One of the negative things about being back with my parents is that I can’t sleep in as late as I usually like to. My first day back from Berlin I planned to relax and chill-out, but instead, I was forced to get up bright and early to go volunteer as a teacher’s assistant at my mom’s German language school. I had completely forgotten that I accepted a small part-time job at her school during my stay here. I usually tend to plan out my outfits a day before, so it caught me off guard that I quickly had to pull something together that is presentable to a university professor. First impressions are so important, so my primary concern was professionalism. I wasn’t planning to show up in jeans, so I ruffled through my suitcase that was still packed and somehow managed to find my black slacks. I matched it with a stripped blue and white blouse from White + Warren that fits really nicely on my waist, and pulled on a vest on top of it. I let the collar of the blouse stick out of my vest and filled the bare part of my chest with a small diamond necklace. My hair was pulled back and I wore light, brown, eye makeup.

German universities look much different from those in the US. They somehow seem to look older and more historical, although the ones in the US seem somewhat bigger with a larger campus. My little town here is known to be a university town. There are two large institutions that are especially famous for medicine and music, yes I know, two very different subjects! To get to the world languages department where I was meeting the professor for the first time, I had to cross through the medicine part of the campus.  Now, just for the record, I have a soft spot for future doctors and men in suits, so walking across the medicine department was a real treat. If I didn’t have places to be at a certain time, I could have hung around the medicine department all morning, observing from a distance, he he.

I’ve never worked as a teacher’s assistant before, so I wasn’t too sure what to expect. My talents don’t lie in teaching; I tend not to have that much patience. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, and I think the professor noticed it too. But nevertheless, I put my best foot forwards and decided to try my best. My one-on-one meeting with the professor was much smoother than I expected. She was extremely polite and enthusiastically explained to me step-by-step what my responsibilities are and what I should prepare. At the end of my meeting, she even complimented me on my outfit and said that she believes to have made the right decision! I was a bit surprised, and I smiled, thanked her, and said that I’m excited to start working with her. I can’t stress enough how much an outfit shows one’s personality and character. Even though I didn’t have much prior experience in teaching, I think she realized that I am taking the position seriously. If I came in to my meeting with jeans, I think she would have had a much different attitude towards me. I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging around on the medical campus.

Love always,
Mia