ten crazy weeks in spring

what at leipzig university would have been an agenda of at least half a year (students would always negotiate for deadlines even after that) is a matter of condensed ten weeks in athens.

i am happy to announce that i survived my first quarter as a graduate student. looking back i wonder how i made it, ten crazy weeks in spring.

first things first, my laptop became my best friend. my fingers are at this point glued to its lovely silver keys. all of my classes dealt with online journalism: its fundamentals, its ethics, its offerings for broadcasting, and its new promises for international news (are there any?). i handed in two twenty page finals papers one based on internet sources only.

for two classes i had to write extensively in two new separate blogs. for one i uploaded video for the first time; for the other one i had to lead a discussion group for my research topic, also a first for me. in addition i worked as a graduate student, another new good experience. albeit researching happiness (or eudaimonia as aristotle called it) can cause unhappiness when in a crazy schedule time crunch.

i learnt about bangladesh and romania and met more germans. i went to new york city to help transport a dog to europe. i gave a talk about east germany that only a handful attended, conquered the top of the ohio university's climbing wall several times despite my not abating fear of the sound when the rope tightens and i dangle in the air, and i got lessons in the trickiness of competitive south asian badminton.

so i keep learning and struggling with being a foreigner in a culture that most germans adore on television but know little about beyond the stereotypes of bad bush (the person), superficial small talk assumptions, and fried fast food.

and i'll keep posting about it.

a special week in athens

it's a special week in athens, ohio.

students are working extra hard either to study for their final projects or to move. the library has become a zoo crammed with people flocking around every computer available. study rooms sprinkled with crackers and decorated by overflowing trash cans. sometimes it even smells like one, ventilators fighting in vain the sticky sweaty summer air that seeps in from the masses coming and going every second.

the streets have turned into a public furniture exhibit with couches, armchairs, and cupboards with cute brown woven drawers. the display is set in a beautiful background of lush green trees and blue, yellow and white flowers. students haul their precious huge television sets into their car, mommies and daddies come with big boxes to help out.

the two campus papers have vanished. no more glimpses into the woes and sorrows of the u.s. soul that i used to read about in my favorite column 'dear abby' whenever i was riding the bus. since u.s. americans are usually 'fine', 'great', or something else positive this was a rare occasion to learn about their troubles. the bus by the way will cease running, too. no funding for ohio university's catsbus during summer this year. no more friendly npr when avoiding a rainy walk uptown.

the city's main inhabitants, its students, are draining off: taking their first job in california, emigrating to italy, or visiting their home country.

peace is settling upon the bricks of shattered beer bottles.