Last night I finally went to the Hochschulsportzentrum . It's basically a complex of buildings where they offer classes and exercise equipment for students - kind of like an on-campus gym, but it's a little further away, and if I read it correctly, in order to actually use gym equipment, and not just take classes, you have to pay a fee monthly or per use fee. But then the equipment room, both weights and cardio equipment, is also where they have the climbing wall and the Vibrationstraining (which I suspect is one of those machines with a vibrating plate that you stand on, but I'm not sure what else you do).
Showing posts with label classes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classes. Show all posts
13 November 2009
03 November 2009
So.....How are classes you ask?
My classes are actually awesome. To be fair I've only been to one sitting of three of them - the second sitting is tomorrow, but overall I'm pleased with my choices. Here's a rundown of what I've got:
Körper von Platon bis Judith Butler (The Body from Plato to Judith Butler)
This class has met twice thus far. The professor is new to the University, but has published quite a bit. I met with her during her office hours and she was very nice, and interested in my dissertation project, so that was awesome. The class is also relatively large - about 40-50 students. This is fine, but it makes having a discussion in class very difficult. People just kinda say things, and she interprets what they're trying to say and then she calls on someone else....lather, rinse, repeat. The discussion that we had in class on Monday - about Plato's Symposium - was interesting, but I think we probably could have gotten more out of it. I myself took some additional notes which I think are important to my own project. Next week we're reading Pascal's Les Pensées.
Das Erhabene: von der Antike bis zur Postmoderne (The Sublime: From Antiquity to the Postmodern)
This class is significantly smaller, more like 15 students. It's specifically for students of the Literature and Cultural Theory MA program, but I asked the professor if I could take the course ahead of time, because my dissertation is likely to deal with the Sublime. The lecture last week was interesting, and the article that I've read for this week (aka tomorrow) is very much in line with the reading that I'm doing for my PhD exams and dissertation. In fact, I may end up using it in my exams.
The other two classes that I'm taking are language classes to help me work on the finer details of my language use. We'll see how they go. Thus far I've only taken tests in them - but they seem like they will be good classes.
Körper von Platon bis Judith Butler (The Body from Plato to Judith Butler)
This class has met twice thus far. The professor is new to the University, but has published quite a bit. I met with her during her office hours and she was very nice, and interested in my dissertation project, so that was awesome. The class is also relatively large - about 40-50 students. This is fine, but it makes having a discussion in class very difficult. People just kinda say things, and she interprets what they're trying to say and then she calls on someone else....lather, rinse, repeat. The discussion that we had in class on Monday - about Plato's Symposium - was interesting, but I think we probably could have gotten more out of it. I myself took some additional notes which I think are important to my own project. Next week we're reading Pascal's Les Pensées.
Das Erhabene: von der Antike bis zur Postmoderne (The Sublime: From Antiquity to the Postmodern)
This class is significantly smaller, more like 15 students. It's specifically for students of the Literature and Cultural Theory MA program, but I asked the professor if I could take the course ahead of time, because my dissertation is likely to deal with the Sublime. The lecture last week was interesting, and the article that I've read for this week (aka tomorrow) is very much in line with the reading that I'm doing for my PhD exams and dissertation. In fact, I may end up using it in my exams.
The other two classes that I'm taking are language classes to help me work on the finer details of my language use. We'll see how they go. Thus far I've only taken tests in them - but they seem like they will be good classes.
27 October 2009
Classes begin - finally
Lest you think I do nothing here but go to parties, and complain about my neighbors, I do actually have some positive, non-complaining things to say about what's going on here. :)
Yesterday I had my first class. It was a basic introduction class, going over the syllabus and talking about requirements. Today I'm going to the professor's office hours to make sure that I'm in the class as an auditor, so that I'm not expected to do anything more than show up and read. To be honest since I'm reading and writing every day in preparation for my PhD exams, I don't really have the time until after December to really focus on any other writing. I've already read a good chunk of what we're reading in the middle section of this class, so it will be interesting to see what comes out of those discussions.
Tomorrow is my long day. I have two German classes and a course on the Sublime in the department of German literature. I need to make sure with that professor after class that being an auditor in that class is ok as well. I have read almost everything on that syllabus for my PhD exam list on the Sublime, which means I'm really kind of interested to see what comes out of the discussions and I think it will be good preparation for my exam. If I can summarize my notes at the end of every week and put them together with the notes I've already taken on these works, I think it will be a solid set of notes to draw on for my exams.
Speaking of my exams. I finished a book last night, and will likely finish another one tonight, as well as being close to done on 2-3 others. The end is in sight.
Yesterday I had my first class. It was a basic introduction class, going over the syllabus and talking about requirements. Today I'm going to the professor's office hours to make sure that I'm in the class as an auditor, so that I'm not expected to do anything more than show up and read. To be honest since I'm reading and writing every day in preparation for my PhD exams, I don't really have the time until after December to really focus on any other writing. I've already read a good chunk of what we're reading in the middle section of this class, so it will be interesting to see what comes out of those discussions.
Tomorrow is my long day. I have two German classes and a course on the Sublime in the department of German literature. I need to make sure with that professor after class that being an auditor in that class is ok as well. I have read almost everything on that syllabus for my PhD exam list on the Sublime, which means I'm really kind of interested to see what comes out of the discussions and I think it will be good preparation for my exam. If I can summarize my notes at the end of every week and put them together with the notes I've already taken on these works, I think it will be a solid set of notes to draw on for my exams.
Speaking of my exams. I finished a book last night, and will likely finish another one tonight, as well as being close to done on 2-3 others. The end is in sight.
02 October 2009
Short post...
I have to make this quick because the stores here are going to close for the whole weekend shortly. Tomorrow is "Tag der deutschen Einheit" which means it's a federal holiday, which further means that all of the stores will be closed. AND...since all of the stores are already closed on Sundays, well, you do the math. Basically, if I want to eat anything other than potatoes, instant soup mix or yogurt, I've got to get it now. So I'm off to the store.
But before I go, I will report on a couple of bits of exciting news.
But before I go, I will report on a couple of bits of exciting news.
22 September 2009
Victory will be mine!!!
So last Thursday was a day for some major victories, among them getting a good chunk of my paperwork taken care of as well as getting health insurance and a bank account. Today I had two additional victories which I would like to share.
Victory number one: I emailed two professors to see if I could participate in their classes. For some classes you just sign up for the course online and you’re in. For others you have to email the professor directly and they will tell you if you’re in, if the class is full, etc. One of the professors got back to me and said that the class was full. I knew this already, but I figured that asking couldn’t hurt. Sometimes they set aside a certain number of slots for foreign students, so if those weren’t filled then I had a shot. It wasn’t the best fit of a course, so it wasn’t too upsetting.
The other professor wrote back and said that she would be happy to have me in her class. Yea!!! But now I had to look for another class because I can’t just take one class. So I looked online again, and a course that I thought had disappeared off of the schedule was suddenly there again. This course actually fits perfectly with some of the works on which my dissertation will focus, namely the philosophical idea of the Sublime. So I emailed the professor, while I was in my room for lunch. When I came back 2 hours later, I had an email from him saying that he would be happy to have me in the class and giving me further instructions for what books to get and what forms to fill out. AWESOME!!!
So that was victory number one – well really you could call those two victories, but I don’t want to exaggerate. :)
Victory number two: I found Kaufland today. There are two grocery stores in the Altstadt. The first is Edeka, which is nice, relatively large, but a little expensive. The second grocery store is Plus which is tiny, a little dirty, and cheap. Kaufland is a little outside of town – maybe a 10 minute walk (1.3 km according to Google maps) but totally worth it. They have a huge produce section, a huge frozen food section and…wait for it…frozen turkey so I can make Thanksgiving dinner in November!!!! Yea!!!!
But seriously this place has everything and a huge selection of everything that they have. I would highly recommend going there, and maybe stocking up on some of the basics like pasta, sauce mixes, etc. If I lived closer it might make sense to buy meat, beer and wine there too, but it’s a bit of a trek to carry that stuff back. We’ll see. I’ve got a lot more time here to figure that out.
Victory number one: I emailed two professors to see if I could participate in their classes. For some classes you just sign up for the course online and you’re in. For others you have to email the professor directly and they will tell you if you’re in, if the class is full, etc. One of the professors got back to me and said that the class was full. I knew this already, but I figured that asking couldn’t hurt. Sometimes they set aside a certain number of slots for foreign students, so if those weren’t filled then I had a shot. It wasn’t the best fit of a course, so it wasn’t too upsetting.
The other professor wrote back and said that she would be happy to have me in her class. Yea!!! But now I had to look for another class because I can’t just take one class. So I looked online again, and a course that I thought had disappeared off of the schedule was suddenly there again. This course actually fits perfectly with some of the works on which my dissertation will focus, namely the philosophical idea of the Sublime. So I emailed the professor, while I was in my room for lunch. When I came back 2 hours later, I had an email from him saying that he would be happy to have me in the class and giving me further instructions for what books to get and what forms to fill out. AWESOME!!!
So that was victory number one – well really you could call those two victories, but I don’t want to exaggerate. :)
Victory number two: I found Kaufland today. There are two grocery stores in the Altstadt. The first is Edeka, which is nice, relatively large, but a little expensive. The second grocery store is Plus which is tiny, a little dirty, and cheap. Kaufland is a little outside of town – maybe a 10 minute walk (1.3 km according to Google maps) but totally worth it. They have a huge produce section, a huge frozen food section and…wait for it…frozen turkey so I can make Thanksgiving dinner in November!!!! Yea!!!!
But seriously this place has everything and a huge selection of everything that they have. I would highly recommend going there, and maybe stocking up on some of the basics like pasta, sauce mixes, etc. If I lived closer it might make sense to buy meat, beer and wine there too, but it’s a bit of a trek to carry that stuff back. We’ll see. I’ve got a lot more time here to figure that out.
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