Fasching Fun

I'm still living by myself, which of course can feel a bit lonely sometimes. But at the same time, it's now gotten to the point, where I can't even imagine sharing this flat with someone else! And that despite the size of the place. So it'll take some major getting used to when someone eventually moves in. But until then, I'll just enjoy the little perks of living alone.

It's been much of the same in the Kita (short for Kindertagesstätte, i.e. nursery). I'm still working in the same group, assisting Philipp and Jana by helping where I can. A lot of the time, though, is spent playing with the kids, be it jigsaw puzzles, Lego, football, hide & seek… you name it! Lots of fun, but I am looking forward to getting my project started, 'cause then I'll have more to do. Haven't decided yet what I'm doing, but it's more than likely I'll be teaching English at some point.

The only Kita trip I've been on so far was a visit to the cinema with the four-year-olds two weeks ago to see 'Die Schneekönigin' (The Snow Queen). Apparently it's a very famous fairy tale, but I had never heard of it before. Anyway, I enjoyed it.

Today we celebrated Fasching*. The kids all wore fancy dress. The most popular choices seemed to be pirates, knights, princesses, witches and Spiderman. Even the staff dressed up too, something I didn't find out would happen until yesterday. Cue much brainstorming and a frantic search for anything that could pass off as a costume. In the end, I went for a sort of Hawaiian theme. Nothing special, but at least my not knowing I had to dress up was a good excuse for a crap costume!

The Kita was transformed into a Narrenhaus (literally 'fool's house'). Each room had a different game for the kids to play, after which they'd get a stamp on their arm, their mission being to get as many stamps as possible. It was a lot of fun and the kids loved it.

I still find the kids really cute, by the way. If I'm allowed to pick a favourite, I would have to say it's two-year-old Tyler. He's just ridiculously sweet! Always smiling, he finds even the simplest of things hilarious. Ever since my first day he's been dragging me around everywhere, so I think he's took a real shine to me. He's also the one responsible for my new nickname, Anniki! But having said all that, my whole group is great, and I try my best to divide my time equally between all of them.

Next up is my On-Arrival Training, which starts next week. I'm curious as to what sort of people I'll meet there and what we'll be doing the whole time. Should be good though. After that, I've got my German course. It actually starts during the training, so I'm going to have to miss the first few lessons, which hopefully won't hinder me.

All in all, it's going to be a lot busier from now on!

* To explain to you Brits who have no idea what I'm talking about, Fasching (otherwise known as Karneval or Fastnacht, depending on where you are in Germany) takes place every year around this time (okay, technically it starts on November 11th/January 6th, but that's a whole nother story…). Everyone wears fancy dress and there's parades and stuff…. basically one big party. I don't really get the whole kerfuffle, but this year will be my second one, so let's see if I can warm to it this time.