Supporting myself while studying in Germany has turned out to be easier than I expected. I was hired by the Central Texas College at the end of July last year, initially to teach German to soldiers who just arrived in country at the Education Center that supports the Army post here. Since then I've taught less German and taken over other duties, such as substitute librarian and, quite recently, teaching military courses (I just finished "Counseling Techniques" and will begin with "Performance Oriented Training" in about a week).

I was also hired by a German agency to teach business English to Germans who work for the larger manufacturing companies in the Schweinfurt area.

I've completed my third semester. I have a major test at the end of my fourth semester that marks the end of the basic course of study and the beginning of the advanced course of study. I began my studies with German language and literature as my major and History of Religion as my minor. I've changed my minor twice and it's now English language and literature, which fits in well with my work. At the same time, I'm working on teacher's qualification to teach German and English at the German equivalent of high-school/college prep level.

The German system allow for long breaks; we have March and April and August, September, and October free. I spent the first two weeks of August in the U.S. attending my 10th high school class reunion and visiting my parents and a few friends. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any of my siblings.

A lot has changed since I returned from my Stateside vacation. I found out that I'll have to change apartments, which is too bad because I had a very nice relationship with my landlord. I bought a fairly sporty car (well, it's sporty for a Ford Fiesta) for next to nothing because his owner had blown the engine and am nearing the end of the process of replacing it. And I grew a beard, although at the moment I'm not sure how long it's staying.