ktravula - a travelogue! » German

Germany Me

Kola — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:38:44 +0000

A few minutes ago, I left my mailbox at the department with two German magazines that I hadn’t ordered for. A closer look showed me that they were originally delivered to my head of department, a long-term professor of German. One of them, “German Life”, is published in English while the other “Dasfenster” is written totally in German. All this wouldn’t have made much sense but for the fact that a few hours ago, earlier in the morning, she had mistakenly began to speak rapidly to me in German, again. It usually happened like this: She would come into the language lab with the intention of telling me something, and she would begin to say it in German and I would stare blankly until after the fourth sentence when she’d realize what is happening, and burst out laughing.

Last year, I shared an office with someone from Switzerland who spoke a different kind of German. Although she didn’t manage to switch into the said language subconsciously, she did give me something to look forward to if I eventually decide to learn the language. (Those interested should check out her German teaching website here). Today’s episode has however got me thinking that maybe what a few years of befriending German women couldn’t accomplish, working in a foreign language department eventually would. Maybe, I said. Fantastische! Oh well.

Schwartzfahrer

Kola — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:01:39 +0000

This 10-min short video by Pepe Danquart won an Oscar in 1994 for its portrayal of a particular aspect of everyday Germany. I caught Yvonne, my colleague at the office and German professor, watching it last week and I joined her. I enjoyed it, laughing my head off at the end. You should too. The dialogue is in German, but it is subtitled.

The title Schwartzfahrer in German means “Black Rider”, which originally referred to those who board public transportation without tickets, particularly the foreigners.

My Berlin Wall

Kola — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:04:06 +0000

Today, after a spell of indecision and procrastination, I finally got the spray paint and headed to the Wall to make it mine. It didn’t take too long, and it wasn’t too hard. And in the end, I didn’t get any more creative than I already got before. As none of the readers of the last post gave me sufficient ideas, and I never successfully resolved my language conflict, I ended up writing it in German, in the shortest possible way as allowed by the thinning white paint.

A few other words already sprayed on the wall include: “Palestine,” “JFK war hier,” “We love our troops: Bring them home,” “Love”, “Chelsea”, “Revolution”, “SPEAC”, and a moving, notable one: “Wir sind ein folk”, which means in English, “We are one people.”

And thus today, the Berlin Wall, also became mine. But at the end, I wished that there was something else less vain than “ktravula war hier” that I could have written there. Maybe simply, #lightupnigeria, or “Jolaadé”. Oh well, that’s an idea for another day. Time to pack my bags. Chicago calls.

Our Berlin Wall

Kola — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:33:08 +0000

And so today marks the twentieth year of the demolition of the Berlin Wall in Germany. To commemorate it on campus, the German arm of the Foreign Languages Department in which I work have unveiled a public art exhibition featuring texts, artworks, pictures, history, (German) music, and most notably a miniature replica of the old Wall. Constructed with wood, and strategically placed at a publicly accessible spot on campus, the “wall” already randomly graffitied stands today both as a reminder of the historic day, as well as the ingenuity of the Department of Foreign Languages, especially of Belinda Carstens – the head of the department who is also a professor of German. Along with the chance to take pictures with the “wall”, students have been encouraged to spray-paint the wall and decorate it with their own graffitis as they see fit, just like was done with the real Wall in those days by angry Berliners and rebels who wanted it torn down. Needless to say, the over twenty feet long wall is already a notable piece of attraction on campus, and will be till the end of the week.

Here are a few of the pictures I took today, along with Catherine Xavier, an Indian member of the department. The exhibition will be open every day for the rest of this week, and there will be paint brushes and paints for each visitor to use to their artistic advantage on the symbolic representation of the old wall.

But amidst my excitement to be here at this moment in time, here’s a dilemma I face: I can’t yet figure what I want to write on this wall. Prof Doug Simms of the deparment had taken his time today to draw on it a sickle and a hammer (the old symbol of communism) turned upside down, like it was on the old wall, according to him. A few of the other graffitis on this “wall” reflect each painter’s own sensibilities, and not always related to the politics of the Wall itself. So here I am, thinking (or asking YOU, as the case may be) that when I go back there tomorrow with a brush and paint in hand, what other creative texts or symbols (in any language) should I be writing on this remade wall from twenty years ago beside the obvious personal statement in my mind at this moment which simply reads, in German: “ktravula war hier“?

Germanfest!

Kola — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:52:53 +0000

I received an email from Belinda, the head of the Foreign Language department, this morning, and it contains an invitation to a “GermanFest” on Friday taking place in the little town of Belleville, just a few minutes from Edwardsville. The event – rather than being a feast on Germans (which, when I think about it, might not be such a bad idea) - is a barbecue cum all-you-can eat event featuring mainly quality German cuisine, it read. According to her, “there is no language restriction”, and everyone is welcome. Very nice. It will definitely be a welcome break from my daily ritual of cheese pizza and lemonade.

The menu however, as the invitation states, will include Sauerbraten, Bratwurst, Schwein Schnitzel, Potato Soup, Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage, Spaetzle, German Chocolate Cake, and much more. Since I have heard about only one of these names before, and actually tasted none, I am wondering whether it might not be a good idea to purchase an insurance on my appetite before-hand, just in case this doesn’t turn out to be one of my most-informed culinary decisions.

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ktravula - a travelogue! » German

Germany Me

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