This week our Meet Our Team Monday feature comes to you courtesy of South Dearborn High School's news site, The Knight Times, and reporter Erica Leder who is a junior at SDHS.
All the way from Germany, our new German teacher, Mrs. Cug came to teach us the Germanic language. Originally born in St. Louis, Missouri, she moved to northern Germany after college to teach English. That is where she met her husband and continued to live there for two more years. She lived in Schwerin, located in Northeastern Germany, for one year and Leipzig, Eastern Germany, for two years.
When asked what made her like the German language, she replied, “The first time I went to Germany was during high school. I stayed with a family and went to school for three weeks! I really enjoyed it, so when I was in college I spent a semester abroad in Austria. I also took German in high school and I really enjoyed it.”
When asked if the holidays in Germany were any different from America, and she stated that they were very much the same, but they don’t celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving. “In Germany, December 6th is Nikolaustag (St. Nicholas Day). Children put a shoe out the night before, and in the morning the shoe is filled with sweets or small toys from St. Nicholas.”
She says she enjoys Christmastime in Germany because “each town has its own unique Christmas market with good food and traditional crafts.” She even gave us a little factoid, saying that, in Germany, people open their presents on Christmas Eve, not the morning of the 25th.
When asked why she moved back, she said, “I missed my family and wanted to teach high school German.” Finally, when asked what she would say to anybody wanting to learn the language better, she replied, “I would encourage any students who are interested in learning German or visiting Germany to find an opportunity to go. Germany is a great place to live and travel and the best way to learn the language is through immersion. There are summer study programs in Germany, year-long exchange programs for high school students, and many colleges and universities offer study abroad programs.”
So welcome 一 or willkommen 一 Mrs. Cug, to South Dearborn High School! Thank you for teaching us the beauty of the Germanic language.
All the way from Germany, our new German teacher, Mrs. Cug came to teach us the Germanic language. Originally born in St. Louis, Missouri, she moved to northern Germany after college to teach English. That is where she met her husband and continued to live there for two more years. She lived in Schwerin, located in Northeastern Germany, for one year and Leipzig, Eastern Germany, for two years.
When asked what made her like the German language, she replied, “The first time I went to Germany was during high school. I stayed with a family and went to school for three weeks! I really enjoyed it, so when I was in college I spent a semester abroad in Austria. I also took German in high school and I really enjoyed it.”
When asked if the holidays in Germany were any different from America, and she stated that they were very much the same, but they don’t celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving. “In Germany, December 6th is Nikolaustag (St. Nicholas Day). Children put a shoe out the night before, and in the morning the shoe is filled with sweets or small toys from St. Nicholas.”
She says she enjoys Christmastime in Germany because “each town has its own unique Christmas market with good food and traditional crafts.” She even gave us a little factoid, saying that, in Germany, people open their presents on Christmas Eve, not the morning of the 25th.
When asked why she moved back, she said, “I missed my family and wanted to teach high school German.” Finally, when asked what she would say to anybody wanting to learn the language better, she replied, “I would encourage any students who are interested in learning German or visiting Germany to find an opportunity to go. Germany is a great place to live and travel and the best way to learn the language is through immersion. There are summer study programs in Germany, year-long exchange programs for high school students, and many colleges and universities offer study abroad programs.”
So welcome 一 or willkommen 一 Mrs. Cug, to South Dearborn High School! Thank you for teaching us the beauty of the Germanic language.