Difference between revisions of "Angl-Am:Community Portal"

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==Weblog==
 
==Weblog==
 
{{Template:Blog archive}}
 
{{Template:Blog archive}}
===April 20, 2007, Oldenburg, Oldenburg===
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===April 23, 2007, Oldenburg, Oldenburg===
  
Friday afternoon, the campus has turned silent, I should clear my desk, decide, what work I can do during the weekend, drink another cup of tea - I still have not answered all my mail.
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Hi! My name is Jenny and I am an exchange student from the United States. I go to the University of South Dakota and am originally from Minnesota. Since I am still fairly new here, it’s been requested that I blog sometimes to share my thoughts on what’s new or different to me here.  
  
The little Tae Kwon Do course (just a couple of minutes ago) has woken me up, feels good to move. Five people enrolled - ten would be better, so that it won’t matter whether all are present on all occasions. It is, by the way, not necessary to attend all sessions, one can drop in very now and then (though learning begins with the more regular thought about the whole thing).
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Since school just started, I’d thought I’d talk about that. And I’m sure every German out there is now yelling at the computer “It’s a university! Not school!” Most of the German people I know have a problem whenever I call it “school,” but to me, it’s the same thing. You get up, go to class, go back home and do homework. From Kindergarten to the university, it’s the same thing. Anyway, the German university is quite a bit different than the ones in America.  
  
Before the training we were having lunch together, Anton Kirchhofer, Anna Auguscik and Silke Greskamp, who is just completing her PhD in the field of gender-studies. Anton could win her to offer a seminar on a topic of her choice. She opted for:
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First of all, the campus itself seems really…dirty. I can’t think of another way to describe it. I mean, there isn’t litter all over the place or anything, but it’s not the well-manicured landscape that I’m used to with American businesses. At this university, the grass isn’t mowed, there are weeds everywhere and half of university just has dirt, no grass. It just seems strange. Part of the university looks so run-down and scary that I’m almost afraid to go over there. American universities usually have very friendly-looking buildings, with a full lawn and gardens around them. The lawns are mowed at least once a week and probably have both pesticides and herbicides on them so that the only thing that will grow there is grass. It’s not that the university here is worse or anything; it’s just that the different perspectives are interesting.  
  
[[2007 AM Yann Martel's 'Self' and 'Life of Pi'|Yann Martel's 'Self' and 'Life of Pi']]
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Another thing that is different is that the students actually participate in class. If the professor asks a question, the students here answer right away. In America, or at least at the university I go to, no one answers. There is always an awkward silence after the professor asks a question. It’s considered “not cool” to answer questions, but I hate that silence and try to answer sometimes. I can’t always answer or I look like a suck-up. But here, I don’t have to worry about that because people actually do answer. It’s funny that in America, we pay for classes and then don’t participate and in Germany, where classes aren’t paid for, people take them much more seriously.
  
Yann Martel’s ''Life of Pi'' was received with great enthusiasm among readers and critics alike. It won him the prestigious Booker Prize in 2002 causing some controversy over alleged plagiarism. His novel deals with an (in)credible sea journey of a young boy and develops remarkable parallels with Defoe’s ''Robinson Crusoe''. But what is more, it is a very contemporary version of the ring parable and virtually forces the reader to make a decision, not only for the period of your reading the text but for your life.
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--[[User:Jennifer Rogers|Jennifer Rogers]] 21:54, 23 April 2007 Jennifer Rogers (CEST)
 
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(How on earth can I be so eloquent about a title I never read? – I just asked Anna sitting next to me.) In any case: The seminar - taking place on Mondays 18:00-20:00, A06 0-001 - got listed too late, and the number of participants is still too small. So think of the topic and if you are studying at the Aufbau-Modul level, think of enrolling. You already have a chosen one seminar? – choose another and decide later where you will write your paper.
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A quarter to five! At six I should be at home – and I still have not decided what to cook tonight! Pasta, Anna said – Chaucer and then a gratin with fresh sweet-cream-tomato sauce? My fridge needs to be filled...
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--[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 16:43, 20 April 2007 (CEST)
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Revision as of 09:58, 24 April 2007

Noteboard

  • The English Language Help Center (ELHC) started offering its services: If you need assistance in areas such as Writing, Presentations, Communication, etc., you are welcome to place your name on the sign-up sheet outside of Lauren Freede´s office door (A6 2-221).
  • Leitfaden zur Abfassung wissenschaftlicher Arbeiten in Anglistik is now available for download: style sheet Außerdem ein Link zu einer HP mit Beispielen einer Bibliographie im MLA Style: [1]
  • Hilfreiche Tipps für Erstsemester:
  • Evaluation: forms and results can be found here

Weblog

Archive

April 23, 2007, Oldenburg, Oldenburg

Hi! My name is Jenny and I am an exchange student from the United States. I go to the University of South Dakota and am originally from Minnesota. Since I am still fairly new here, it’s been requested that I blog sometimes to share my thoughts on what’s new or different to me here.

Since school just started, I’d thought I’d talk about that. And I’m sure every German out there is now yelling at the computer “It’s a university! Not school!” Most of the German people I know have a problem whenever I call it “school,” but to me, it’s the same thing. You get up, go to class, go back home and do homework. From Kindergarten to the university, it’s the same thing. Anyway, the German university is quite a bit different than the ones in America.

First of all, the campus itself seems really…dirty. I can’t think of another way to describe it. I mean, there isn’t litter all over the place or anything, but it’s not the well-manicured landscape that I’m used to with American businesses. At this university, the grass isn’t mowed, there are weeds everywhere and half of university just has dirt, no grass. It just seems strange. Part of the university looks so run-down and scary that I’m almost afraid to go over there. American universities usually have very friendly-looking buildings, with a full lawn and gardens around them. The lawns are mowed at least once a week and probably have both pesticides and herbicides on them so that the only thing that will grow there is grass. It’s not that the university here is worse or anything; it’s just that the different perspectives are interesting.

Another thing that is different is that the students actually participate in class. If the professor asks a question, the students here answer right away. In America, or at least at the university I go to, no one answers. There is always an awkward silence after the professor asks a question. It’s considered “not cool” to answer questions, but I hate that silence and try to answer sometimes. I can’t always answer or I look like a suck-up. But here, I don’t have to worry about that because people actually do answer. It’s funny that in America, we pay for classes and then don’t participate and in Germany, where classes aren’t paid for, people take them much more seriously.

--Jennifer Rogers 21:54, 23 April 2007 Jennifer Rogers (CEST)