Frydmania

The bells, the bells…

December 1st, 2006

Yes, I will stop writing titles that repeat the same words, but this one was hard to ignore.

When we send language assistants to start working abroad, they usually get to go to an induction course on arrival in the foreign country. There’s usually one British Council colleague at most induction courses to help answer questions and support assistants as they adjust to being abroad.

This year I was able to go to the Altenberg induction course for Germany, held at a former monastery complex near Cologne.  The cathedral is visited by lots of people, and it’s a popular retreat centre for youth groups.

I was in a room which overlooked the central courtyard.  It’s a really pretty setting, and you can see some pictures here.  Two downsides of the location though: the assistants tend to sit out socialising until at least midnight on the courtyard side.  Then at six in the morning, the cathedral (at the back of my room) kicks into action, when the bells start playing.  They also play again at seven, just when you’ve drifted back off to sleep…

Despite this, the course went well, and most assistants were looking forward to starting teaching.  They also put on a great cabaret on the final evening.  The highlight had to be a performance of Bohemian Rhapsody, the whole thing performed on a grand piano by one male assistant. Naturally the audience sang along all the way through, at least where they could remember the words.

Entry Filed under: Travel