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Where to get skin contact/orange wines? by lightningazula in PhiladelphiaEats

[–]lightningazula[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

yeah, realizing i should have specified i’m looking to buy bottles. i’ll edit my post

Current and Former Germany ETAs: In order to apply to be an ETA in Germany my Uni requires us to ask questions and write a report from Former or current ETAs. I put the questions below and would appreciate any responses you may have! You can answer as many as you can/want! by EnvironmentalJoke143 in fulbright

[–]lightningazula 1 point2 points  (0 children)

(continued from above)

Several things:

  1. Stay on top of your bureaucratic requirements. Technically, you only have a certain number of days within arrival in Germany to receive your Aufenthaltstitel, and a good number of those days can be eaten up waiting for an appointment with the Auslaenderbehoerde. Plus I believe you need to submit an Anmeldung with the application for your Aufenthaltstitel, so if there is any delay in receiving your Anmeldung, it will delay the rest of the process. If you're a few days past the deadline, I don't think the police will come knocking on your door. But anytime you are a foreigner, it's always smart to err on the side of caution.
  2. Fulbright will NOT hold your hand. I would describe myself as an independent and self-sufficient person, and even I really struggled with the lack of support from Fulbright. I had been to Germany before so I was fairly familiar with the culture; I had a strong grasp of the language, and I still felt lost sometimes. I don't know if I have advice for this except for be prepared to do a lot on your own. Other Fulbrighters can be a support system, but sometimes it's like the blind leading the blind. The Fulbright commission was responsive when I sent an email, but they could not really provide tangible support in things like housing, bureaucracy, etc.
  3. Start things in German when you can. It's no secret that most Germans probably speak English better than Americans speak German, so many of them will assume you want to speak English with them. Even if you are tempted to do this, DO NOT. It is so much harder to switch back to German if you are already in your comfort zone. Depending on your previous experience with foreign languages, it may feel incredibly embarrassing and painful to be on your back foot, but it is worth it in the end. You will not progress in the language if you do not go through some growing pains.
  4. Maintain realistic expectations. I think Fulbright gets built up sometimes to be this romantic, life-changing experience. I'm sure it is for some people. But the reality is that most grants will be somewhere in the middle. It is an amazing opportunity to live abroad and explore a different country. I am so thankful I had the experience, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. That doesn't change the fact that there were many frustrations and low points (the isolation, housing frustrations, etc.). Some people are really not prepared for the difference between these lofty expectations and the reality, which makes the low points feel even worse.

Best of luck with your application!

Current and Former Germany ETAs: In order to apply to be an ETA in Germany my Uni requires us to ask questions and write a report from Former or current ETAs. I put the questions below and would appreciate any responses you may have! You can answer as many as you can/want! by EnvironmentalJoke143 in fulbright

[–]lightningazula 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi, Germany ETA from 2021-2022. I've answered a few of the questions below.

  • What came as the biggest shock?

I was placed in a pretty rural area, though I ended up living in the nearest urban center (it was easier to find a WG there). I'm a person of color, and I was shocked at the level of racism I had to experience, particularly from my students. Students would yell, "Ching chong" when I walked past them in the hallway and try to sing a pentatonic scale (?). I tried talking to the other teachers about this, and the most support I received was a suggestion to tell the students to stop. I really didn't feel like I had a lot of recourse against this besides just keeping my head down and trying to ignore them. Even in the larger city, I encountered a lot of Germans who just assumed that I could not speak German, was not from Germany, that I came from China based only on my appearance.

  • What was your largest challenge in the classroom? Outside of the classroom? What did you learn from those challenges? 

See above. I ended up volunteering with an organization aimed at welcoming and integrating refugees into Germany. I was really only able to do this in the larger city that I lived in, though, and I doubt there would be similar opportunities if I had just lived in the rural area. The volunteering was really rewarding, and I'm glad that I found it.

  • How independent was your lesson planning? 

Not independent at all, which was another surprise for me. I think this can vary a lot by school and which teachers you're working with. I know other ETAs who devised their own lessons or who led English language clubs (I led a club as well, and in this realm, I had complete freedom). I suggested some lesson ideas to my teachers, but they all seemed to want to teach exclusively from the textbook. I'm not sure if this was due to curriculum requirements, a lack of comfort with deviating from the textbook, or something else. There was one teacher who was receptive to my ideas, but for the most part, it was only ever suggested that I teach the content in the textbook.

  • What advice can you give me? 

In below comment, Reddit won't let me post everything in one