Final Celebration & Farewell!

Dear Students,

First of all, I’m very lucky to have had this opportunity to share my experiences with the class. Thank you to Ms. Sweeney and her wonderful class of 7th and 8th graders for being a part of this experience.

Final Celebration Recap

I hope you all enjoyed learning about Germany, the study abroad experience, and enjoyed some of the things I brought back from my time in Europe.

We began the celebration with a meet and greet before I started really presenting. This is the very standard German practice of vorstellen, meeting and introducing yourself to new people. I spent the night before making some German pretzels to smooth out the process… I hope you all enjoyed 🙂

I brought a bunch of things back from Germany (and some from other places in Europe) to share with you all:

• A hand-carved drinking horn from the Black Forest, showing some of the traditional craftsmanship still found in the countryside of Germany.
• A variety of newspaper clipping, brochures, and flyers about current events in Germany. Some of these things were about the election, others about history or sights, or brochures from German art halls showing centuries (sometimes millenia!) of German art.
• An old map of the German Black Forest, marked and annotated with the paths I took, where I stayed, and what happened along the way.
• Money! Swiss Francs, Euro notes and coins, Moroccan Dirham, as well as a 30 year-old German Mark, from the days of West Germany.
• Maps of Mannheim, Heidelberg, and Germany.
• Lots and lots of HARIBO gummy bears, which are certainly the best in the world!

Presentation

I spent some time talking about my personal experiences in Mannheim. However, since I talked so much about it in the blog, I tried to connect it more to studying abroad in general. Everyday life, school, making friends, travelling, and immersing yourself in local culture were all major topics in the presentation that can (and should!) be applied to studying in any country!

The Weird German Language

German can be an intimidating language. It definitely gets stereotyped as being a rough-sounding and difficult to learn one. I showed you all some weird words, like turtle literally meaning “shield frog” or bagpipes meaning “yodel sack”. There’s also the longest word in German: “Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz”. I congratulate the students who attempted it!

It can be a weird language at time, but do not be dismayed! It is the closest language to English and is not very difficult to pick up! If you ever have a language requirement in university or high school and want a language that isn’t too strenuous, I’d highly recommend learning German. It can really be a beautiful language.

German Jeopardy!

Or should I say, Gerpardy! We played a quick quiz round about topics from the blog and presentation. Questions included:

• What is the capital of Germany?
• What currency does Germany use?
• Which countries speak German?
• Which countries border Germany?
• What is the national symbol of Germany?
• Who is the current leader of Germany?
• What is the German word for Germany?
• Why is the Black Forest called the Black Forest?

Some of these were difficult! I congratulate Gavin’s team for winning the quiz with 6/7 questions correct. I hope you enjoy the large sack of HARIBO!

Comments on Studying Abroad

It was very nice to hear about you all and where you’d like to maybe study one day. I’m certainly glad that some of you would be interested in studying in Germany. We didn’t have a ton of time, but I hope that I answered all the questions you had about studying abroad. It is definitely a very new and somewhat scary process in the beginning, but it is so worth it.

There are many reasons you could study abroad. It could be to test out your language skills, discover new cultures, learn about history, or to see your ancestral roots! Studying abroad can also be very affordable, as I said. There are many scholarships you can all seek out to make it a possibility if money is tight.

Despite all the fun it is, there is still a lot of schoolwork! The process of becoming a legal resident during your stay, registering with the school, and getting courses set up can be a little stressful, but important nonetheless. Make sure that you’re enjoying yourself and experiencing the place, but remember the “study” in “study abroad”.

I’m glad I could clear up other questions you all had about Germany, my time there, and Europe in general. I hope everyone had their question answered!

 

Thank You:

I genuinely had a great time doing the blog and meeting you all in person. It went from a school assignment to a real connection I had with you all, and I hope you all feel the same way! If anyone has questions about studying abroad in Germany, your teacher has my email. Feel free to get in touch anytime! Thank each and every one of you, including Ms. Sweeney and aide Mrs. Davidson, for sharing this experience with me.

For the last time:
Auf Wiedersehen! -Guyar Vial

Photo of the Week: Winter is Here!

Did some more hiking this last weekend in the Black Forest, but this time it was a little different. I didn’t expect any snow, and didn’t pack enough clothes for this one. I’ll tell you more about this one in person, but it was definitely an adventure.

Week 10: My Favorite Piece of Germany: Rothenburg

Hello Students,

It’s hard to believe that this is my last blog post from Germany. I’m very sad to be leaving Germany, but also happy to be coming back home. I have had a great experience here, and have grown to feel almost at home here. Maybe one day…

I’ve been reflecting a lot on my time here, and have often think about my favorite town in Germany…and maybe the world: Rothenburg ob der Tauber. I went back to this picturesque town for a second time recently. I love it so much that I’m going there a third time to celebrate Christmas! Let me take you through it!

 

The beautiful city fountain of Rothenburg, depicting Siegfried slaying the dragon. This Siegfried (Sigurd in Scandinavia) is a legendary hero of the Germanic mythology. In the background you can see great examples of traditional German houses.

By law, the houses within the medieval city cannot be remodeled or torn down, and must stay in with the aesthetic of this Middle Age style. I love it myself, I much prefer this to common “sheet metal and glass” of Mannheim and Portland both.

Cathedral of Saint James in Rothenburg dates back to the 1300s. It is a Lutheran church, which practices the ideas of German monk Martin Luther in 1517. This is rare because Rothenburg’s state, Bavaria, is almost entirely Catholic.

The cathedral contains great works of craftsmanship. Stain glass windows typically show local heroes or saints or recount stories or events. This carving here depicts a meeting of elders from the bible, with other parts to the story on the sides. Regardless of religious beliefs, the carving here is absolutely a masterpiece.

Another shot of the church, with a man playing some lovely music from the violin. I’m not usually one for street music, but his music here made for a wonderful atmosphere.

This style of building is called “Fachwerk” (fach-vairk) in German, or “Timer-Frame” in English. I love how people in the town embellish the housing with vines, flowers, or small gardens.

The city is lined with a wall that was built during the 1200s. You can look out through holes in the wall, or even climb an old guard tower for a better view!

This is a common view of outside the city from the walls. Rothenburg was built on a high hill surrounded by the Tauber River, making it an easily-defensible fortress. In fact the name “Rothenburg ob der Tauber” meaning “Red-Fortress above the Tauber”.

One of the city’s many gates. This is what you’d have to go through in order to get into the city. There are three walls that they can lower within this gate to stop any intruders. If you were outside of the city walls at night, you wouldn’t be able to get in until the morning!

Another city square with an ornate fountain. This statue depicts a mermaid on the top. The fountains have a high wall on the sides so animals would not contaminate it.

This placard on the wall is from the 1500s, and says: “In this building (built 1488), stayed Emperor Maximilian the First in 1513 for two seasons”. Very cool that the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire ruled from here for a bit of time!
The hanging sign says “Marien Pharmacy”. To be a member of a “guild” (a group of sellers of a certain good) in Rothenburg, you needed to purchase a special sign with a metal ornament. Here, it’s a container of medicine. Many bakeries here have a hanging pretzel, guesthouses have a pillow usually, and beerhalls have a mug, of course. If you see a business with one of these, it could very likely be hundreds of years old.

This is the city’s old “Rathaus”… but there aren’t any vermin here. “Rat” in German means “advice”, and thus the Germans call their town halls “house of advice”. This term goes back to back to times where the rulers of the city would settle disputes and problems brought by the townspeople. Every day at 3PM the windows open and a puppet show is held which tells the story of the time the city narrowly avoided destruction!

A traditional southern German meal: “Schweinshaxe” (shvines-haxuh). This is a roasted pork knuckle, served with potatoes and sauerkraut. This is about as German as it gets.

Many buildings still have crests of noble families that used to live there. This one was apparently put up by a “Matthias von Metternich”. I wish I had a fancy family crest like that…

Another building that once housed a noble family. However, it has been converted to be used as a “Mittelalterliches Kriminalmuseum”, the city’s Middle Ages Crime Museum. It was a museum dedicated to crimes and punishments of Middle Ages Germany. It was very grim, but very interesting as well.

Sorry about the glare – this is a map of Rothenburg ob der Tauber from the 1500s. You can clearly see the size of the medieval walls and numerous guard towers.

The various “tools” used by Medieval executioners in Germany.

The narrow old streets of the town. This is probably my favorite aspect of all these old European towns, it looks so pretty.

A view from the top of the town’s cathedral.

Another view. You can see easily tell the size of the town by looking at where the red-roofed buildings stop (about 2/3 up the photo).

The newer Town Hall, which can be climbed up for a great view of the town and surrounding area.

Another beautiful spot in Rothenburg was its Fortress Garden. Once used by the castle elite of the town, it is now open to the public. It contains sets of statues, with this one being the four seasons. This statue here represents autumn. The German word for autumn “herbst”, is where we get our word for “harvest” from.

 

Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed a look at my favorite town in Germany. It is definitely a place that I will never forget.

• How did you all like the town?
• Have you all noticed any trends in German towns and cities I’ve shown?
• How do you think life would be different in such an isolated and small community?

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This is last last real blog post on this site. It has been an absolute pleasure being able to share my experience in and with Germany with you all. I am very excited for meeting you all, as of now it will be January 12th! Please comment if there’s anything else you’d like to know about Germany or want to do for our final celebration!

See you all then,
Guyar

P.S. Here’s a Cascadia sticker I found in a restaurant in Mannheim

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo of the Week: Baden!

A grand hall in Baden, built in the classical style by Kaiser Wilhelm I. In here, citizens could meet, talk, do business, or settle disputes. This is one of my favorite buildings in the area. The building is now more of a museum, but is still a big monument for the city.

Week 9: Hunting for the Past

Guten Morgen/Tag/Nacht Studenten,

I was thinking about doing a post about the nature and wildlife in Germany. Not a bad idea, but it would’ve been more or less of a list of things we have a lot of in the USA. So I’ve decided to scrap that and go with something a little more fun for you and I both.

Antiques are a great way to learn history, something Germany is very rich in. So I’ve been going to as many antique stores as possible to show you guys what I found. I had no idea what to expect. Let’s see what relics from history we can find.

Leather-bound Bible, in Latin – Stuttgart, Germany – 1630
This beautiful bible has gold adorning the cover and in illustrations inside. This was during the height of the 30 Year’s War between the Catholic and Protestant countries of Europe over the future of Christianity. It destroyed much of the Holy Roman Empire. Nowadays in Germany, it is Catholics in the south and Protestants in the north, all because of this war.

Germany has had lots of propaganda this last century. Here are a collection of six posters from the 1920s through the 1960s. 
1) “Stalin – That is the Peace” Communist propaganda from East Germany – 1952
2) “Our Answer!” Communist propaganda from East Germany – 1950s/1960s
3) “Degenerate Music” (referring to Jazz) National Socialist propaganda – 1938
4) “To Berlin!” Advertisement for the German train system – 1926
5) “All speak of the weather: We don’t” Ad for the Socialist Youth in East Germany – 1960
6) “Help all with the harvest” Propaganda from East Germany – 1951

Bierstein made from Pewter – 1900
Inscription: “what is to me on earth, so heaven brings”
Obviously Germans love their beer. The old school way to do it was to bring your stein (“stone” in German) to the beerhall and have them fill it up. The lid on top has three purposes: it keeps the drink cold by preventing airflow, it keeps the drink carbonated, and it keeps the drink from spilling when you cheers with other people. When you cheers, you say “Prost!”, it’s very rude if you don’t!

Wooden Hunter’s Clock with Buck, Fish, Crow, Rifle, and Spear – mid 1900s
The Germans invented the first mechanical clock in the 1300s. In the south of Germany, especially in the black forest (where cuckoo clocks were invented), old-style wooden clocks are still very popular. This clock is not extremely old, but is entirely carved from a single piece of wood. I love this kind of craftsmanship.

Leather Prussian “Pickelhaube” Helmet – 1900-1918
Prussia was the most powerful of the German kingdoms before Germany united into an empire before World War One. This is their classic helmet called the “pickelhaube”. On the front is the German Eagle with the banner “Fuer Gott und Vaterland” (for God and fatherland). It’s certainly a beautiful helmet. What was the spike for, you ask? Nothing…besides looking cool. I really want one of these, but they’re very expensive.

Creepy Christmas ornament – ???
I found an old cotton Christmas ornament. Is it supposed to be Santa/Father Christmas, St. Nikolaus (different from Santa in Germany), Scrooge? I’m not sure, but it seems to be staring into my soul the longer I look at it. I want to get a Christmas ornament from here to bring back… but definitely not this one.

Gotha Almanac & Calendar – 1821
This book is both a calendar and an index of all of Europe’s royalty. Every year, a publisher in the German city of Gotha would update and release a new version. This occurred from 1763 until 1944, when soldiers from the Soviet Union destroyed the archives. The woman on the left page is “Germania”, the female personification of Germany.

My favorite of the antique shops I visited. This one was in a narrow-side street in Heidelberg, just outside of Mannheim.

Hope you all learned a thing or two. I’ll be back next week for my last of the blog posts. I’ll be back home in January and I’m preparing our celebration. I have a few questions for you all:

• What else would you guys like to learn about Germany when I’m back?
• What would your ideal in-class celebration be?

Hope you’re all going to have a good thanksgiving.
-Guyar Vial

Photo of the Week: Trier!

This week’s photo comes from the oldest city in Germany: Trier. It was founded by the Roman Emperor Augustus as “Augusta Treverorum”. It was the greatest city in the north of the Roman empire. This is a gate built by Emperor Constantine for the city nearly 2,000 years ago.

Week 8: Interview with German Students!

Liebe Kinder,

Today I’ll go over just how different the German school system is from ours in the US. I also sat down with some German students and talked to them about their experience in German schools. Let’s jump in!

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 The School System

In the US, we have a single-track system. This means that all students go through the same path to graduation (Kindergarten→Elementary School→Middle School→High School). In Germany, that is not the case. Here is a chart showing the system:

As you can see, all students go through Kindergarten and Elementary School (Grundschule in German). After that, however, students’ abilities are evaluated and they can go into one of three school types.

• Hauptschule (howpt-shool-uh) teaches at a slower pace and is for students that are not expected to go to University. It also provides work training.
• Realschule (ray-all-shool-uh) is the intermediate school, training students for both work and possibly university.
• Gymnasium (Gimm-nah-see-um), is the highest level, for students that will go directly to university. This system keeps universities from being crowded and overly expensive.

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My Interview with some German Students!

I live very close to the Kurpfalz (koor-faults) school in Mannheim, so I chose to do my interview here. This school houses both a Gymnasium and Realschule.

This is a public park in Mannheim on the other side of the school. In Germany, schools are often built next to parks and the playgrounds are not “private”, but rather shared between everyone who wants to use the park. However, in this cold time of year, most kids spend recess indoors.

I interviewed three schoolchildren (Joseph, Alex, and Adrian) during their recess. They are each 12 years old and in the equivalent of 7th grade in the Gymnasium school. I did the interview in German and translated their answers into English, but they were simple enough where it should be almost exactly accurate.

I apologize for not having photos of the schoolkids, but the school was not too keen on me taking photos with them without parental permission.

My frantic notes of their answers. This was one of my hardest German tasks here so far actually. Keeping up with the kids and their German was not easy. Thankfully, the kids understood that German wasn’t my first language and were very patient.

Here is what they have to say about school in Germany:

Do you like to go to school?

• Joseph: Sometimes. When the subjects I like are taught.
• Alex: Yes. I live far, so I can see my friends here.
• Adrian: Yes, but sometimes it is quite hard and not so fun.

What do you do for food/lunch at school?

• Joseph: I don’t eat meat, usually bread and cheese. Or something like it.
• Alex: Sometimes wurst (sausage) and a roll of bread. Sometimes I buy food from school.
• Adrian: Today I have pasta my mother made, but usually I get food at school.

From 1 to 10, how hard is school for you?

• Joseph: It depends on which class, but usually 5 I think.
• Alex: 6 or 7. It is not easy mostly.
• Adrian: Usually 5 or 6. But English is very hard for me, maybe 8.

How long is the usual schoolday?

• Joseph: It starts at 8:15 and usually goes until 1:30.
• Alex: Same for me. Sometimes school ends early at 12:45.

Do you like your teachers? How would you describe them?

• Joseph: They are strict, but not mean. I like mine. Some are funny.
• Alex: They are different. Most are good. They get more strict when you get older.
• Adrian: Yes, most are good. I only have one bad teacher for English.

What do you want to do after you’re done with school?

• Joseph: Probably go to university, but I don’t know what to study. Probably a science.
• Alex: University too. I would like to study abroad also. I will probably study business or something similar.
• Adrian: I like engineering because my father works for John Deere. I want to do a praktikum [internship] there. I will probably go to university too.

Do you do any extracurricular activities?

• Joseph: No. Not yet.
• Alex: I play in soccer games that the school schedules, but not on the team.
• Adrian: Only during the summer months. There are lots of trips you can go on. I have done rowing and skiing, but I am not good.

Are you learning any languages?

• Joseph: English and French. But I will probably only keep English.
• Alex: English. Almost everyone takes it and one more.
• Adrian: English. It is useful but don’t like it. Sorry!

What are your favorite subjects?

• Joseph: Sport [PE in Germany]. We get to do fun stuff like ping pong too.
• Alex: Sport and English and religion. Because they’re the easiest.
• Adrian: Sport and biology. They’re fun and the teachers are entertaining.

What do you do during recess?

• Joseph: We don’t have a lot of time. Usually I just talk with my friends.
• Alex: Yes, we just hang out. Sometimes walk around.
• Adrian: Sometimes we play ping pong or other games but usually just chill.

Do you have anything to say to students in the USA?

• Joseph: You should come to Mannheim, it is very cool!
• Adrian: I don’t know where Portland is. But I really want to visit California! We don’t really have beaches here that are nice.

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Thank you Frau Vath for helping me get the interview set up! Thank you Joseph, Adrian, and Alex for letting me interview you during your recess and being so patient with me! German students here seem just like those back home!

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Now I have some questions for you all:

• What differences do you guys see with schools in Germany?
• Would you want to go to school in Germany?
• Would your answers to these questions be similar or not?

 

Our time together is almost over, looking forward to seeing you all in January!
-Guyar Vial

 

Photo of the Week: Heidelberg

This photo is from Heidelberg, a town close to Mannheim and one of the great Renaissance jewels of Germany. Note the 700 year old castle atop the hill!

Week 7: German “Musik”!

Wie geht’s Studenten?

Today I’ll go through a big part of every culture – music! Germany has a wonderful history of music both old and new, and has contributed more to classical music than any other place in the world. Instead of lots of reading, I’d rather you all spend your time on this post listening to the pieces of these various artists. I’ll include links to listen to pieces throughout. Try to listen to each link, even if just for 30 seconds or so. Let’s jump in!

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Great German Musicians

Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven was a German pianist and composer. He created some of the greatest symphonies of all time – despite being deaf for much of his career!

Johann Sebastian Bach

Bach is another great composer from Germany during the 17th century.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Technically, Mozart wasn’t German because he was from Austria. But since the Austrians are Germanic and have a very shared history with Germany, I’ll count him in the list. I’m sure there are some Austrians out there who aren’t happy with the decision…

Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner may be my favorite artist of all time. He was a true musical genius and had many elements of philosophy in his pieces. He even wrote an opera that was almost 20 hours long!

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Volksmusik – Folk Music

Folk music is a big part of Germany’s heritage. Though you won’t find it in the cities anymore, you can still find it in the villages – especially in Germany’s mountainous south. There is also the stereotypical yodeling and polka, but that is extremely rare nowadays.

This last one is kind of a joke nowadays, but yodeling used to be very big in Bavaria and Austria. I don’t think anybody does it much at all anymore though.

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Modern German Music

Much of Germany’s great contributions to music were in the past, but they still have produced some decently-popular music recently. Nowadays, most Germans just listen to American music. Here are some of Germany’s biggest groups and songs in recent times.

Nena – 99 Luftballons (99 Balloons)

CRO – Traum (Dream)

Kraftwerk – Die Roboter (The Robots)

Germans absolutely love their techno and electronic music. Kraftwerk was a big group that started this craze in the 1970s. Be warned though, this one’s pretty weird…

Die Prinzen – Deutschland (Germany)

Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer is probably the most successful soundtrack producer of all time. He has composed music for such films as The Lion King, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Gladiator (my favorite movie), The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Interstellar. It may not be everyday listening music, but it shows that German greatness in composing lives on.

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My original list of music I wanted to have here was about twice as long, but I think this is a good sample for German music old and new. I hope you enjoyed listening!

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Was denkst du?
What do you think?

• What was your favorite song from here? Why?
• How many of these people/groups did you already know about?
• Do you think music should do anything beyond just “sounding good”?
• What role do you think music plays in culture?

Bis nächste Woche! (Biss nakestuh vo-kuh)

Until next week!
-GV

Photo of the Week: Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Here’s a panorama from the medieval German town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Red Fortress above the Tauber). It’s probably my favorite town in Germany so far. Hope you enjoy the view!