggled had the directors tried to give me any notes specifically, when singing what they were looking for or providing motions I could decode it well enough and played just fine. The other players were very kind to me and I enjoyed myself immensely. The music was a mix between polka/marches and bad eighties movies music hits. What a kick.

The next day was a tough one, as I was tired due to the late return home after band, but many great things were accomplished. I conducted the beginning band for the first time, and although I was nervous and lacked confidence, it wasn’t half bad. While I prefer teaching Language Arts and/or Social Studies, it is good to know that by the end of this I will be able and confident in front of the podium. During the next block I went and spent some time with the middle school counselor, Greg Holly. We discussed the challenges children living abroad with family in the military face and the extra stress they take on with constantly moving or family members being deployed to hot zones such as the middle east. We talked about the many students who struggle with forming meaningful relationships, seeing as they move every few years. Students often fail to invest in friendships for they see them ending in a short time anyway. Greg struggles with teaching them the value of forming meaningful relationships with classmates, a value that is important when it comes to forming relationships later in life. It was a riveting discussion and we talked about many important things these particular children struggle with. It made for a good day.

Today I conducted again, but with greater confidence and I found myself enjoying it much more than the previous day. I felt better about it and therefore the students got more out of the experience. It keeps getting easier, as I conducted two bands this time and I hope to continue doing so as the weeks go on. I even joined the percussion section in the last band of the day, playing the bass drum to help the ensemble keep the beat. As Tom said “It’s always fun to get to hit something during the day.” I whole-heartedly agree. I look forward to the events later this week and this coming weekend and can’t wait to tell you all about in my next entry.

Until then,
Katie

~This is posted a day or two late due to lack of access to my blog...darn the school internet blocking my blog site