Culture Trip...

you might not believe it. there is some kind of cultural "stuff" in the states.
I just got home from a field trip to Kansas City. Susan (the foreign exchange coordinator) and her husband took the white Missouri Western van and took us (Cindy, two boys from my floor and me) to the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art.

There are several collections from all kidns of ages and cultures...for example this monet painting (Boulevard des Capucines or Les Grands Boulevards)
as well as some American Indian exhibits

There is a nice sculpture garden surrounding the two buildings of the museum, but when Cindy and I wanted to walk around a bit, it started raining heavily. Oh by the way, we still have 25C temperatures here :)!


After this "culture shock" (it's amazing how Americans consider stuff ancient, even though it's less than like 200 years old "young"), we went to the plaza again. This plaza is desgined to look like the city of Sevilla, Spain. I haven't been in the Spanish city yet. However, the plaza is nice, yet somehow - for a european - it doesn't look 100 % authentic...
Cheesecake Factory is a wonderful place. Cindy and I went there for lunch....and she met some friends that she got to know during her year at Boston. I don't wanna be rude, those two girls were really nice, BUT honestly! WHO cares about human beings, when it comes to burgers?

not to mention the stuff the cheesecake factory is actually famous for - their cheesecake.

"oma, dein taesekuchen is gud, aber der taesetuchen der mama is besser!" NICHTS KOMMT AN MAMA's KAESEKUCHEN RAN!!!


And now i'm back in my dorm. I need to work on a English reading assigntment. We're about to create our inquiry (a contract between MSWU students and teachers)...it's just tough to find the right motivation for something that is not among your most favorites class... oh well... mid-term is coming up. MID-TERM!!! ALREADY!! a fourth (!) of my academic year is already over?you gotta be kidding!so far the grades are, well, good :) I just had one test in consumer behavior so far (93%) - the second one is coming up in like 10 days. Principles of Marketing... herrlich! After a dramatic grade drop from 107 to 103 % (with the 50 out of 50 in the last test!), I really worked on that one assignemnt (--> do you feel the irony?!), a SWOT analysis and the Boston Group Consulting Matrix, and scored 22 out of 20... so i'm back to like 106% again. I just hope i can keep my grade around 100% - would be really nice for Bamberg.
I should have all points in English as well. But so far only smaller assignments have been graded - not the major essays (this i believe, the contract, etc.). The essays won't be graded until the end of the semester. but you know what - i acutally don't care about the grade as long as I pass this class!
Psychology is really interesting. We had a test last tuesday. I didn't do much more than typing my notes in a word document and read the study guide and a few pages in the book. On test day, I didn't feel too comfortable, there were a few questions that I didn't really get. I couldn't remember having read anything in my notes, study guide or book about it. But I thought, hey, who cares about that grade in this class?!
On thursday, we got this multiple choice test back. Wow. For American standards this test really didn't go too well for the students... just 5 As and a couple of Bs in a 70+ class?! So our teacher curved the test. This means that whoever scored best gets 100 % of the test - even thought he might have like 20 out of 50 right... the best in our class scored 45 out of 50. I wonder who ;) not me! i scored 44 out of (now) 45 - and kinda scared my neighbors in that class. oh well. Since we're gonna get extra credit for participating in a little (psychologic) survey, my grade in this class should be above 100% as well...
THIS IS AMERICA!!!

impressionen...

wow...there's so much to tell you what happened in the last 10 days...
let's start with the most imporatant thing, school.
classes are going just fine so far. shiva (vorname des consumer behavior lehrers) more and more becomes last comedey man standing since he knows that he won't be teaching after this semester?
Come on, is there no one who wants do know what i'm gonig to do? So a student eventually aksed:
What you're gonna do?
response: I don't know!
As interersting as the topics we try to dicuss in my English class are... as time-requiring are the little 1-page responses to texts we've read for homework... i'm excited for my first exam in psychology. we're more than 2 weeks late for the first of 3 tests... we do have a study guide that talks about what we should know. but since our teacher teaches the same class three times, he often forgets we he has talked about in which class. I just about to summarize my notes and some parts of the book. Principles of marketing is going really well so far, however, i have a project due on tuesday night. A SWOT-analysis of a product that we can choose ourselves with regard to the Bosten Consulting Group Matrix...i somehow remember my days back at highschool with mr. stapppfff.... "ja, da gibts so kuehe und hunde...! " ;)
well besides studying, there is a french influence in my dorm who i like to spend time with.... interpretations welcomed? ;)

As I mentioned the last time, I spend a weekend in Lawrence, KS to see Jeff and Brit (his girlfriend)...




well, this weekend was just AMAZING... with all the parties... tailgating...football...beerpong...lawrence is just the place to be when you want to be an American college student... :)
well, i better get back to studtying..

Mama!!!

Obwohl ich im ersten Principles of Marketing - Exam 50 von 50 punkte hab, hat sich meine Gesamtnote in diesem Fach verschlechtert...Welcome to the U.S.! I had a 24 out of 20 (don't ask me how i did that - just take it as a given fact) in our first "quiz"... so my grade "dropped" from 120% to 106%...am I a bad student now?
Sorry it took my so long to write a new blog... i've actually been quite busy latelty. this english class just require quite a lot of time...for like every meeting (three times a week) we have to read an essay and write an one-page response. but that's like the only class that is not toooo much fun.
allright, you might be interested how a typical college-day looks like for me....
on a regular monday, wednesday or friday i get up at like 10, since my first class consumer behavior starts at 11. sometimes (if i really get up at 10) i have some cereals, if not, i have lunch with Wolfgang right after our common marketing class. Having lunch takes place in either the food court (some private little fast food restaurants - for example a subway-like place) or in the cafeteria (mensa). the cafeteria offers a (all-u-can eat) buffet for about 6 dollars (drinks included)... but it's mensa food as its best if you know what i mean.
After lunch I usually have a final look - or eventually begin - with the latest english assignment that is due like 30 minutes later.
after english, i'm basically off for the day, except on wednesday, when wolfgang and i tutor jason. he's gonna study in Bamberg next spring, so we prepare him for his journey. he gets some credit - we get paid. good deal.
Tuesday is the day with the most time spend in class for me. but i get to sleep in, since psychology doesn't start earlier than 12:30. So I usually have lunch right before that class...a fun class with a teacher that flies to florida every weekend to work with dolphins...poor little old guy has some problems though hearing the people sitting in the backrows...but he's just cute!
Dienstag abends steht dann die Principles of Marketing evening class an. Since we just meet once a week. Our session should last till like 9. but usually we're finished with the schedule earlier.
Thursdays are just 80 minutes of (psychology) class for me...
Yeah... i'm not really often IN class - but trust me, there's a lot of stuff to do... I spend quite some time preparing for my first exams in my marketing classes which already make up for like 20 % of the final grade... by the way... when we had our exam in consumer behavior on monday (for sure only multiple-chocie or true/false!), our teacher left the room for half of the time. but americans really just DON'T CHEAT at all! two students didn't take their tests on monday but today before class - they got to correct their tests themselves...i got 42 out of the 45 multiple choice questions right...
last week we went bowling, went to a casino north of st. joe where wolfgang had a little winning going on (cindy&me didn't do good at all!)...
playing goalie came with costs... a messed up left ringfinger... danke indutop du machst alles wieder gut...

es ist schon bezeichnet, wenn man z.b. beim frisoer entsetzt gefragt wird : " SO WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE MISSOURI WESTERN FOR STUDYING ABROAD"... they somehow seem to know that there isn't a lot going on in good old st. joe... eieiei...

I finally got my social security number. so i'm ready to legally work on campus (which is basically tutoring jason). I'm gonna try to rent a car tomorrow in the afternoon/night. so i can give myself a right to soccer practice, go "walmart"-shopping, get some cold stone ice cream (JUST AMAZING!)... and on friday afternoon, i'm gonna take off to Lawrence to see Jeff!!!
I'm so excited to see him (and of course finally get to meet Brit, his girlfriend!)...

But for now I better go to bed... since i don't have early classes... i can stay up longer ;)
have fun whereever you are - those in schwabmuenchen, trinkt ne mass fuer mich mit aufm michaelimarkt...