Aimee White
My name is Aimee White and I hail from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. I completed my BA in Political Science at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 2004, and returned home to Halifax to begin my Masters in Political Science at Dalhousie in September 2005. I am currently trying to finish my thesis and hope to defend it by December of this year. My parents also reside in Cole Harbour, while my brother lives in Toronto. My family is originally from Newfoundland.
I first came to Germany in November 2006 when I was accepted into the Junior Professional Consultant program with United Nations Canada. I was assigned to the Research & Development Unit at the headquarters of United Nations Volunteers in Bonn, originally to stay only until April 2007. However, my unit decided that they wanted to hang on to me for various projects that they were about to begin, and offered a new contract to work with them as a consultant until mid-October 2007.
Bonn itself is the former capital of Western Germany: quiet, clean, and very beautiful. It’s proximity to the livelier city of Cologne makes it a great hub for traveling around Europe and I’ve been seeing as much as of it as possible on extended weekends away here and there. So far I’ve ventured to London, Berlin, Hamburg, Sardinia, Paris, Luxembourg, Prague and various other towns in Germany, including frequent visits to Cologne.
At first it was difficult to find yoga classes. This was largely due to the fact that I didn’t speak German, but not long after I arrived I was able to find a few classes created for the ex-pat community that were taught in English. However, most of them were not Ashtanga – the style I enjoy most.
After I had been in Bonn a while longer, and had become more familiar with the city and what it had to offer, I began my search again. This time, instead of finding classes taught in English, I was incredibly fortunate to find a German-speaking class with an instructor who was more than willing to accommodate me and provide my adjustments in English. It’s not difficult to find English-speaking Germans, but I thought it was really generous of Martina to go out of her way for a foreign yogi. It provided me with the double benefit of first, getting back into yoga, and second, becoming more comfortable with the German language.
Like Jack, Martina also tries to use the original Sanskrit names for the asanas, so it’s often the case that a language barrier isn’t even an issue. Martina is incredibly thorough, and follows the Primary Series meticulously. While this was quite the challenge after not having practiced yoga for several months, it quickly got me back into the swing of things.
Martina is an excellent teacher who values taking the time to explain the “hows” and “whys” behind the asanas, and developing the muscles necessary to accomplish the more difficult ones. I’ve been attending class once a week since the end of May – so far so good!
Viel glück- Tschüss!
August 2007 Newsletter
