Hope you and the German department are well! It's so nice to hear from you, I think often of my wonderful German and Art History professors at CSBSJU. I definitely have used my German major in a variety of capacities since graduating in 2002:
2002-03 - I spent a year teaching in Vienna Austria with the Fulbright program - did much traveling in the meanwhile, and really came into fluency over the course of the year.
Although I was a German and Art History major at CSBSJU, my experience teaching abroad revealed my love for teaching in general, so I went back the the UMN (mpls campus) for my Masters of Education in English. I taught at the secondary level in the Centennial District (Lino Lakes) for almost seven years - primarily English (which evidently German language studies have often come up when reading Shakespeare, etc). During my tenure there, and due to my German major, I was given the opportunity to teach one semester of German as a fill in for a teacher who had to suddenly leave the district. It was a wonderful semester of beginning Deutsch! Lots of fun, grammar, culture, role plays throughout the class.
Last spring 2011, my husband and I moved to Brussels, Belgium and I am now teaching in one of the European Schools here, as an English and Ethics teacher to all the kids of EU consulates. I am using my German daily in a number of ways - directly with students and fellow colleagues, in translating Dutch (quite similar to German), traveling to Germany, and also in my every day research/reading/pleasure. I am now learning French, since it is the primary language in Brussels, however feel so at home when I am able to use my German, to me, such a wonderful and familiar language. I'm very happy to have been a German major and continue to read, speak and enjoy using it!
Please give my regards to the German department faculty and students. Please feel free to pass on the link to our blog! http://andreajohnbelgium.com/
Alles Gute im neuen Jahr,
Andrea (Terhaar) Krueger
arterhaar@yahoo.com
