A package arrives.

On the last day of the training course, we'd had to be up and out of our rooms, and returning our keys by 6.30am. After breakfast, we'd been returned to the station, and then it was 'just' a seven hour journey to get back to Stralsund. As long distance travel always seems to make me sleepy, and the hours on the training course were a lot longer than I've been used to recently, understandably I was a little tired when I got back.

You may be able to tell I am explaining all my reasons, and trying to build up a justification... I went to sleep at about 11pm on Thursday, and woke up at about 11.30am on Friday. I got up, had breakfast, read my book for a while, and then because I was getting a little cold, decided to read my book in my sleeping bag. Shortly after that, it was 4pm, and I was waking up. Presumably, I needed the sleep.

The big news of this weekend is that yesterday, I had a marmite sandwich. 'Marmite?!' I hear you cry, or at least read with a perplexed expression, 'how has she managed to acquire Marmite, in that strange land where they don't have real tea and they eat pasta with gravy*?!' And the answer to that would be that I have amazing family members, who are willing to send Marmite and teabags across Europe, to help me cope with German life.

I know I've been going on about how much I missed those food items, but I think I had actually forgotten just how amazing they taste. My marmite sandwich was definitely one of the best ever, and when I made a cup of tea it was actually slightly orange, rather than slightly grey! I used to hate tea that was too orange, but it was such a welcome sight! Though I'm having to remember I'm using English teabags now- German teabags have to be left to brew for about half an hour before they taste of anything, but the thought of doing that with an English teabag makes me feel a bit ill. When the doorbell rang, I was debating whether to answer it or not, as I was wearing my fetching polka-dot-pyjama-trousers-and-oversized-grey-fleece combination, but I'm glad I did.

That's about all there is to report from this weekend, I've spent the rest of my time drinking proper tea and eating marmite sandwiches. Oh, and I have been informed today that cheddar cheese is on sale somewhere in Rostock (the town about an hour away by train, where a few of the other language assistants are situated) so I may have to make a trip there next weekend.

I've got school tomorrow, hopefully my week away from school will have the effect of renewing my 'new and exciting' credentials, and the kids won't have forgotten who I am.

Bis bald! xoxo

* This is true, it was one of the meals on the training course- a big chunk of roast beef, gravy, and pasta. (and nothing else... there was a little bit of salad on the tables, but unless you were prepared to spend half an hour picking the seeds out of grapes to make them edible, there wasn't really much vitamin C on offer.) The pasta-gravy combination wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it was still a bit weird.