And so it begins...

Dear Friends and Family,

Today I was sent an offer to become a United States Teaching Assistant in Austria as part of the Austrian-American Educational Commission (Fulbright Commission) for the coming 2009-2010 Austrian academic year. I am so excited to be able to be a part of this program!

I sent in my application on February 13th and was notified April 10th that I was selected as an "alternate candidate", which meant that if one of the "principle candidates" dropped out, then I would be "favorably considered" for placement. I was a little disappointed and began searching for other opportunities for work after my graduation with a B.A. in Religious Studies and German from UC Berkeley this May. While I was attempting to fax in an application as a German-speaking Trekleader with an outdoor company this morning, I checked my e-mail only to find the offer in my Inbox. I jumped up and down with joy in the Fax/Copy store, decided not to fax my Trekleader application and came home.

I'll give you a little background about this program. It has been around since 1963 and is run by the Austrian-American Educational Commission (AAEC), specifically the Fulbright Commission. The teaching assistantship is not specifically through the Fulbright Grants Program though, which leaves me wondering: Am I a Fulbright Scholar? The program is funded by the Austrian Ministry of Education, the Arts and Culture.

As a teaching assistant, I will assist teachers of English in classroom instruction 13 hours per week. That doesn't seem like much teaching to me now, but at least I'll have a lot of extra time to explore Austria! The ages of the students I will be teaching varies. I need to explain the Austrian school system a little bit first to give you an idea of the ages and types of students I will be teaching.

In Austria all students go to a "Volksschule" which goes up to the equivalent of our 4th grade. After that they either go to a "Hauptschule" which concentrates in a specific field or a "Gymnasium" which is a more liberal arts education that prepares them to go to a university. The "Gymnasium" lasts 8 years, while the "Hauptschule" lasts only 4 years. After the end of these 4 years students either go on to prepare for a specific vocation, like engineering or teaching, or attend an "Oberstufenrealgymnasium" which is like the last 4 years of the normal "Gymnasium" liberal arts studies. I will teach either students in the "Gymnasium", "Oberstufenrealgymnasium", or the specific vocation years after the "Hauptschule". I also don't know whether I will be teaching at a public or private school.

Here is what I do know: I am assigned to 2 secondary schools in Leibnitz and Kaindorf an der Sulm in the province of Styria from October 1-May 31.

I am really excited for this opportunity to practice my German (and learn a dialect!) as well as explore a beautiful new country and learn more about the austrian school system.

I'll keep you updated as I know more and please feel free to leave me messages and ask questions.