Dear reader,
This will be my last blog! 3 weeks are over and I am really satisfied with what I learned and experienced here!
To be honest, I can't really say that this trip changed me, but I guess it's not necessary to change after a 3 week program. I didn't have any prejudices that might have been changed my point of view. I had some expectations and really all of them were fulfilled.
But lets start in the beginning...
We arrived on Saturday...all of us with a bag, except me! After having pizza on saturday we went sleeping. Sunday began for me with running upstairs to get some clothes from Sebastian. Thanks for that again :) We went over the campus and the afternoon was free, so we instantly went to the first little store and I got 2 shirts, sunglasses and socks. As we came back to the dorm my bag had arrived...why did I get 2 shirts??? Well, that's bad luck, I guess.
The next striking experience was the Freedom Center and I was really impressed by what I saw there. I didn't know that much about the Civil War and it was really stunning.
I could go on like that and just mention almost everything we did each day, but that would take too long.
All in all I learned something new about this country every day of our trip. Sometimes cultural issues, sometimes simply what kind of beer people here drink. I am really satisfied with how these 3 weeks passed and I would definately do it again in exactly the same way!
So far so good, see you guys! And as Chuck would say, SUMMMMERCOOOOUUURSEEEE!!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Learning in general
Dear reader,
The knowledge we are learning here is about grammar and vocabulary but the main point for me is culture. And culture includes for example having barbecues in the evenings and also simply having a party here. I am really glad that we have some great as they would say "Betreuer" that really teach us how life is beside school.
Thinking about how I learned English at home makes me quite sad because there are some years of learning that are just useless! I picked English major course for my last 2 years in school. My English has improved in this time but nevertheless I think that many things we learned are just useless! For example we never learned something about informal language which is very important as I immediately noticed after arriving here! People here just don't speak like we did in classes in Germany and that is not the sense of learning a language to me.
As I already mentioned the greatest knowledge I got here is just experiencing the way of life here. All in all the trip was great and beside learning "only" English I really got a taste of how life here can be and that's what makes me confident. English is a language like every other language, but getting how people live here is a knowledge that nobody can teach you. It's all about experience!
The knowledge we are learning here is about grammar and vocabulary but the main point for me is culture. And culture includes for example having barbecues in the evenings and also simply having a party here. I am really glad that we have some great as they would say "Betreuer" that really teach us how life is beside school.
Thinking about how I learned English at home makes me quite sad because there are some years of learning that are just useless! I picked English major course for my last 2 years in school. My English has improved in this time but nevertheless I think that many things we learned are just useless! For example we never learned something about informal language which is very important as I immediately noticed after arriving here! People here just don't speak like we did in classes in Germany and that is not the sense of learning a language to me.
As I already mentioned the greatest knowledge I got here is just experiencing the way of life here. All in all the trip was great and beside learning "only" English I really got a taste of how life here can be and that's what makes me confident. English is a language like every other language, but getting how people live here is a knowledge that nobody can teach you. It's all about experience!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Culture of music in America
Dear reader,
Yesterday we have been to Cleveland to visit the famous Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I expected a lot of the museum and I really thought it would become great, since we haven't even entered the museum and we could already hear the rock'n'roll sound from loudspeakers in front of the building. I was so excited! We went down the first stairs and I could already see some guitars, which was pretty cool. The atmosphere down there was great! The light was dimmed, so the atmosphere just fit into what the place wishes to express: Rock!
I really liked the guitars hanging around everywhere, since it is in somehow the tool of the musicians via which they express themselves.
The museum was split into parts for different musicians and different sorts of music. I would have preferred if it would have been sorted chronological, but I guess this is hard since the time when bands enter the hall of fame isn't chronological.
The role of American music is being the most important influence in the music of the whole world. America is the leader concerning music, almost all countries just copy musicians or styles, since trends are being set in America. The most obvious point is that the Hall of Fame isn't somewhere in Europa, it is in America.
Musicians are portrayed as heroes because they were a nobody and managed to become famous and have a lot of money without giving up their values. Most of them(!) just do what they like to do and that is something everybody wants to reach. Most people neglect the fact that many many musicians have problems with drugs because they seem to split the life of the musician into their music and the rest of their life, although the musicians themselves won't split that. "I like the music" is one of the most popular phrases in this context, ignoring how the band might live behind the scene.
Yesterday we have been to Cleveland to visit the famous Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I expected a lot of the museum and I really thought it would become great, since we haven't even entered the museum and we could already hear the rock'n'roll sound from loudspeakers in front of the building. I was so excited! We went down the first stairs and I could already see some guitars, which was pretty cool. The atmosphere down there was great! The light was dimmed, so the atmosphere just fit into what the place wishes to express: Rock!
I really liked the guitars hanging around everywhere, since it is in somehow the tool of the musicians via which they express themselves.
The museum was split into parts for different musicians and different sorts of music. I would have preferred if it would have been sorted chronological, but I guess this is hard since the time when bands enter the hall of fame isn't chronological.
The role of American music is being the most important influence in the music of the whole world. America is the leader concerning music, almost all countries just copy musicians or styles, since trends are being set in America. The most obvious point is that the Hall of Fame isn't somewhere in Europa, it is in America.
Musicians are portrayed as heroes because they were a nobody and managed to become famous and have a lot of money without giving up their values. Most of them(!) just do what they like to do and that is something everybody wants to reach. Most people neglect the fact that many many musicians have problems with drugs because they seem to split the life of the musician into their music and the rest of their life, although the musicians themselves won't split that. "I like the music" is one of the most popular phrases in this context, ignoring how the band might live behind the scene.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Medical Care in America
Dear reader,
Today we visited the children's hospital of Cincinnati and went through several laboratories there. Afterwards we went to Walgreen's, a general purpose pharmacy. Walgreen's has a great offer of medicine for the daily use like for example Ibuprofen. To me it is more a drug store than a pharmacy, since the biggest part of the store is filled with stuff like razor-blades, waterguns and creams, things you won't find in a "normal" pharmacy.
At the children's hospital the possibilites of medical care are not comparable, since there they have tests about DNA, chromosomes and all problems concerning that.
This difference mirrors itself in the prices. The tests in the hospital go from 1000 up to 3000$. In contrast to that, a package of Ibuprofen costs 6$ at Walgreen's.
In my mind the question concerning personal autonomy in deciding about medical treatment depends on the person. Someone with heavy psychological problems should definately not decide about his treatment, since he might think wrong about things. A person whos' mind is completely normal should be able to decide what sort of treatment he or she gets. As far as I can say the circumstances of each patient influence this topic and it is hard to say something about it in general.
Today we visited the children's hospital of Cincinnati and went through several laboratories there. Afterwards we went to Walgreen's, a general purpose pharmacy. Walgreen's has a great offer of medicine for the daily use like for example Ibuprofen. To me it is more a drug store than a pharmacy, since the biggest part of the store is filled with stuff like razor-blades, waterguns and creams, things you won't find in a "normal" pharmacy.
At the children's hospital the possibilites of medical care are not comparable, since there they have tests about DNA, chromosomes and all problems concerning that.
This difference mirrors itself in the prices. The tests in the hospital go from 1000 up to 3000$. In contrast to that, a package of Ibuprofen costs 6$ at Walgreen's.
In my mind the question concerning personal autonomy in deciding about medical treatment depends on the person. Someone with heavy psychological problems should definately not decide about his treatment, since he might think wrong about things. A person whos' mind is completely normal should be able to decide what sort of treatment he or she gets. As far as I can say the circumstances of each patient influence this topic and it is hard to say something about it in general.
Religion in America
Dear reader,
Today we visited the Cincinnati Mosque and yesterday we have been to the Crossroads Community Church. The Mosque was pretty much what I knew and expected how it would be, traditional (although it was quite modern for a mosque) and completely different to what I know as a "church". In Islam everything is between God and the person and that's why most of the terms are on a mental stage.
Crossroads was completely different to the mosque and to everything I have seen and experienced before. It was like a big rock concert. There was a band in the front playing songs quite loud with electric guitars, drums and base, just like a normal band. Then a man came and talked about life in general, how to behave and act in different situations.
Crossroads is for people who don't like church as it is normally, which is exactly what I experienced. There was no cross inside or other things you find in a normal church. It was much more modern and less conservative, and that is the point that many people like about this community there I guess.
The mosque is for islamic people in general, I guess there is not much about to say this, because it is simply the place where Moslems pray, and by that not different than other mosques.
As far as I can say both institutions don't divide the Cincinnati community, but I am quite sure that Crossroads unites more people than the Mosque does, since it is a very modern way of church that many people seem to like, since there were more than 3000 people in this morning. It was a pleasure to be there and I would definately go there again!
In addition to that, I would say that it was quite good that we went to the mosque, since I noticed that I had prejudices against Islam, just because I didn't know better and the media gives us a picture of Islam that is superficial and that leads to misunderstanding and causes problems.
Today we visited the Cincinnati Mosque and yesterday we have been to the Crossroads Community Church. The Mosque was pretty much what I knew and expected how it would be, traditional (although it was quite modern for a mosque) and completely different to what I know as a "church". In Islam everything is between God and the person and that's why most of the terms are on a mental stage.
Crossroads was completely different to the mosque and to everything I have seen and experienced before. It was like a big rock concert. There was a band in the front playing songs quite loud with electric guitars, drums and base, just like a normal band. Then a man came and talked about life in general, how to behave and act in different situations.
Crossroads is for people who don't like church as it is normally, which is exactly what I experienced. There was no cross inside or other things you find in a normal church. It was much more modern and less conservative, and that is the point that many people like about this community there I guess.
The mosque is for islamic people in general, I guess there is not much about to say this, because it is simply the place where Moslems pray, and by that not different than other mosques.
As far as I can say both institutions don't divide the Cincinnati community, but I am quite sure that Crossroads unites more people than the Mosque does, since it is a very modern way of church that many people seem to like, since there were more than 3000 people in this morning. It was a pleasure to be there and I would definately go there again!
In addition to that, I would say that it was quite good that we went to the mosque, since I noticed that I had prejudices against Islam, just because I didn't know better and the media gives us a picture of Islam that is superficial and that leads to misunderstanding and causes problems.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Cultural perspectives on the Wall
Dear reader,
yesterday we visited the Ohio University and saw an exhibit about the fall of the Berlin wall. To be honest I didn't learn anything new, which is quite sad, since I would not say that I know that much about it. To me the exhibit was too superficial and did not reach what it's aim was, to really inform about the Berlin wall.
I have never seen such an exhibit before, that's why I can't tell you anything about how this would look like in Germany but still I can say that I expected alot more, due to the fact that the exhibit was from University of Paderborn and I thought they might go much more into depth of this topic.
The international effects of the fall of the Wall were clearly the end of the Cold War, which is the major point to me. Another important fact is the reunion of all Germans, more for themselfes, lesser for the international atmosphere I'd say.
The fact that still some parts of the Wall exist is simply for reasons to remind people of what happened. I don't think that there is more about it than just the wish to show people how the world was only 20 years ago.
The Wall fell in 1989 but still it lives on in many heads. Even today the Ost-West conflict exist. I have never noticed it, until I went to the University of Ilmenau which is in the former DDR. Immediately one was confronted with being a "Wessi" and so on. In most cases people are not serious about what they say, but still some got prejudices which will last for a long time.
yesterday we visited the Ohio University and saw an exhibit about the fall of the Berlin wall. To be honest I didn't learn anything new, which is quite sad, since I would not say that I know that much about it. To me the exhibit was too superficial and did not reach what it's aim was, to really inform about the Berlin wall.
I have never seen such an exhibit before, that's why I can't tell you anything about how this would look like in Germany but still I can say that I expected alot more, due to the fact that the exhibit was from University of Paderborn and I thought they might go much more into depth of this topic.
The international effects of the fall of the Wall were clearly the end of the Cold War, which is the major point to me. Another important fact is the reunion of all Germans, more for themselfes, lesser for the international atmosphere I'd say.
The fact that still some parts of the Wall exist is simply for reasons to remind people of what happened. I don't think that there is more about it than just the wish to show people how the world was only 20 years ago.
The Wall fell in 1989 but still it lives on in many heads. Even today the Ost-West conflict exist. I have never noticed it, until I went to the University of Ilmenau which is in the former DDR. Immediately one was confronted with being a "Wessi" and so on. In most cases people are not serious about what they say, but still some got prejudices which will last for a long time.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Children and their behaviour
Dear reader,
the Children's museum that we visited today is completely different to normal museums. The main difference is the way the visitors are being informed. In a normal museum there are many area's with text to read, so that you can inform yourself. In the Children's museum it was more the style like "learning by doing" since there were many area's for children where they learn for example the way of how water works by playing with little boats in the watertrack there.
The curators made everything (as far as possible) understandable for children. There isn't a lot of text because children won't read it anyway. Most of the items and possibilities to play explain themself by using them, that makes it very easy for children to learn there just by doing what they like to.
A part in the museum that was quite bad built was the "ball area", where children could play with balls. It was possible to put them on band which raises the balls to a higher stage and bags where balls can be put in. All in all I saw more parents "playing" there, since it was hardly understandable for a little child how everything works.
The way of "learning by doing" is the most effective one I suppose, since children do what they like and learning is just a coproduct. I guess no child likes to learn in classes, since it is not that funny. In the museum they aren't forced to anything and if they don't like an area they just move over to the next one they like better. To me this is the most effective way to teach children for example physical conditions, and to help them understand our world.
the Children's museum that we visited today is completely different to normal museums. The main difference is the way the visitors are being informed. In a normal museum there are many area's with text to read, so that you can inform yourself. In the Children's museum it was more the style like "learning by doing" since there were many area's for children where they learn for example the way of how water works by playing with little boats in the watertrack there.
The curators made everything (as far as possible) understandable for children. There isn't a lot of text because children won't read it anyway. Most of the items and possibilities to play explain themself by using them, that makes it very easy for children to learn there just by doing what they like to.
A part in the museum that was quite bad built was the "ball area", where children could play with balls. It was possible to put them on band which raises the balls to a higher stage and bags where balls can be put in. All in all I saw more parents "playing" there, since it was hardly understandable for a little child how everything works.
The way of "learning by doing" is the most effective one I suppose, since children do what they like and learning is just a coproduct. I guess no child likes to learn in classes, since it is not that funny. In the museum they aren't forced to anything and if they don't like an area they just move over to the next one they like better. To me this is the most effective way to teach children for example physical conditions, and to help them understand our world.
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