If you haven’t already, you should begin with My Life as a Teacher Part I to learn how we got up to the point of 21-year-old me moving to Deutshland!
Moving to Germany
All my possessions were in the garage at my parents’ house, ready to be shipped off, and then it was time to go! It felt like coming home when I arrived back in Gutersloh. As luck would have it, my flat was right next door to Emma’s. It was so cool moving from uni and straight into my very own flat that I didn’t have to share with anyone! In the place we lived, there were three blocks of flats – from the outside they did resemble Halls of Residence. All the ‘single’ teachers lived in these blocks! It’s quite bizarre in a way, but because it was all through the military, you’re placed in ‘patches’ based on your marital status.
On one of the first nights I officially lived in Germany, lots of us ‘flat folk’ went into town and there was a really cool festival that just so happened to be on in the centre. It was one of those life-affirming moments where you know you made a good decision.
Starting out as an NQT
For my NQT year I was in a mixed Year 5/6 class, which I was delighted about, although fairly terrified on day one. I had an absolutely enormous classroom, which was in a large purpose-built room in the playground. I had come out a couple of weeks early in an attempt to sort it out and turn it into Miss Truepenny’s First Ever Class!
I still remember my very first day as an actual teacher, and the feeling of terror mixed with excitement. I guess it’s comparable to when you have passed your driving test and you go out in a car by yourself for the first time. The enormity of the situation kind of hit me. It’s crazy to think that everyone in my first ever class will be about 20 years old now!! That’s one way to make you feel really old isn’t it haha.
Why Blankenhagen was magical
There are many reasons why Blankenhagen was a magical place. In no particular order, I will attempt to explain them:
Location
It was away from the army bases and surrounded by meadows. There was also the most adorable little bakery in the village that we all used to go to on a Friday. I would always get a roll with cheese, salad and remoulade with a slice of Apfel Kuchen 😀
Super-fun vibes!
A couple of photos to sum up the overall vibe! On the left is a standard day in school – onesie day, and on the right is the learning intention during Christmas fun times!
The People
The staff at the school were amazing and the vibe of the place was really happy. Everyone had a right laugh at break and lunch times.
There was a teepee
If I were ranking these reasons, I think this would go to the top! I mean, how cool can you get really! There was a giant teepee in the school field and we used to have forest school classes and use it.
We held a mini festival
We had a festival after school one time. In the day, we made tie-dye T-shirts, and then in the evening, we jammed in the teepee with ukuleles, told stories around a giant campfire, and then had a sleepover in the classrooms!
Incredible residential trips
Some of the trips I went on during my time at Blankenhagen include: the Harz mountains, Arnhem, Oerlinghausen, Dummersee, Mohnesee, the school ski trip…
There are loads more but those are the highlights!
Living in Germany
It wasn’t just working in the school that made the experience so magical, it was being in Germany in general – going to the spa most weeks, going to incredible balls three times a year, going to Hurricane festival every year. And also there seemed to be a different festival every other week in the town we lived – there would be a wine fest one week, a festival of sausage the next (yes really hahaha), an asparagus festival… lots of cool things as you can see. I can’t forget to mention this time when Imagine Dragons once did a live gig in the carpark (I KNOW!!! It was incredible), and obviously there were amazing Christmas markets which lasted for over a month. In a nutshell, there was so much to do!
Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest deserves its own subheading as it really was a highlight of the year. Us ‘flat people’ used to go to about four a year – there was the local Gutersloh one, then Harsewinkel, Marienfeld and also the Officers’ mess one!
It became tradition for me to get on stage with the band every Gutersloh Oktoberfest – this was me attempting to play bass haha. The following year I was downgraded to a shaky banana.
Being in the German community
Although sometimes the military way of life was a bit like being in a giant British Bubble, I tried to be a part of the German community as much as possible, and went to monthly Kontakt meetings with a fabulous bunch of local people. I made some friends for life in this group, and go back to visit them as often as possible (which was not at all during the Pandemic! But twice since we’ve been ‘allowed’ to travel again.
Opportunities for travel
We could also do loads of travelling about at weekends and in half terms. As well as going to most cities and other interesting places in Germany itself, we used to frequently drive to Bruges, Utrecht and Amsterdam. We went to Luxembourg one time, Czech Republic, Hungary… the list goes on!
Learning to skydive
I also learnt to skydive. I say ‘learnt’ in the loosest sense of the word. What I really mean is that I learnt how to fall out of a plane and not die! Yay!
I met my future husband!
Saving the best til last! Although I met Ben the first day I moved to Germany as he lived in the flat beneath me, we were best of friends for about three years before we moved out of the friend zone! We got married in April 2016 😀
