Job Expectations and Part 2 of Work Day 1

I think it will make the most sense to stop at this point and try to convey how my job expectations have evolved over time.

Originally, while I was still in the U.S. many months ago, Felix asked me if I would be interested in a book keeping position, of sorts, for the DJK and another club. I majored in Accounting for a while, so it sounded interesting. He told me I would have to present the financials at the end of the club's fiscal year, in German, to a group of about 60 older men who are the big wigs of the club. The club would provide me with a work visa, allowing me to stay in the country past my 90 tourist days, and would pay for me to go to language school to develop my German skills. It sounded like a great opportunity to have a job while I was over here and to be able to go to language school for free. I was excited!

Then the position sort of expanded. Felix's uncle Ralf, the head of the club, is interested in setting up a sort of exchange program between their basketball players and those at universities and colleges in the U.S. Eventually, he wanted me to spearhead this project. I thought this would be something I started about 6 months in, once I had a better understanding of the club and its operations. At some point, the book keeping gig morphed into general office work.

Fast forward to my third week in Germany... We went to the Winklers' house on a Sunday afternoon to talk with Ralf about work and when I could get started. He wanted me to come in the following Wednesday. He and Felix talked about all of the plans and arrangements in German, so I couldn't follow all of the conversation. Felix then relayed to me that I was to show up at 11:00am and that Ralf and I would go to lunch with a man named John. He is from the U.S. and is a former coach at Ole Miss. Currently he is the assistant coach at the club after stepping down as head coach because he wanted to play as well. Ralf wanted John and I to talk about his connections back in the States and their expectations and vision for this exchange program. Ralf also said he wants me to paint the DJK logo on a wall in the office. Last Tuesday, Ralf told me he also wanted me to sell tickets at the H1 team games on Sundays.

Felix and I went to this game. I presume the man on the right is handing Ralf the donation check that they received at the pre-game shindig. Obviously, Ralf is the one on the left. The DJK basketball shirts all sport a fire breathing dragon, so we have no idea where this bald eagle mascot fits in. ha, ha. :)

As of last night, Felix cleared up a few things with Ralf. I have been working 9 hours a week, which may not sound like much, but considering that the DJK is a non-profit and Ralf can only pay me €100 per month, it basically amounts to nothing per hour. So it is looking like my hour will have to be cut down to probably 6 or so. The main point that came out of the conversation is that Ralf wants me to view this not so much as a job, more of a vehicle for getting me to the language school and getting me out of the house and around German language (in the office and the school) so I can become more comfortable with it.

The main concern I have is with getting my visa taken care of. Apparently, there is a visa we can apply for without me getting a work permit. The next step in the process is to get my insurance squared away. We still have some questions about my application that we need to see about clarifying, but it shouldn't be a big deal. Once the insurance is squared away, we have to accumulate money to put in my German bank account. Then we can finally see what forms and such need to be completed for the visa. It's a bit messy, but moving to a new country is really never going to be easy.

Now that you are all caught up on the initial expectations and the current standings/plans going forward, time to finish recapping my first day of work. :)

At 1:00pm, Marie and I left the office. She drove us over to the Gründschule in Zornheim about 10 minutes away. I wasn't told that this would be part of my job. Instead of wearing comfortable clothes to play games with children in, I wore silver ballet flats (no socks), jeans, a thin sweater, and a lightweight jacket. The kids are still young, so they don't necessarily realize that “Today is Wednesday and on Wednesdays at 1:30pm I play games with Frauline Maire.” Because of this, we stood outside for 15 minutes corralling the kiddos and I froze down the the bone. After we collected everyone, we went up to the 2^nd story of the school into a little square room with lots of windows and a wooden floor that they use as a gym.

A few of the kids had asked Marie who I was while we were still outside, so some of them knew that I am “from America and speaks a little German. So you can practice your English with her.” All of a sudden, several of the kids started yelling numbers at me in English. I just kinda laughed because it was adorable and told them, “sehr gut.” Once we were up in the gym, Marie had all of us stand in a circle. She introduced me a little and I told the kids, “Mein name ist Jewli.” Next Marie had all of the kids go around the circle and say “my name is...” in English followed by whatever other words they know. I had trouble understanding some of the names, like Paul, because of the way it is said in German. After introductions were made, Marie had the kids play dodge ball. It was hilarious to watch. I've never really spent a lot of time around large groups of 6 and 7 year olds, but they're ability to throw a rubber ball with aim and a little bit of force is lacking. :) They had a blast though. After several rounds of dodge ball, Marie led a game called Feuer, Wasser, und Sturm (Fire, Water, and Storm). The kids had to either lay flat on the ground, jump up on a long bench, or stand on a thick gymnastic mat depending on which word she yelled out. The last person to respond was “out” and had to wait in the corner until there was only one person standing. Eventually it was time to go, so the kids put their shoes, socks, coats, hats, etc. back on and headed back outside.

Next up was the 8-10 year old group. It is all boys and they only play soccer during their hour with us. We rounded them up in the courtyard where we had gathered and dropped off the younger group. When it isn't freezing out, they play on the field, but because it has been so cold, we walk them over about .25 miles away to an gym with soccer goals. They didn't really pay attention to me until we got inside the gym and Marie introduced me again. She told them I only speak a little German, but they can talk to me in English. One boy, Niko, looked at me and said, “Mach es” or “Do it.” I just kinda laughed. It is really hard to figure out what to say when someone wants you to speak the language to them. Felix always had trouble with this in college and I didn't understand what made it so hard, but now I get it. Ha, ha. They played soccer for the next hour in the freezing cold gym (barely better than outside) while Marie and I sat on the benches that lined the gym and talked. She was surprised we have Tic-Tacs in the U.S. :)

While the boys were changing back into their street clothes from their soccer attire, a couple of the boys had threatened one of the other boys. Marie pulled them aside and gave them a stern talking to. I had no idea what was going on because it happened rather suddenly and it was too quick for me to follow what she was saying. Once they finished changing, we walked them back up to the school, dropped them off, and headed back to Marie's car. I commented on the immediate silence and Marie pointed out how exhausting it is to be around that noise for so long and dealing with the kids, so we sat in comfortable silence for most of the drive home. She dropped me off and I ran inside to immediately put on every article of warm clothing I could find. I was FROZEN!

I have 2 more days under my belt now, including a second day at the Gründschule, so the kinks are getting worked out. But for now, I think this is a good stopping point. Felix and I are playing badminton with Manisha (his mom) and Jina (his dad) and I need to get ready.

Hope everyone is doing well!