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.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Language in Ohio and Illinois
Dear reader,
concerning the usage of English I have already learned alot during the last week. If I remember how unsure I was in the beginning, ont knowing if I should say "Hello" or "Hi" (I didn't know if "Hi" is informal and all these things). To be honest it took like 5 minutes in the US until Chuck came and said something similiar to "Hey, what's up". At this point I knew a "Hi" would do it :)
All in all I would say that the way of speaking is very different to what we have learned in school, what is quite sad to me, since I learned english for 9 years in school but still I feel like I got some problems. Still I would say that I am quite lucky since my uncle is from the US and by talking to him I got used to some more informal style of speaking what definately helps me!
A difference between English and German is for example the way of greeting someone. In Germany it is simply "Hello" when you enter a store, but here they say things like "How are you" or "How is it going" which is unusual in Germany since it would show some interest in the answer. In the US it is more a set phrase and the answer is quite unimportant, cause you say good or fine, no matter how you actually feel.
What I have learned about language since I am here is that you just have to say what comes to your mind. People will correct you if something is completely wrong and they will understand most of the things you say. But the more you speak, the more you get used to it and it gets more and more easy. The most important point to me is for example at Chuck's house we had a barbecue and by speaking English the whole night you start thinking in English, what makes a conversation much easier, since you don't need to transfer your thoughts into a different language.
After being here for more than one week, I would not say that my English has changed that much, since I don't think that I speak different. The thing that changed is on the one side that I feel much more comfortable by speaking, since I know that people will understand me and on the other side the listening part. It is obvious that our teacher in school spoke different than people here and sometimes it is really hard to understand, especially when you are talking to mexicans', since they have this very "bad" slang and they tend to swallow the endings of words and sentences. Still a conversation works, since they realize that you don't get a word of what they are saying after the third time of saying "sorry".
All in all my attitude towards the language itself didn't change but my attitude towards speaking it did. By feeling more comfortable while speaking you start talking more and that is the best way to improve your english.
concerning the usage of English I have already learned alot during the last week. If I remember how unsure I was in the beginning, ont knowing if I should say "Hello" or "Hi" (I didn't know if "Hi" is informal and all these things). To be honest it took like 5 minutes in the US until Chuck came and said something similiar to "Hey, what's up". At this point I knew a "Hi" would do it :)
All in all I would say that the way of speaking is very different to what we have learned in school, what is quite sad to me, since I learned english for 9 years in school but still I feel like I got some problems. Still I would say that I am quite lucky since my uncle is from the US and by talking to him I got used to some more informal style of speaking what definately helps me!
A difference between English and German is for example the way of greeting someone. In Germany it is simply "Hello" when you enter a store, but here they say things like "How are you" or "How is it going" which is unusual in Germany since it would show some interest in the answer. In the US it is more a set phrase and the answer is quite unimportant, cause you say good or fine, no matter how you actually feel.
What I have learned about language since I am here is that you just have to say what comes to your mind. People will correct you if something is completely wrong and they will understand most of the things you say. But the more you speak, the more you get used to it and it gets more and more easy. The most important point to me is for example at Chuck's house we had a barbecue and by speaking English the whole night you start thinking in English, what makes a conversation much easier, since you don't need to transfer your thoughts into a different language.
After being here for more than one week, I would not say that my English has changed that much, since I don't think that I speak different. The thing that changed is on the one side that I feel much more comfortable by speaking, since I know that people will understand me and on the other side the listening part. It is obvious that our teacher in school spoke different than people here and sometimes it is really hard to understand, especially when you are talking to mexicans', since they have this very "bad" slang and they tend to swallow the endings of words and sentences. Still a conversation works, since they realize that you don't get a word of what they are saying after the third time of saying "sorry".
All in all my attitude towards the language itself didn't change but my attitude towards speaking it did. By feeling more comfortable while speaking you start talking more and that is the best way to improve your english.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Culture of Food
Dear reader,
Today we have visited 2 grocery stores, Jungle Jim's and Pipkins (we already know Kroger's). Pipkins was placed in a quite old building, everything looked a bit alternative to me. Still the vegetables there were very good, fresh and not even expensive! Almost the same like in Kroger's I'd say. The people in there were as far as I can say all from middle class, which is different to Kroger's I would say. At Kroger's there are more lower middle class people although the store itself was clean and tidy.
Jungle Jim's was completely different to me. The store is 3-4 times bigger than Kroger's and still it appears very inviting to me. The people there were from every ethnic group, through all classes since the prices were good and the store is seperated into several parts of different countries, which helps foreigners to find familiar items.
Concerning benefits I can clearly say that if you are searching for very fresh vegetables, Pipkins is the very best, since it wasn't more expensive than the rest but you could get the freshest vegetables there. If you are a foreigner Jungle Jim's is great, because everyone will find something that fits to what he is searching for. The amount of offers was the biggest of all stores. Kroger's is a store for the daily shopping for everyone I'd say, since they had quite a good choice of different food and the price was fine.
Food expresses many cultural values like for example we found heads of some animals at Jungle Jim's what seems to be a no-go to most Germans, but here it seems to be normal. All in all one can say that the differences concerning food clearly depends on where people come from and what they are used to since they are children. This education is for sure affected by the cultural values of the country and this is why these values can be seen in the attitude towards food.
Today we have visited 2 grocery stores, Jungle Jim's and Pipkins (we already know Kroger's). Pipkins was placed in a quite old building, everything looked a bit alternative to me. Still the vegetables there were very good, fresh and not even expensive! Almost the same like in Kroger's I'd say. The people in there were as far as I can say all from middle class, which is different to Kroger's I would say. At Kroger's there are more lower middle class people although the store itself was clean and tidy.
Jungle Jim's was completely different to me. The store is 3-4 times bigger than Kroger's and still it appears very inviting to me. The people there were from every ethnic group, through all classes since the prices were good and the store is seperated into several parts of different countries, which helps foreigners to find familiar items.
Concerning benefits I can clearly say that if you are searching for very fresh vegetables, Pipkins is the very best, since it wasn't more expensive than the rest but you could get the freshest vegetables there. If you are a foreigner Jungle Jim's is great, because everyone will find something that fits to what he is searching for. The amount of offers was the biggest of all stores. Kroger's is a store for the daily shopping for everyone I'd say, since they had quite a good choice of different food and the price was fine.
Food expresses many cultural values like for example we found heads of some animals at Jungle Jim's what seems to be a no-go to most Germans, but here it seems to be normal. All in all one can say that the differences concerning food clearly depends on where people come from and what they are used to since they are children. This education is for sure affected by the cultural values of the country and this is why these values can be seen in the attitude towards food.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Freedom Center
Today we visited the Freedom Center and the most stunning point to me was the area where you stand in front of the great windows, looking at the Ohio River, because between those 200 meters a whole life has changed years ago. I imagine people standing on the Kentucky side of the river, looking over it and then I ask myself, what went through there mind in this moment...
If I replace myself with somebody in this time, this river would have meant like the border to a new life and this it exactly what it meant to people years ago! In addition to this the movies I saw forced me to interact with such feelings like being involved in a run that might cause your own death which was a very intense feeling.
At the age of 13 I have been in Buchenwald and although the barracks don't exist anymore you get a very weird feeling. It is hard to describe but you feel like your freezing with the difference that this cold comes from within. I never had this feeling before and I can't remember that I had it again, but today when I entered and sat down in the Slave Pen it overwhelmed me. This very objective voice telling you that this could have been a room where people were shackled and penetrated made me feel almost the same like 7 years ago in Buchenwald. Although there was some time in between those two experiences, I can clearly say that it felt the same, not neccesary to mention that I don't know why.
To me it is very important to keep the tradition alive to teach children what has happened and to care for this not to happen again! I mean, I can't change what happened 80 years ago and I don't feel guilty concerning Holocaust, but I feel responsible to care that nothing comparable will happen again, as far as I can influence it.
Somebody might say that a single person can't do anything about it, but I think that by teaching children around us we can prevent them from getting weird thoughts that might come up. Children are naive and tend to believe many things they hear without challenging these thoughts.
If I would have to teach students the most important point is to wait until they are ready for such information! It is completely useless to explain the Holocaust to a five year old boy, since he won't get the whole background of it. As soon as children are ready for information with such a immense important value for our whole community I would teach them the Holocaust and genocide without leaving out maybe stunning details. It doesn't help to euphemize things that happened in history. Things might be daunting but this is exactly how it's got to be, at least from my point of view.
If I replace myself with somebody in this time, this river would have meant like the border to a new life and this it exactly what it meant to people years ago! In addition to this the movies I saw forced me to interact with such feelings like being involved in a run that might cause your own death which was a very intense feeling.
At the age of 13 I have been in Buchenwald and although the barracks don't exist anymore you get a very weird feeling. It is hard to describe but you feel like your freezing with the difference that this cold comes from within. I never had this feeling before and I can't remember that I had it again, but today when I entered and sat down in the Slave Pen it overwhelmed me. This very objective voice telling you that this could have been a room where people were shackled and penetrated made me feel almost the same like 7 years ago in Buchenwald. Although there was some time in between those two experiences, I can clearly say that it felt the same, not neccesary to mention that I don't know why.
To me it is very important to keep the tradition alive to teach children what has happened and to care for this not to happen again! I mean, I can't change what happened 80 years ago and I don't feel guilty concerning Holocaust, but I feel responsible to care that nothing comparable will happen again, as far as I can influence it.
Somebody might say that a single person can't do anything about it, but I think that by teaching children around us we can prevent them from getting weird thoughts that might come up. Children are naive and tend to believe many things they hear without challenging these thoughts.
If I would have to teach students the most important point is to wait until they are ready for such information! It is completely useless to explain the Holocaust to a five year old boy, since he won't get the whole background of it. As soon as children are ready for information with such a immense important value for our whole community I would teach them the Holocaust and genocide without leaving out maybe stunning details. It doesn't help to euphemize things that happened in history. Things might be daunting but this is exactly how it's got to be, at least from my point of view.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Cultural values in childrens texts
Dear reader,
Yesterday we have been in the library in Blue Ash and I have to say that libraries here are pretty much the same like in Germany. It is split into a part for children and one for grown up people. The part for the grown ups is seperated in a fictional and a non fictional area. The furniture in the children's area is very tiny but it's just perfect for children.
The two books I have chosen are "I am A Shark" and "Sebastian's Roller Skates". "I am A Shark" is a book for very young children and is about hammerhead sharks in general. It gives some information like how many teeth a shark can have and how he floats and so on. "Sebastian's Roller Skates" is more intensive concerning action. It is much more connected to what I read when I was young, since there is a complete plot and to me much more reason to read it. The language in both books was very easy to understand. I didn't have any problems concerning language there. In the end of the shark-book there is even a small explanation of some words like fins. The illustrations were well fitting and very colourful and the colors were soft which is quite normal for this sort of books.
Back to "Sebastian's Roller Skates"...I really liked this book and as I said it is the sort of book I read when I was small. It is about a boy who doesn't talk much and who is very shy, but as he finds some rollerskates and moreover learns to skate, he gets more and more open and in the end he isn't shy at all anymore. Although this is what I expected after the first 3 pages, it is funny to read such stories.
To me it is very obvious that any child can identify with the little Sebastian, since many many children are shy while talking to older persons. Disregarding where they are from or how they grow up, such stories can help children to become more confident, which is one of the most important characteristics to me!
Children's texts in general show how children grow up and which values should be implicated in their education. Getting a good portion of self confidence and several important general rules are being focused in such books, so that children learn about these things very early. Although some parts might change in different countries, the main points fit to the whole world and that's why we have in general the same topics in German books like here.
Yesterday we have been in the library in Blue Ash and I have to say that libraries here are pretty much the same like in Germany. It is split into a part for children and one for grown up people. The part for the grown ups is seperated in a fictional and a non fictional area. The furniture in the children's area is very tiny but it's just perfect for children.
The two books I have chosen are "I am A Shark" and "Sebastian's Roller Skates". "I am A Shark" is a book for very young children and is about hammerhead sharks in general. It gives some information like how many teeth a shark can have and how he floats and so on. "Sebastian's Roller Skates" is more intensive concerning action. It is much more connected to what I read when I was young, since there is a complete plot and to me much more reason to read it. The language in both books was very easy to understand. I didn't have any problems concerning language there. In the end of the shark-book there is even a small explanation of some words like fins. The illustrations were well fitting and very colourful and the colors were soft which is quite normal for this sort of books.
Back to "Sebastian's Roller Skates"...I really liked this book and as I said it is the sort of book I read when I was small. It is about a boy who doesn't talk much and who is very shy, but as he finds some rollerskates and moreover learns to skate, he gets more and more open and in the end he isn't shy at all anymore. Although this is what I expected after the first 3 pages, it is funny to read such stories.
To me it is very obvious that any child can identify with the little Sebastian, since many many children are shy while talking to older persons. Disregarding where they are from or how they grow up, such stories can help children to become more confident, which is one of the most important characteristics to me!
Children's texts in general show how children grow up and which values should be implicated in their education. Getting a good portion of self confidence and several important general rules are being focused in such books, so that children learn about these things very early. Although some parts might change in different countries, the main points fit to the whole world and that's why we have in general the same topics in German books like here.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Landscape surrounding me..
Hey Guys,
the first three days in Cincinnati and it seems like I have seen so much already. The landscape and buildings around me are very impressive and they appear much more different than in Germany. Everything seems to be bigger and just very very huge! As we arrived, I expected a dorm like ours in Germany...no way! It is just impossible to compare 5 stories to 12 or more here! Although our dorm is quite old and, well lets say "used", it is more than I expected. Still as far as I can tell, everything is clean and tidy. The landscape near the dorm is one the one handside almost unfriendly with holes in the streets and quite nasty buildings, on the other side very very idyllic! The whole university is so fantastic that is is really hard to describe! All of the buildings I have seen are really beautiful (as far as a building can be beautiful). There is a good mixture between more small buildings and then again huge buildings like the library or of course the majestic stadium. We immediately noticed that it really looks like in bad teenie movies, at least the campus does. The greenfield all over the campus is very neat, just like the whole rest appears. This gives you a feeling of being at the perfect university!
Another quite exciting fact here are the streets...as I mentioned the streets would make me sick! Scratches all over the 5(!) lanes for one way! I mean in Germany we have damaged streets aswell, but at least the bigger ones are fine. Another funny part are the traffic lights...they just hang all over the streets and you really have to get used to it!
the first three days in Cincinnati and it seems like I have seen so much already. The landscape and buildings around me are very impressive and they appear much more different than in Germany. Everything seems to be bigger and just very very huge! As we arrived, I expected a dorm like ours in Germany...no way! It is just impossible to compare 5 stories to 12 or more here! Although our dorm is quite old and, well lets say "used", it is more than I expected. Still as far as I can tell, everything is clean and tidy. The landscape near the dorm is one the one handside almost unfriendly with holes in the streets and quite nasty buildings, on the other side very very idyllic! The whole university is so fantastic that is is really hard to describe! All of the buildings I have seen are really beautiful (as far as a building can be beautiful). There is a good mixture between more small buildings and then again huge buildings like the library or of course the majestic stadium. We immediately noticed that it really looks like in bad teenie movies, at least the campus does. The greenfield all over the campus is very neat, just like the whole rest appears. This gives you a feeling of being at the perfect university!
Another quite exciting fact here are the streets...as I mentioned the streets would make me sick! Scratches all over the 5(!) lanes for one way! I mean in Germany we have damaged streets aswell, but at least the bigger ones are fine. Another funny part are the traffic lights...they just hang all over the streets and you really have to get used to it!
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