Articles – Page 13 – eMag Uni Augsburg

Sweaty Palms

Have you ever been in a situation that made you wish you could just vanish into thin air? I bet you have. I bet it was something really embarrassing, something that just went wrong in every conceivable way, with you at its centre. Well, I’m not in such a situation. But that feeling… Yeah, it’s there.

Keeping your head down

I’m fidgeting. I guess it’s a physical response to me being tense and it’s probably supposed to help, but it’s most definitely not. What it is doing is make me stand out even more than I already am. I can feel people burning holes in my back, wondering what’s wrong with me. I can’t see them doing this, of course. I mean, half the people in here probably haven’t even noticed me coming in, but I can feel it. I need a different strategy. Run away… No! Don’t be stupid. Hide in the restroom... Dude! Look uninterested… That could be something.

Quick check of systems.
Face: let’s call it relaxed.
Body language: non-existent.
Inner-voice: screaming at the top of its lungs.
All ready.

The art of looking uninterested

I let my eyes wander across the room. Slowly, but not too slowly. Lingering is only permitted on objects, not on people. Lingering on people falls under the category of staring and staring is not only impolite – worse, it’s awkward. The established way to deal with such an emergency situation is to still linger, just not on the person, but something slightly off to the side and behind the person. That’s also awkward, probably just as much as staring at some random stranger as if you were trying to start something, but in my head – that’s the important part – it feels like it might be less awkward.

Mixed messages

I have the suspicion that fidgeting combined with looking uninterested – or however I’m looking at the moment – makes people think I need help. She certainly seems to have gotten this idea. A moment ago she was still standing on the other side of the room. Then we accidentally lock eyes for a second – yeah, I messed up there – she has a charming smile on her face and starts walking in my general direction. I mean, I sort of do want her to come here, but not right now! Doesn’t look like I have much of a choice, though. Oh yeah, that looks like determination. I’m looking uninterested. Not sure it works if you can’t even manage to convince yourself, but I sure as hell am trying. And she sure as hell ain’t changing direction. Doesn’t she see that I’m uninterested?

Just kill me!

She doesn’t. Or at least she doesn’t care, as is evident by her standing next to me, ready to take my order.

“Hello! What can I get you?”
“Uh… Number seventeen please.” What’s with the pause? Forgot how to speak?
“Sure. And to drink?”
“A… glass of water?” She does the asking, you the answering, dummy! And what’s with the pause?
“OK. Anything else?”
“I’m fine.” What’s that even supposed to mean?
“Great! I’ll be right back with you with your order.”
…
I didn’t say thank you… God damn it!

Text & Pictures: Andreas Böhm | Video: exurb1a

Is our future written in the stars?

It’s impossible not to see the fear on the woman’s face. Her eyes are wide open and tears are trickling down her cheeks. But why? With a bit of a weird feeling, I look around the place. I’m at a colourful market where hundreds of busy people bustle among the booths. However, in a dark corner, separated from the crowd stands the small booth, the desperate woman has just left. The entrance to the booth is covered with cloths and a whiff of smoke fills the air nearby. An antiquated sign reads the offer: A look into the future.

Bit of history

For centuries, this kind of knowledge has been a valuable commodity, which provides those who claim to have it with enormous powers. The most famous of the so-called seers is without doubt Nostradamus. Born in 1503, he not only predicted the fate of the French king Louis XVI and the reign of terror under Adolf Hitler – above that, some of his convinced supporters assert that Nostradamus also forecast the recent election of Donald Trump. But as remarkably accurate some of Nostradamus’ prophecies are, many historic predictions allow numerous interpretative approaches, presenting a perfect target for different groups of people.

While some of them are already discussing Doomsday, others are more interested in extending their wealth with the diverse business of fortune telling. Of course, those fortune-telling products no longer focus on powerful prophecies. Instead, most of them are based on astrological interpretations of celestial bodies, also known as horoscopes.

Trading with the future

Nowadays horoscopes not only feature in many lifestyle magazines; they also help many people make important decisions. But how can a large and diverse audience create individual connections with the horoscopes? The answer is quite simple: by leaving enough room for interpretations. This will ensure that readers are able to identify with their horoscope and are retrospectively convinced that it came true.

Looking at an out-to-date horoscope from January 2017 confirms this assumption. It may sound a bit weird, but the horoscope seems unbelievably expressive and meaningful, while at the same time also kind of trivial. Among other things, the horoscope encourages me to let go of my own mask to earn some mysterious gifts. What could that mean? I basically spent the whole of January studying for some important exams. Could good marks be the promised reward? But what is the secret of the cryptic mask? As of yet, unanswered questions abound and there are no limits to imagination. In a nutshell, this is exactly what horoscopes are all about. It doesn’t matter if a student like me, a successful career woman or a family man reads the horoscope – the horoscope offers something for everyone.

It’s within ones power

After all, there are lots of people who draw strength and motivation from horoscopes. However, it does become problematic when people completely adjust their lives to fortune telling, thereby giving negative predictions too great a hold on them. We all have a free will and are able to shape our own future. And as Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it”.

Text & Picture: Solveig Paulsen

The future is now

Think back to your childhood for a second and try to remember the things that seemed strictly sci-fi to you. Cool tech people used in movies and stories like it’s the most normal thing in the world, but surely couldn’t exist in real life. For me, things like Star Trek’s holodeck and scanners come to mind. Turns out that these things are now just around the corner.

Reality and then some

With the big splash Virtual Reality headsets have made over the last year, with the releases of consumer headsets like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, the holodeck seems to be well on its way to our living rooms, but so far, VR also seems to remain a feature reserved for games. Augmented Reality (AR), the other side of the alternative reality coin, might prove more versatile. Interestingly enough, it was a game that finally introduced a larger audience to it: Pokémon Go. Instead of creating a virtual world for you to roam around in, AR adds things to the real world that you can then interact with in real time. In Pokémon Go this was still mostly a gimmick, but there’s a lot of potential in this technology. Here are some ideas.

Navigational systems…

GPS devices work pretty well for getting you to where you need to go, but having to constantly look away from the road to peek at the map can be pretty annoying. And dangerous! How much cooler would it be if you could see your route right in front of you? For cars, the windshield could act as a screen that highlights turns. And for pedestrians a similar system could be used with glasses. Although, I guess here your phone screen could work too. People might feel a bit self-conscious wearing something that makes them look like Geordi La Forge.

Tourist information…

You know those plaques on historical buildings all over Augsburg with information about why the place is notable? They’re kinda concise, don’t you think? And a guided tour takes forever. Wouldn’t it be much better if you could walk around at your own pace, check out places you really care about and go into as much detail as you really want? An interactive overlay could do the job. You just look (with glasses), or point your screen (on a phone) at a location of interest and the options pop up. Not just a boring Wikipedia page or a long monologue. No, just what you want to know, right in front of you.

And much more

This doesn’t have to be a thing for tourists only. Look at the sky to get the forecast for the next few hours. Walk towards a bus stop and immediately see how that line can get you to your destination. Point at the cinema and see what movies are on this evening. These are just a few ideas for how AR could be used in the near future. It might still be a while until we finally get our very own dedicated holodeck, but at least this gives us all ample time to plan the layout.

Text & Picture: Andreas Böhm

Remember, remember, the fifth of November

If you’ve been to Great Britain during the first few days of November, you might have noticed fireworks going off and maybe even come across a few bonfires in the evening hours. Like me, you might have had trouble finding out what it’s all about. People don’t always know why or what they’re celebrating. They just go and join the fun. But I usually like to know the reason for these kinds of festivities.

A guy named Fawkes

It all started with a guy. To be precise: with Guy Fawkes. This fellow was “caught in the act” when guarding barrels of powder that had been placed in a cellar beneath the Parliament in order to blow up King James I of England and replace him with a Catholic King. But let’s see how the story began.

Guy Fawkes had presumably been very easily influenced by others all his life. In May 1604, he and other conspirators agreed to join in the now so-called “gunpowder conspiracy”. Fawkes then assumed the name John Johnson, as a servant of Thomas Percy, one of the conspirators. In early December 1604, he started to supervise work in a mine to prepare the gunpowder barrels. In 1605, they hired a cellar beneath Parliament. Fawkes helped to fill the room with barrels of powder and, because of his munitions experience, he was given the task of setting light to the powder. One day before his capture authorities discovered him, but let him leave because they hadn’t seen the barrels yet. But on Tuesday, 5 November, when he once again returned to the cellar, he was arrested. A Westminster magistrate had previously found the gunpowder during a meticulous search. Fawkes was tortured and finally gave away the plan as well as the names of the other conspirators. On Friday, 31 January 1606 he and three others were hanged.

Gunpowder Treason Day

The very first celebration of the failed gunpowder treason took place right after Guy Fawkes was arrested. The King’s Council had allowed the public to celebrate the King’s survival with bonfires. The following year Parliament passed the Observance of 5^th November Act (also known as “Thanksgiving Act”) in order to remember the failed attempt to murder King James I of England. What the celebrations were like during the first years can only be speculated, though we know that at least in some communities music and artillery salutes were part of the festivities. The events were mainly for local dignitaries to start with, but were extended steadily.

While at first the celebrations demonstrated an anti-Catholic sentiment – very early on, effigies of hate-figures, e.g. the pope or the devil, were burnt -, it gradually changed to large organised events, centred on bonfires and extravagant firework displays.

Guy Fawkes Day
Today, every kid knows the name. “Remember, remember…” is a nursery rhyme every kid in Great Britain is bound to hear at some point. Still, when you ask people about the reason for bonfires and firework – more often than not the question results in puzzled looks. People do have a vague idea, of course, but nowadays people seem to be more interested in partying than knowing what makes this date special in the first place.
Partly this might be because society and circumstances change over time. There still might be the odd resentment between Catholics and Protestants, but they’re mostly well concealed in history. What’s more, the name of the day changed in the late eighteenth century, which might have helped to keep the true reason for the celebration in the dark. Even though the story is kind of known, people are lost regarding the specifics.

Maybe we should not only celebrate festivities, but also try and remember the story behind the party. Otherwise we might lose part of our culture and customs that we wouldn’t want to. After all, even the nursery rhyme says “Remember, remember, the fifth of November…”.

Text: Angie Czygann | Pictures: Manfred Czygann

Adopt – don’t shop!

Many people have issues about adopting a dog from a local shelter. There are, of course, a lot of myths and prejudices about shelter animals, which encourages a lot of people who are willing to let a furbaby into their lives to buy a pet in a pet store, from a local breeder or even on the internet. So read on if you want to know why adopting a lovely dog from a shelter is the right option, in most cases.

Myth 1: all shelter dogs are old

You want to have a young pup in your life and figure you can’t find one in a shelter? Well, this is absolutely wrong! Many shelters have a lot of puppies looking for a forever home. And the average age of a dog entering a shelter is eighteen months. But senior dogs are awesome, too, so consider giving one a loving home.

Myth 2: all shelter dogs are aggressive – why would they be in a shelter otherwise?

Of course, not all dogs in shelters are aggressive. Most dogs given away by their families are perfectly fine and well-behaved; they have to leave because their families are moving or because someone’s getting a divorce. In any case, shelters always label their dogs and check with your lifestyle before letting you adopt – so you’ll always know what you’re getting and whether a particular dog matches what you want.

Myth 3: all shelter dogs have health issues

Wrong! Most shelter dogs are more likely to be healthy than purchased dogs. After getting to the shelter, all canines undergo a medical check and get all the important shots to guarantee their health and the health of all dogs around them. Of course, a dog from a good breeder might be perfectly healthy, too, but selling puppies is an easy way to earn fast money. So there are a lot of black sheep among breeders; buying a cheap puppy from an unauthorized breeder or from a puppy mill might not only supply you a dog with major health issues, but will give breeders the opportunity to go on with their dirty work and torture more innocent dogs. So if you decide to buy a dog from breeders, make sure that they’re authorized and definitely visit their facilities before you decide to trust them.

Myth 4: adopting from shelters is a huge hassle

No! It’s actually pretty easy! You can go to shelters during their visiting hours to figure out if a suitable pup is around (and I promise you – you’ll be willing to adopt them all). Then you’ll have to explain to the staff what you’re interested in, take the pup out for a few walks and if everything seems fine between you and the dog, you’ll just adopt them. Nothing more simple than that.

So just go for it!

Adopting a pup will bring so much joy into your life. Shelter dogs which have gone through unhappy times will appreciate your love and will always show their never-ending gratitude. I adopted the most precious and loving dog from a shelter and have never regretted the decision.

Where to go

Tierschutzverein Augsburg und Umgebung e. V.
Holzbachstr. 4c
86152 Augsburg
0821 / 455290 – 0
http://www.tierheim-augsburg.de/

Tierheim Lechleite
Neue Bergstraße 101
86316 Friedberg/Derching
0821 / 79 30 30
http://www.tierheim-lechleite.de/

Tierheim und Tierschutzbund Ulm/Neu-Ulm und Umgebung e.V.
Örlinger-Tal-Weg 40
89081 Ulm
0731 / 97 92 31-50
https://tierheim-ulm.de/

Text & Pictures: Lisa Schümann

Torn between two worlds

The weekend’s near! You’re already planning your days off. You’re probably going to study. Maybe you’ll go on a day trip or just stay in Augsburg and spend your time here? Most likely, the weekend is something you don’t plan very precisely. Well, when you go home each weekend, things don’t work like this. Even though they probably shouldn’t, your plans already take shape on Monday, eventually forcing you to rethink your situation:

This Friday, I’ll hope to get the earlier train

Of course, you’ve tried to outsmart Digicampus and get Friday off. But sometimes this doesn’t work, so you have to attend uni on Friday and hope to get your tram to the train station in time. And even if your train trip only takes one and a half hours, getting the later train will mean that you’ll have less time with your family in the evening.

Saturday is going to be busy.

If your family members live as closely to each other as mine, my Saturday schedule might seem familiar to you: first, you have a late breakfast with your family, already suspecting that the day might turn out to be stressful. At midday, you go get the groceries for your grandparents and spend some time with them, chatting about the past week at uni, a certain president’s failures, and the most recent Bundesliga news. In the evening, you visit your other grandparents to have dinner with them. After dinner, it’s time to finally meet the gang and go out, and depending on how busy Sunday will be, you might, of course stay out a bit longer.

Sunday ain’t fun-day…

After an even later breakfast on Sunday, the bags have to be packed. Being tired (and sometimes a bit hungover), you realize what’s coming: a train ride, lasting longer than an eternity; then a tram ride, most often packed with smelly people next to you; an exhausting walk home, because you don’t have one of those trendy suitcases with wheels on them and your bag gets heavier and heavier with each step you take. You’re finally there, so you unpack your bags, put your home-laundered clothes into your wardrobe, and store the food you brought in your fridge. Sleepily, you sink into your bed and as you’re about to fall asleep, you suddenly remember: there was homework due tomorrow!!!

But is it really worth it?

This advice might be helpful, especially if you’re new to being a student: commuting home over the weekend sure is great because you get to see your family, your hometown friends and feel the nostalgic, regional vibe of your home. But if you don’t manage to take one step back from your family responsibilities after moving out, your weekly trip home will be exhausting rather than relaxing. And even though it might hurt in the beginning, you’ll eventually have to focus on one of those two worlds because if you continue like this, homework won’t be the only thing you’ll miss out.

It’s your decision!

Sooner or later, you’ll find out that staying in Augsburg for the weekend more often will benefit you: you’ll be less distracted from your studies, your weekends will be more relaxing, and maybe it’s going to be easier for you to make friends here. This is why, from my personal experience, I can say that for the sake of your student as well as your private life, it’s important to find the right balance between going home and staying in Augsburg. Your family will always be your family, no matter where you are, so they’ll understand. It’s only natural that you’ll have a hard time figuring it out at first, but I’m sure you’ll eventually sort this out and succeed in your new, exciting life, too!

Text & Pictures: Marcus Wiesenhofer

Embracing Unity (and Justice and Freedom)

Defining unity has become hard in a world that seems to be falling apart. Catalans have tried to vote in an independence referendum merely days after the Kurds, Québec’s autonomy is back on the table and Brexit is causing uproar, not only in the EU, but even more in the UK itself. And what if the Scots decide they’ve had it and become independent after all?

Unity out of division

Germans, of all people, know about the inconveniences, and even dangers, of separation and partition. A mere one thousand five hundred years of regional reclusiveness were followed by only about seventy years of unity (and two World Wars) before the country was broken apart again. Of course, there’s a difference between forced partition and chosen self-government. But historically speaking, abandoning all the advantages of a unified state because of ethnic pride and regional patriotism has rarely stood the test of time.

When, in 1841, von Fallersleben wrote the text to the German national anthem, he addressed unity alongside justice and freedom in a democratic state. Now, however, elections as the very basis of democracy have come to show the fault lines that still exist throughout Germany. In the recent parliamentary election, thirteen percent voted for a party whose program exploits this lack of unity – a division based on current political matters both in Germany and the EU. The foundation of democracy is in imminent danger. As with the British people, it is our freedom that allows us to question the point of our unity.

Peace out of unity

In these disturbing times, it’s vital that Germans celebrate and embrace their unity, particularly on our twenty-seventh Tag der deutschen Einheit. This unity lies in diversity within the framework of a unified Europe, our key guarantee for peace, which in turn secures our territorial integrity. Germany, of course, was divided by brute force, which is a whole different story than Brexit or the movement for Catalonian independence. Unity just for the sake of it only leads to stagnation, if not regress.

Still, those who long for independence should challenge their motives. There are three questions to be answered: first of all, how bad is my current situation? Maybe, I’m just suffering from First World Problems. Second, is partition the solution to my problems? Or will they just continue on a regional level? And, finally, will I gain more than I lose? Sometimes, winning independence from a greater power threatens unity within.

Text: Angie Czygann & Niklas Schmidt
Picture: Angie Czygann