OPI is not just nail polish...

I've been waiting to write this blog post for at least two years. And no, I haven't had a blog for that long.

For those of you that know me, if you hear the letters "OPI", you probably think of nail polish. I almost never go without my nails painted and can never seem to have enough nail polishes--so many colors--which yes, is a problem here, because I have to be able to pack my suitcase...

For those of you that know me academically, you also know that for me, OPI has another meaning. I'm not sure what OPI means for the nail polish company, but OPI also means "Oral Proficiency Interview". That has nothing to do with nail polish. For me, these three letters/words have been synonymous with anxiety, frustration, and defeat. In order to be certified to teach in the US, I need a teacher's license. In order to get a teacher's license, at least with my major and minor (German and English, respectively), I need to pass an Oral Proficiency Interview in German. To pass this test, I have to get a rating of "Advanced Low". What does that mean? Good question! It's very ambiguous and extremely confusing, but if you'd like to try to figure it out for yourself, you can look here.

I took the test a few times in the US and always got a rating of Intermediate High, which is one level below Advanced Low. It was extremely frustrating, because there was never a report of what I did wrong or what I needed to improve, and all the websites about the OPI say that there isn't really a way to prepare. They suggest immersion, but since I was living in Michigan, there were few to no opportunities for immersion in the language. They also suggest waiting longer than the minimum 90-days between retakes, and to enroll in an intensive language course if possible. I never waited (much) more than 90 days and never enrolled in an intensive language course, outside of my normal Calvin German classes. Not that I didn't try to improve; these suggestions just weren't readily accessible options for me.

Normally, if you haven't passed the OPI with an Advanced Low, you're not allowed to do student teaching, which would have been a major catastrophe for me, since I was already nearing the end of my fifth year at Calvin. Naturally, I didn't want to wait another year because of some dumb test that I hadn't passed, mostly due to a lack of confidence. (This just goes to prove how importance confidence is!) Luckily, my advisor was willing to waive that requirement for me, especially since I was already planning on going to Switzerland and would take it while over here.

After seven months of being here (almost exactly), and the necessity for a job for next year looming in the near future, my test was scheduled and paid for (thanks to Grandma Boomer, Aunt Barbara and Mom!), and I was ready. Nervous, but ready. Dorina spoke to me almost exclusively in German while we were in France, and then especially consciously when I told her that the test was scheduled and for when it was scheduled.

So, I went into school on a Friday and nervously began my conversation over the phone with a German woman. The interview is supposed to be like a normal conversation, except it's mostly the interviewer asking me questions that I respond to with as much detail as possible to show off my skills, and then there's a role-play situation in the middle, where we have to spontaneously act out a situation and solve a problem. It's somewhat awkward because it's artificial, and somewhat terrifying because you know that the person you talk to and at least two other people will be grading your conversation.

During the interview, I tried my best to just talk like I do with everyone else here in Switzerland and not think too much about what I was saying/how I was saying it (because over-thinking leads to mistakes). I did consciously try to shove in some Konjunktiv II and Relativsätze, but mostly just focused on talking as much as possible.

After the interview, I didn't know how to feel. Since I hadn't passed it so many times already, I was used to the uncertain, unhappy, over-analyzing feeling. I didn't think it went badly, but I kept replaying the conversation in my head and correcting my sentences and noticing mistakes and worrying. But I also kept remembering how impressed people were with my German from the start, how everyone has told me that my German has improved a lot since being here, and that many people can't tell where I'm from anymore when I'm speaking. But since I hadn't passed it so many times in the past, I kept quiet and worried and waited and waited and waited.

Today, I checked the website out of curiosity and impatience, and found my rating was posted: AM. I clicked on the link to download my certificate, and verify what 'AM' meant. And there, in big italic letters were the words: Advanced Mid. I did it! I passed my test, finally! And not only did I pass it, but I managed to score a level above what I needed in order to get my certification.

As cliché as it probably is, I did a happy dance. I gasped loudly and clapped my hands over my mouth. I did a happy dance again. I texted my mom to ask if she was awake and called her, attempting to hold back tears, and told her that I'd finally done it. Relief washed over me and excitement rushed through my veins. I texted a few people and told some teachers, but decided a blog post would be good to share the good news with everyone. I'm still in disbelief and keep checking to make sure it's real. And all the way to my French class at the University and all the way back home, I couldn't help but smile. A really big smile.

Today is a good day, because I've conquered the biggest mountain that I once thought was impossible.
Thank you, God! :-D

Nice, France is Nice.

Oh man. This post has been sitting in my draft box for an embarrassingly long time. I've been incredibly busy and thought about writing this practically every day, but either haven't had the time or the energy to write it. Even though it was an awesome vacation :-)

And yes, I've been planning to use my title pun since I thought about writing a post about Nice :-D (But in case you didn't know, as I also didn't know, Nice is pronounced like niece.)

For the second week of our vacation, Dorina and I flew to Nice.

Okay, so you can't exactly see the word Nice, but it's there. And you can see how far it is from Winterthur (Zürich). Far enough for warmer weather and sun!

It was Dorina's first time on a plane, which was fun to experience with her! She was so excited and nervous, and when we landed, she said she was already excited for the flight home (for the flight, not for the going home part).

We were extremely lucky, in that we found a flight and hotel, for five days total, for less than 200 CHF each! Practically unheard of! We flew in on Monday and settled into our hotel Monday night, leaving all the touristy things and exploring for the next days.

Tuesday: In the morning, we started off with breakfast in the hotel (included!)

So many options and so tasty!

Then, we started off. We planned to go to the Marc Chagall museum, but apparently it is closed on Tuesdays--what we found out, of course, only once we'd gotten there. Wednesday it is, for the museum then! So, instead we meandered back to the city and walked around a lot. It was a beautiful day, and much warmer than snowy Winterthur, so we ate lunch in a park and wrote out a couple of postcards. It was fantastic (and made me anxious for Spring back in Switzerland!)

The French kids were adorable :-)

We turned in a bit early because we were pretty tired from walking around, but made plans for the museum and old city the next day.

Wednesday: We started off, of course, with our free breakfast again and then headed out for the museum. We both knew nothing about Chagall, but it came highly recommended to us. And boy were we glad we went! He painted several paintings during WWII time that depicted religious scenes, but the paintings were colorful and bright, and they have so much more than what first meets the eye to them. We had headsets to listen to in the museum that explained the history behind the painting, as well as all the little details that he included, often connecting to his own personal life.

This was both Dorina and my favorite painting

Afterward, we went to the top of a tower or something (I've forgotten now what exactly it was) and had a breathtakingly stunning view of Nice. The Mediterranean sea, with the city, and the mountains as a backdrop--amazing.

walked back to the old city to walk around. I love old cities--the buildings, the narrow and twisty roads, the shops and apartments crammed together. All of it. We walked around for a while and then decided to buy pizza for dinner and sit on the beach to watch the sunset.

♥

Then we went home and planned for the next day.

Thursday: We started our day off again with our hotel breakfast and then headed off to Antibes for a day! 

Antibes is less than 30 minutes from Nice by train and is a small, rich, touristy town. It was another gorgeous day, so we walked around up a path to see out over the sea. Again, astonishing. (I'm running out of adjectives...) We sat at the top for a while, enjoying the sun, before heading back down in hopes of finding some sort of souvenir for our time in France. After walking for a while, we ate lunch in an adorable little restaurant in the middle of the town, and then continued our search for a souvenir. We also wandered around some smaller streets in the city, which were gorgeous and filled with apartments.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a summer home here?

We unfortunately didn't find anything and decided to head back to Nice. On our way back, however, we spotted a clothing store that intrigued us, so we went inside. After a few different clothing changes, we both found something we loved--a dress for Dorina and a skirt and sweater for me. We agreed that that would be a good souvenir (instead of something tacky).
And, since it was Valentine's day, we decided to dress up and go out for one drink before having to pack that evening.

And then early Friday, we made our way back to Winterthur. Back to the snow and the cold, and back to school on Tuesday. Nonetheless, it was a lovely vacation, enjoyed completely, and we were well-rested and relaxed for going back to school.