Thoughts on German University
The first week of Uni is over, and despite the total chaos, alles ist in ordnung (everything's 'aight).
In German Universities there is no formal, and especially no centralized registration system for classes. This means that some professors require you to send an email in advance, some don't, and some cancel their classes the day of. The first week is chock-a-block full of students trying 5, 10, or even 15 different classes to see which ones are A) Still being held, B) Didn't require special registration, C) Don't conflict with others, D) Have a reasonable Prof. with a reasonable work load.
After planning on trying 8 different classes (3 Credit Hours a-piece), I ended up not taking some as they were pre-registered, not taking others due to pre-req's, not taking another b/c of the graduate-level research project that turned out to be involved (Imagine that for European Economic-Politics, auf Deutsch!). I also ended up picking up a class the day of, which has turned out to be great (although I'm going to have to read at least 6 books in German, by Germans).
The aftermath? Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship Management (both with Ubungs, which are like intense recitations, as they are valued at the same number of credits as the classes themselves), and then New German Literature: Contemporary 1990's German Lit. Looks like they are going to be feasible, but certainly a lot of work to understand all the lectures in a forigne language.
Fridays are off. Word.
Eventhough only a week has passed, its clear that the classes are going to have a different feel from the University of Colorado. Lots less time in class, and lots more time doing independent research/readings. I've already spent 2 hours in our library (
and managed to get yelled at 3 different times by 3 different librarians for 3 different transgressions!) digging thru Business Case Studies, which are, thankfully, in English!!!
I'll be posting some
Fall photos in the next couple of days, so keep updated. Right now though, I've got a party to throw...
Erfurt and Weimar Continued (and other notes)
[Ed. This is part 2 of 2 - see below for the first installment]
Many of you know that Youth Hostels are great places to meet other kids to party with. Such was the case this trip. The room of guys I was in meet up with 2 rooms of German girls and went out to a crazy student Club the first night (there is a pic from that on my site). Entirely too much fun - but watch out: don't set your beer down somewhere unless you are finished - someone else will probably drink it...
By far the most dramatic experience was our visit to Bucherwald, a Nazi concentration camp outside in the hills near Weimar. It was host primarily to Political Prisoners (from Germany and POW's from Russia), but a few other "Undesireables" such as Homosexuals. You really can feel the ghosts in the buildings. Its absolutely disquieting to walk to a tiny room (just bigger than a toilet stall) only to learn that through a slit in the wall, over
8,000 Russians were shot in the nape of the neck whilst thinking they were being measured by doctors. Just as sickening was the "Strangle Room" - which had 60 or so hooks on the walls for the express purpose of strangling over
2,000 men, women and kids (as young as 8). It took lots of conversation with my peers after the tour to regain my bearings and my stomach (I feel sick just writing about it).
Then it was back to Regensburg. German rest stops are ludicrously expensive. The food is usually pretty good, but b/c they don't have the kind of fast food presence that we do, you usually end up in a kind of roadside store/restaurant. As there is little competition in the area (usu. a gas station at most), you get a good feeling for the phrase "
Price Gouging".
This week I am messing around with my first set of classes. I found out that I did indeed pass my giant German language test, with good marks too! I landed an A on one half, and a B on the other. Considering I was taking the class mostly with students who had had at least 1 more year than me, I'm feeling pretty set
:-). This means that I have the "All Clear" to do what I will academically this semester.
Wish me luck getting everything sorted!
Last 'Huzzah' Before the Semester Sets In
*Look to my post below this One for Photos*
This past weekend was one last bout of fun and adventure before the beginning of my semester this week (yes, for those of you grappling with Midterms, I'm only now starting - and haven't even registered yet, but more on that later this week).
With the other Americans, 5 UK kids, 8 Frenchies, and a smattering of other ERASMUS students we hopped a bus and headed to a Youth Hostel in the beautiful but odd Weimar. We spent the first day there, the next day in Erfurt, and the last day at the Bucherwald Concentration Camp.
Coming from a very prosperous West-German town to 2 East German towns with 20% unemployment rates was a palpable culture shift. The first thing I noticed after I got off the bus was the incredible amount of Graffiti. Weimar has only 60,000 residents - but more graffiti than you can imagine! I think the only buildings spared had security cameras... But when every fith person you see hasn't a job, there is collectively lots of time on people's hands. Most interesting was the degree of political graffiti - lots of anti-capitalist & anti-American art (which was fascinating and disquieting at the same time). Overall the vibe/aura of both cities was a little funky - most of the students were able to feel it, though none have as of yet been able to articulate it quite eloquently enough for description here.
That out of the way, the cities were chock-full with historically significant and beautiful buildings, statues, churches, canals, and all sorts of other stereotypical Euro-Stuff.
It was great to learn more about Schiller (the great German composer from Weimar), Goethe (the great German writer and politician from Weimar), the Weimar Republik (the first real German Democracy, also started in Weimar), and both cities experiences under the USSR government.
This trip I was fortunate enough to spend lots of time with a kid from Oxford, a kid from Cambridge and 3 other girls hailing from Great Britain. I couldn't begin to count the hours we spent hashing out cultural, political, economic and social issues. I also had a chance to test out my Aussie accent, which they said was not too shabby (the last 6 weeks I've been imitating the language of those around me, so I think that I was much more able to pick up the similar accent of the Brits, even in comparison to my month Down Under).
I'll add more in a couple hours - my battry is dead after posting too many photos!
New Photos from WEIMAR and ERFURT!!!
G'day and Servus Everyone!
I just spent 3 days in Erfurt & Weimar, in Thuringen, Germany. Erfurt is the State Capital, and Weimar a great historical and cultural city (Weimar Republik, Goethe, Schiller, Bauhaus).
There are a TON of
photos up on my other site right now - so take a peek and let me know what you think.
*A Note* I was astounded by the amount of political graffiti in both towns (former Communist cities), so was compelled to take lots of photos to journal the "Writing on the Walls".
