Exploring

The first few days are completed, and most everyone has recovered from jet lag. The first photo shows several of the students sourrounding the bronze statue of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who sits in front of the city buildings. The second shows the entire group outside of the Rathaus with the city Mayor. We had an official reception and welcome from him, with about an hour for questions and answers. The bottom picture shows the several of the students in the Audimax immediately following the placement test.

We've arrived

The group successfully completed the journey here without incident: 9 hours of flying, 4 hours of train (ICE and local trains), transport to Kursbüro and to the CJD dorm rooms. Exhaustion took over, but yesterday everyone had the chance to hike outside to start to recover from jet lag. This morning saw the beginning of the official program with welcoming speeches, several pieces by two classical guitarists and the Einstufungstest.

The students are in the first stage of noticing cultural differences and coming to grips with doing everyday tasks differently. The intricacies of Kaufland shopping and surley cashiers have already been addressed. Most enjoyed a hearty lunch at the Mensa.

The Einstufungstest was different this year. Students were asked to complete Cloze activities in six different texts, each of increasing difficulty. Most thought it was very difficult-in fact I was initially stumped by one of the fill ins. The exam was fairly well balanced to differentiate between vocabulary, grammar, and fluency abilities, and I'm sure it was easy to grade. There is an additional oral test for all students at the beginner level, where most of the group placed. Tonight the students will learn which group they've been assigned to.

Watch for student blog updates!

Leipzig

If time and the schedule permit, I plan to travel to Leipzig to visit the Museum of Contemporary History. I visited this museum in 2001, and recently learned that it underwent a renovation in 2007. You can see information about this museum, as well as its permanent and temporary exhibits at:

http://www.hdg.de/index.php?id=4726&L=1

The permanent exhibit chronicles the GDR history, cultural history and events from 1949 to 1989, and showcases an amazing variety of artifacts. The temporary exhibit in August is "Skandale in Deutschland nach 1945," which sounds very interesting.

The museum is free to get into, so the cost of the trip would be the train ticket. The specific day will be determined once we get there, but according to the temporary program, the Sunday of the second Weimar excursion is a good possibility.

Preliminary Schedule Provided by the Sommerkurs

Sonntag, 3.8
-14.00 Wanderung in die Umgebung Ilmenau/Schwimmbad

Montag, 4.8
-9.00 Eröffnung
-9.30 Sprachtest
-13.30 Einführung/Vorlesung Sommerkurs
-19.00 Eröffnungsabend

Dienstag, 5.8
-8:45 Unterricht
-13.30 Grundkurs/Vorlesung
-15.15 Einführung in die Projektarbeit
-17.00 Stadtführung Ilmenau

Mittwoch, 6.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.30 Grundkurs/Vorlesung
-15.15 oder 16.15 Gruppenphonetik
-20.00 Abendprogramm

Donnerstag, 7.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.00 Exkursion (Arnstadt)
-Rückfahrt nach Ilmenau

Freitag, 8.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.30 Grundkurs/Vorlesung/Arbeitsgruppe
-20.00 Vortrag/Abendprogramm

Samstag, 9.8 Exkursion: Dresden
-8.00 Treffpunkt Mensa
-22.00 Rückfahrt nach Ilmenau

Sonntag, 10.8 Exkursion: Weimar/Buchenwald
-8.45 Treffpunkt Mensa

Montag, 11.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.30 Grundkurs/Arbeitsgruppe
-15.00 Projektkonsultation
-20.00 Vortrag/Abendprogramm

Dienstag, 12.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.30 Grundkurs/Arbeitsgruppe
-15.15 oder 16.15 Gruppenphonetik
-20.00 Abendprogramm

Mittwoch, 13.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.30 Grundkurs/Arbeitsgruppe
-15.15 oder 16.15 Gruppenphonetik
-19.00 Bergfest

Donnerstag, 14.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.00 Exkursion: Erfurt
-19.00 Ruuckfahrt nach Ilmenau

Freitag, 15.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.15 Treffpunkt Mensa, Exkursion Berlin--mit Übernachtung

Samstag, 16.8 Exkursion Berlin
-20.00 Rückfahrt nach Ilmenau

Sonntag, 17.8 Exkursion Weimar
-9.00 Treffpunkt Mensa
-17.00 Rückfahrt nach Ilmenau

Montag, 18.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.30 Grundkurs/Arbeitsgruppe/Vorlesung
-20.00 Abendprogramm/Vortrag

Dienstag, 19.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.30 Grundkurs/Arbeitsgruppe
-15.15 oder 16.15 Gruppenphonetik
-20.00 Abendprogramm

Mittwoch, 20.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.30 Grundkurs/Vorlesung
-15.15 oder 16.15 Gruppenphonetik
-15.15 Präsentation der Projektarbeiten
-20.00 Abendprogramm

Donnerstag, 21.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-13.00 Exkursion (Eisenach)
-19.00 Rückfahrt nach Ilmenau

Freitag, 22.8
-8.45 Unterricht
-18.00 Abschlussabend

Samstag, 23.8 Abreise

Getting Close

Please finish your final preparations:
-create your blog and send me the URL so I can post it under "student blogs"
-register for 28 GRMN 261 (remember, you need to pay RWC tuition for the course)
-pack wisely

Our final meeting will be: Thursday, July 31, 5:00 p.m. at RWC. We will meet in the Language Lab. All family/friends/partners are welcome to come for our final pre-departure meeting.