Sophies letzte Woche bei uns ist angebrochen...

Bereits im Vorfeld wussten wir ein paar Dinge über unsere Sprachassistentin Sophie Watkins-Tidley: dass sie Deutsch und Philosophie studiert, nebenbei noch in einer Anlaufstelle für Suchtkranke arbeitet, Klarinette spielt, gerne liest und unter anderem ein Pferd und ein Schaf besitzt. Wir waren also gespannt auf eine sehr vielseitige junge Frau und wurden in unseren Erwartungen nicht enttäuscht. Abgesehen von ihrer interessanten Persönlichkeit hat sich Sophie auch durch ihre freundliche Art, ihre kreativen Unterrichtsideen und ihr Engagement ausgezeichnet. Nach anfänglichen Schwierigkeiten mit dem Außerferner Dialekt konnte sie auch diese Barriere überwinden und unterstützte sogar eine Zeit lang die Musikkapelle Lechaschau. Wir werden Sophie vermissen und möchten uns bei ihr für ihre tolle Arbeit bedanken!Auch ihr schien es bei uns zu gefallen, aber lest selbst... 

“When I first came to Reutte I didn’t know what to expect. I was very nervous and I didn’t feel as though I knew what I was doing. At first, I found Reutte isolating and I had a massive case of imposter syndrome; All of which soon changed!

The students at the Gymnasium are some of the most welcoming and witty people I have ever met. They have welcomed me from day one and have been extremely kind. They explained a lot about Austrian culture to me when I was completely lost - I am still baffled by the concept of a ‘Krampus’ - and helped me adjust to Austrian life. This included the dialect which was initially a bit of a challenge to understand. However, through being exposed to it over the course of the year and the students and teachers explaining certain words and phrases, I feel the dialect is not as bad as it first appeared! I now know “zwei” here is “zwoar” and that the extra “ch/k” sounds everyone throws into words is completely normal. Most importantly, as students in the second class taught me, I now know how to pronounce “Oachkatzlschwoaf” (squirrel's tail). Therefore, I think I have learned all the important vocabulary in Reutte. (However, I did unfortunately give up trying to pronounce “Streichholzschächtelchen” (match box”) and hope that I will never need it). 

The students at the Gymnasium have worked extremely well with me. They have spoken about difficult topics from Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Feminism and Discrimination to British festivals, poetry and idiomatic expressions - all in English. During my time here, I have never had bad experiences with the students; All of them have been polite, friendly and incredibly hard working! They are nothing but a pleasure to teach. 

Adjusting to Austrian winter was a bit of a shock! Where I live in Britain the winters are rather dull; We do not get a lot of snow. In fact, it mostly rains! So coming here to the snow and ice was simply wonderful. I have never seen anything so beautiful as Tirol in the snow. The students told me about skiing and Reutte on Ice which they insisted I had to visit- it seemed to be incredibly popular! Therefore, for my birthday, the teachers took me to Reutte on ice where I was, to be frank, like Bambi. This was until students noticed my complete and utter lack of grace, came over to me and taught me to ice skate. This act of kindness embodies what I believe the Gymnasium in Reutte to stand for; Kindness and compassion, even when faced with the impossible challenge of teaching me to be graceful. 

This year as your English Assistant has been one I will never forget. It has been an incredible experience, one I will remember for the rest of my life and I owe a lot of my positive experience to the staff and students at the Gymnasium. Thank you very much for working with me over the last academic year, helping me adjust to life in Reutte, whether that came from explaining ‘Fasching’ to telling me to wear an extra layer of clothes for protection against Krampus, I am extremely grateful. Good luck for next year and feel free to stay in touch!”