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.
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