Montag, 10. Oktober 2005

What a long day! Today was my first day in my International Negotiations and Conflict Resolution class. Our professor, Patrick Schmidt was originally from the United States, Las Angeles to be exact, but he has been in Europe for the past 15 or 20 years. Most recently he was working as a free lance instructor for Daimler-Benz on the same subject.

As it stands right now, it looks like most of these classes are going to be review from what I have learned in previous classes, just with a international twist on the way the information is presented. At least this will give me more time to focus on my German class, and every class I take fits in with my degree. Suprisingly enough, a semester through this program costs as much as going to RIT and living on campus for the same length of time.


I also had my first day of German today with our program coordinator, Hartwig Prüßmann. The entire class is taught in German which should make it a little harder for me to follow along at all times. However, only half the students had prior German language experience at all, so they were placed in a level 0 beginner course to go over the core basics. Because of the lack of students for an intermediate class, they have combined the intermdiate and advanced together which I am in at present. For most of the class we went over tounge twisters to get the German vowel sounds down, such as „Walter Weichweber wanderte wenigstens zwiemal, wenn das Wetter warm war, wochentags von Würyburg via Wolenhausen nach Wemelswingen“. For the most part I was able to pronounce the sentences without problem, but there were a few that I got hung up on.

I am really looking forward to this class to expand my knowlenge and vocabulary so I can carry on a full conversation before I leave. I am also considering coming back, later next year possibly, to study at the Goethe Institute in Bonn. Everything is still up in the air at this point, but it is always an option!

My schedule is as follows;
Montag
9-10:30 and 11-12:30 International Negotiations and Conflict Resolution
2-3:30 German

Dienstag
11-12:30 German
2-5:30 European Culture and Institutions

Mittwoch
9-10:30 Managing Organizations
11-12:30 International Marketing

Donnerstag
9-10:30 Managing Organizations
11-12:30 International Marketing
2-3:30 German

Fridays are reserved for city tours put on by Hartwig. This week we are going to the Amerika Haus in Köln. I have never heard of it before, but I will have to look into it. There is also the possibility we will meet up again with the US Consular General for Germany, George Knowles. We were also requested to attend a party or get together by the US Ambassador to Germany later this month. (We had just happened to meet them while we were touring the Cathedral last week and they knew of Hartwig from his past endeavors)

I also purchased tickets with a few of the students (Denise, Melissa, Nathaniel and Kristina) in our program to head out to Berlin for a long weekend, Oktober 27th until November 1st. Any suggestions on what I should do while I am out there? I am hoping to head out to Scotland and maybe meeting Angela in France, England or Germany.

We also had an amazing dinner from our host mother. I am staying with 7 other students in this huge house, mansion almost with the amount of rooms, and one is leaving soon and it was Kazahero´s birthday. To start off the night one of the Weber's former students played a few classical pieces on his clarinet as we sat around the fire. With the fire crakling before us, good friends all around in a candle lit room, we were serenaded with the likes of Mozart and other compopsers. For dinner we had beef with a rich sauce, rice, sauerkraut, warm red cabbage and an almond topped kuchen- oh, and as usual, a bottomless cup of wine. After desert we listened to some more classical music followed by some opera singing by another current Japanese student, who's name escapes me at this moment. All in all, the night lasted over 2 hours, but it was absolutely amazing!

Lastly, I should be able to post my older blogs once I buy a new power adapter and get my wireless working at the school (I must have lost it while trying to use it at school) I have also taken a ton of pictures that I am hoping to get up online soon!

-Chris