else
Yes, classes. You are going to Germany? You are taking your classes in German? This conversation usually involved some awe and the resulting (shameful!) pride, but it really is all for naught because this wonder (at my idiocy?) does me no good over here. I spent a good hour sitting at that round table in Elke's office with a handful of other Californians yesterday morning, the whole time wondering how it was that we weren't all huddled in the four corners of the room, weeping quietly and rocking ourselves back and forth. That scenario seems less insane to me than the reality of the situation: that starting Monday I am taking somewhere around five classes, at least four of them taught in German. I look around the table and I think, Fools! Fools! ...and I am one of you.
After spending a couple hours the past few days in her office, perspirating in fear, I feel like Elke (our program coordinator) must think I am complete idiot. I kept asking her questions (because lets face it, if anyone who has ever accused me of being anal were here, they'd get their worst fears realized faster than... would ever happen in the States), and she, sighing, would reply that, yes, it says that right there. Or no, that that is stated right over there. I look at this petite, modern German Oma and try to telepathize the notion that, Yes that is good and fine woman, but you do realize I can't understand most of this pamphlet? I am reading these course descriptions thinking, ah yes, Greece as a modern Something and Athens role as a Something Something in the Something something. And then after a few paragraphs of that I, lucky student, get to read that all that the course demands is a 30 page paper and a "short oral presentation", in paratheses (30 minutes). Short presentation. I see. Well, that makes that decision that much easier. As the days pass I wonder more and more how I will ever be able to hide from anyone the fact that the German portion of my brain is not old enough to go to college.
So after hours of trying to decipher all the convulated codes that are in all these different books I have to keep looking at, I sort of have a rough idea of what I might want to take. At this point the plan is to go to this list of classes, starting Monday, and afterwards cross the ones off that are more impossible than the others.
One of the ones I am actually more excited about is a creative writing class. I don't know if this is a good reason to take a class, but the thought of myself sitting in this room full of Germans, reading outloud my fourth grade poetry about the blue sky and the chirping birds is just too funny to pass up. Okay, actually upon rereading that is only funny from an outside perspective. But I am thinking the whole bit about "playing with words" will help me grasp a bit about how the language actually moves, and more about how Germans can actually write something to sound poetic. In my experience with the language it seems like you'd have to work around some basic grammatical rules to make anything actually sound beautiful. We'll see.
Other potential courses are: Pompeji- Leben und Sterben in einer antiken Stadt, Burg-Kloster-Stadt-Lebensformen im Mittelalter, a university writing course that is sponsered by the study center and that is taught by an ILP prof (which a lot of people aren't taking because everyone is all up and hoiety toiety about their skillz, but honestly if this is a class I can take with other people I know and not cry myself to sleep about every night, it sounds good to me), a class on Thomas Mann and the resulting tutorium that is sponsered by the study center (led by Herr Beilein, my favorite German academic), a DaF course that is yet to be chosen (Deutsch als Fremdsprache... German as a foreign language... so some sort of grammar or something. I think I have to take a placement test on Wednesday for it, oh joy) and.... yeah, I think an English lit class. I keep getting weird looks from people when I mention the English class, but I have heard that it is a good idea to take a class here in English, because then you meet Germans who want your help with their English, and then they in turn can help you with your German. It gets hard to keep asking Germans for help on stuff when you can't really do anything for them in return. So... we'll see. The two English lit classes I plan on checking out are on Nathaniel Hawthorne (with an emphasis on The Scarlet Letter), and one on Oscar Wilde. I think I need to find one of the prof's emails and try to figure out how to ask to be put on the class list, because apparently you are supposed to have done this ahead of time for lit classes... my head hurts. Its been a good few years since I read The Scarlet Letter, and I have actually never read any Wilde... but come on, its in ENGLISH. I think another reason why I want to take one of these courses is so I can have at least one part of my week where I don't feel like I am just some homeless crack addict they threw some clothes on and pushed in the direction of the Uni. I don't know if drug abusers really deserve a comment like that from me, but I already know I am going to have a hard time grappling with feeling like an idiot ALL the time, instead of just most of it (like this summer). I will have to write more about school later, its starting to make me nauseous thinking this much about it.
The first two nights I was back in Goettingen I stayed in my room and tried to not feel so out of sorts. Then Thursday night Jacky and I went into town for Indian food (ohhh man), and then met with Tony to see Jungfrau, Maennlich sucht... which is the convulted title for The Forty Year Old Virgin. It was good, but I think I will enjoy it more in English. I think Steve Carrell's humor loses something in translation, but it was worth it just for the ending scene. I really like seeing movies in German, and I think it does help to have to sit there and actually think for an hour or two, but I think its going to be strange to go home and rewatch some of these movies and then actually get all the jokes. After the movie the three of us rode to this little bar and hung out until Lee and Lauren met up with us. We swapped some stories of Eastern European insanity (apparently its a good thing that we didn't meet any Gypsy children), and then we went to another bar. After awhile there we went to the Dorfkrug, which is this bar next to the Dorf. Its still weird for me to get used to the idea of drinking establishments being affliated with a univerisity residence. There we ran into Peter and G1 (this is not the girl's actual name, but I have no clue how you would spell it, and this is how you pronouce it, so thats the best I can do), two Korean friends of Tony's. Apparently I've met Peter before, but I have realized since being in Europe that not only is everyone bad with names, but I am really bad with them. I think a big part of that for me here is that a lot of the names of people I am meeting I have either not heard before or am unused to pronoucing in German, for example Row-bhert for Robert, Mhar-teen for Martin. Then Peter, G1, Jacky, and I headed back with Tony to his place, where we sat around (me in a drowsed stupor) till 5 in the morning eating Korean dumplings. I watched the rest of them eat these little dried crabs and suffered their ridicule for my apparent distaste for some of these and other tasty Korean treats. I don't think I've had Korean food much before coming here, but its more different from the Chinese or Japanese (maybe I should be putting these in quotes?) than I would have thought. Its strange to think that its just all about what you grow up eating. As I am sure I have mentioned before, Jacky is half Korean and so she grew up loving this stuff, and freaks out when these Korean Germans offer us stuff. She is in heaven and a lot of times I am just sort of forcing it down. I am trying to have an open mind about all this, but a lot of the spices and tastes just aren't good to me. We did eat "traditional" food in every country we went to on this trip... except England, because England is so outrageously expensive that we were eating as cheaply as possible. A lot of what appeared to be "traditional" English food sounded really terrible, too. We were in the supermarket with Colina and there was just some of the strangest sounding stuff...I can't remember any names now, but it all sounded like stuff that had been regurgitated, baked over an open fire in some cottage in the countryside and then given an accent to. That or else something just completely random, like praire dogs under an open sunset, or tomtoms in the river. Really.
I need to start working on the backpacking trip entry... but yeah, two weeks is a long time. But yeah, yesterday. After aforementined time spent in the Californian Study Center, we all met up at 2 o clock, when Elke whisked the half of the group that actually showed up to all these random little villages. Its so weird, for all these EAP excursions it always starts off, "Excursion to Duderstadt to see the Max und Moritz Museum" and turns out that we go to like ten random places after that. Max und Moritz was the first German cartoon, apparently, and we heard all about it (its called the Katzenjammer kids or something like that in English) from this slightly off woman at the museum. We saw the mill where the writer lived, and we all watched in horror as some small German child fell down the really steep stairs (and the tour guide just kept on talking). There was also a lot about some slightly sickening mouse traps. We then went to the European Bread Museum... yeah, random. But thank God Germany produces the most bread of any country (or cares about it the most, or something). And no that is not sarcasm. After we ran around the museum, my favorite part of which was the recreation of ancient breads, we got a tour of the grounds from this delightful old German man. Apparently he is one of the worlds leading professors/thinkers? in the field of forrestry. That doesn't explain why we got a tour of the grounds from him, how Elke knows him or what the hell he was even doing at a bread museum, but I stopped asking questions long ago. He tried to speak to us in English because the whole afternoon had been in German and I think Elke realized that most of us have been gone the past three weeks and have not been here in Germany practicing our German, and it always delights me to no end to hear Germans stumble through English. We ended up the excursion at the Plesseburg, which is the fortress that lies some ways out of Goettingen, that I went to with Martin what seems like ages ago.
Now I need to go shower and somehow make something of this seemingly wasted day.
After spending a couple hours the past few days in her office, perspirating in fear, I feel like Elke (our program coordinator) must think I am complete idiot. I kept asking her questions (because lets face it, if anyone who has ever accused me of being anal were here, they'd get their worst fears realized faster than... would ever happen in the States), and she, sighing, would reply that, yes, it says that right there. Or no, that that is stated right over there. I look at this petite, modern German Oma and try to telepathize the notion that, Yes that is good and fine woman, but you do realize I can't understand most of this pamphlet? I am reading these course descriptions thinking, ah yes, Greece as a modern Something and Athens role as a Something Something in the Something something. And then after a few paragraphs of that I, lucky student, get to read that all that the course demands is a 30 page paper and a "short oral presentation", in paratheses (30 minutes). Short presentation. I see. Well, that makes that decision that much easier. As the days pass I wonder more and more how I will ever be able to hide from anyone the fact that the German portion of my brain is not old enough to go to college.
So after hours of trying to decipher all the convulated codes that are in all these different books I have to keep looking at, I sort of have a rough idea of what I might want to take. At this point the plan is to go to this list of classes, starting Monday, and afterwards cross the ones off that are more impossible than the others.
One of the ones I am actually more excited about is a creative writing class. I don't know if this is a good reason to take a class, but the thought of myself sitting in this room full of Germans, reading outloud my fourth grade poetry about the blue sky and the chirping birds is just too funny to pass up. Okay, actually upon rereading that is only funny from an outside perspective. But I am thinking the whole bit about "playing with words" will help me grasp a bit about how the language actually moves, and more about how Germans can actually write something to sound poetic. In my experience with the language it seems like you'd have to work around some basic grammatical rules to make anything actually sound beautiful. We'll see.
Other potential courses are: Pompeji- Leben und Sterben in einer antiken Stadt, Burg-Kloster-Stadt-Lebensformen im Mittelalter, a university writing course that is sponsered by the study center and that is taught by an ILP prof (which a lot of people aren't taking because everyone is all up and hoiety toiety about their skillz, but honestly if this is a class I can take with other people I know and not cry myself to sleep about every night, it sounds good to me), a class on Thomas Mann and the resulting tutorium that is sponsered by the study center (led by Herr Beilein, my favorite German academic), a DaF course that is yet to be chosen (Deutsch als Fremdsprache... German as a foreign language... so some sort of grammar or something. I think I have to take a placement test on Wednesday for it, oh joy) and.... yeah, I think an English lit class. I keep getting weird looks from people when I mention the English class, but I have heard that it is a good idea to take a class here in English, because then you meet Germans who want your help with their English, and then they in turn can help you with your German. It gets hard to keep asking Germans for help on stuff when you can't really do anything for them in return. So... we'll see. The two English lit classes I plan on checking out are on Nathaniel Hawthorne (with an emphasis on The Scarlet Letter), and one on Oscar Wilde. I think I need to find one of the prof's emails and try to figure out how to ask to be put on the class list, because apparently you are supposed to have done this ahead of time for lit classes... my head hurts. Its been a good few years since I read The Scarlet Letter, and I have actually never read any Wilde... but come on, its in ENGLISH. I think another reason why I want to take one of these courses is so I can have at least one part of my week where I don't feel like I am just some homeless crack addict they threw some clothes on and pushed in the direction of the Uni. I don't know if drug abusers really deserve a comment like that from me, but I already know I am going to have a hard time grappling with feeling like an idiot ALL the time, instead of just most of it (like this summer). I will have to write more about school later, its starting to make me nauseous thinking this much about it.
The first two nights I was back in Goettingen I stayed in my room and tried to not feel so out of sorts. Then Thursday night Jacky and I went into town for Indian food (ohhh man), and then met with Tony to see Jungfrau, Maennlich sucht... which is the convulted title for The Forty Year Old Virgin. It was good, but I think I will enjoy it more in English. I think Steve Carrell's humor loses something in translation, but it was worth it just for the ending scene. I really like seeing movies in German, and I think it does help to have to sit there and actually think for an hour or two, but I think its going to be strange to go home and rewatch some of these movies and then actually get all the jokes. After the movie the three of us rode to this little bar and hung out until Lee and Lauren met up with us. We swapped some stories of Eastern European insanity (apparently its a good thing that we didn't meet any Gypsy children), and then we went to another bar. After awhile there we went to the Dorfkrug, which is this bar next to the Dorf. Its still weird for me to get used to the idea of drinking establishments being affliated with a univerisity residence. There we ran into Peter and G1 (this is not the girl's actual name, but I have no clue how you would spell it, and this is how you pronouce it, so thats the best I can do), two Korean friends of Tony's. Apparently I've met Peter before, but I have realized since being in Europe that not only is everyone bad with names, but I am really bad with them. I think a big part of that for me here is that a lot of the names of people I am meeting I have either not heard before or am unused to pronoucing in German, for example Row-bhert for Robert, Mhar-teen for Martin. Then Peter, G1, Jacky, and I headed back with Tony to his place, where we sat around (me in a drowsed stupor) till 5 in the morning eating Korean dumplings. I watched the rest of them eat these little dried crabs and suffered their ridicule for my apparent distaste for some of these and other tasty Korean treats. I don't think I've had Korean food much before coming here, but its more different from the Chinese or Japanese (maybe I should be putting these in quotes?) than I would have thought. Its strange to think that its just all about what you grow up eating. As I am sure I have mentioned before, Jacky is half Korean and so she grew up loving this stuff, and freaks out when these Korean Germans offer us stuff. She is in heaven and a lot of times I am just sort of forcing it down. I am trying to have an open mind about all this, but a lot of the spices and tastes just aren't good to me. We did eat "traditional" food in every country we went to on this trip... except England, because England is so outrageously expensive that we were eating as cheaply as possible. A lot of what appeared to be "traditional" English food sounded really terrible, too. We were in the supermarket with Colina and there was just some of the strangest sounding stuff...I can't remember any names now, but it all sounded like stuff that had been regurgitated, baked over an open fire in some cottage in the countryside and then given an accent to. That or else something just completely random, like praire dogs under an open sunset, or tomtoms in the river. Really.
I need to start working on the backpacking trip entry... but yeah, two weeks is a long time. But yeah, yesterday. After aforementined time spent in the Californian Study Center, we all met up at 2 o clock, when Elke whisked the half of the group that actually showed up to all these random little villages. Its so weird, for all these EAP excursions it always starts off, "Excursion to Duderstadt to see the Max und Moritz Museum" and turns out that we go to like ten random places after that. Max und Moritz was the first German cartoon, apparently, and we heard all about it (its called the Katzenjammer kids or something like that in English) from this slightly off woman at the museum. We saw the mill where the writer lived, and we all watched in horror as some small German child fell down the really steep stairs (and the tour guide just kept on talking). There was also a lot about some slightly sickening mouse traps. We then went to the European Bread Museum... yeah, random. But thank God Germany produces the most bread of any country (or cares about it the most, or something). And no that is not sarcasm. After we ran around the museum, my favorite part of which was the recreation of ancient breads, we got a tour of the grounds from this delightful old German man. Apparently he is one of the worlds leading professors/thinkers? in the field of forrestry. That doesn't explain why we got a tour of the grounds from him, how Elke knows him or what the hell he was even doing at a bread museum, but I stopped asking questions long ago. He tried to speak to us in English because the whole afternoon had been in German and I think Elke realized that most of us have been gone the past three weeks and have not been here in Germany practicing our German, and it always delights me to no end to hear Germans stumble through English. We ended up the excursion at the Plesseburg, which is the fortress that lies some ways out of Goettingen, that I went to with Martin what seems like ages ago.
Now I need to go shower and somehow make something of this seemingly wasted day.
posted by Meredesu at 5:02 PM
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