Vying for a Praktikum

Holding true to my normal habits, I am attempting to get an internship (Praktikum) here in Heidelberg. Since I am a little tired of taking regular university style courses, an internship seems idyllic. I get experience, credit, and a lighter course load. As of right now, I am still in the process of interviewing at a school with four other students from the American Junior Year (AJY) program. We are all vying for a position to teach English in a German high school.

This last week, we had our first portion of the interview. All five of us traipsed into a classroom and stood in a line in front of twenty-five students between the ages of 15 and 17. After introducing ourselves, we each took a group of about four or five students. Our first task was to simply talk about our lives in America and their lives here in Germany. The second task was to read an article about September 11th out loud to them and then discuss it.

Although the conversation was a little awkward at first, I was able to get two of the students in my group to really talk to me. They were learning about September 11th and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We spoke about the conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11, and whether or not they are widely accepted in the USA. We discussed the role the media played in America and around the world. We talked about how Americans view the wars, and the role the American military plays around the world. The best part was that I wasn't the only one that seemed to be getting into our discussion. At the end of the session, the teacher asked what the students thought. Only three students raised their hands; two were from my group and they said that listening to my opinion and explaining theirs to me was very fascinating. I later found out that some of the other AJY students were only able to get their group to discuss the article for a couple minutes before reverting to discussing favorite bands and singers. While I was recommending documentaries on media coverage during the Iraqi War and the American education system, other groups were exchanging names of bands.

Unfortunately, I don't think I have the job. A lot of the other AJY students want to teach and have education majors. Nonetheless, I have another interview this week, and I am keeping my fingers crossed. I didn't think I would enjoy the interview as much as I did.