Augsburg – Page 2 – eMag Uni Augsburg

Fridays for OUR future

“We’re on a planet. That has a problem. We’ve got to solve it, get involved. And do it now, now, now. We need to build a better future. And we need to start right now.” – Read that part again, with the melody of “Bella Ciao” in mind and imagine being surrounded by hundreds: then you’ll catch a glimpse of how a Fridays for Future protest looks and feels.

May 24: In more than 2000 cities (about 200 of them in Germany), young people once more took to the streets, to fight for climate justice. But I’m not writing this article to tell you to stop wasting food, go vegan, quit flying or whatsoever – not again! You’re old enough to know that you should change your lifestyle to help our environment. Instead, I’ll try to share the feeling of being surrounded by hundreds of people that fight for the same goal.

The demonstration

One of the demonstrations started on Friday at 11:30 in Kempten. Pupils from a range of about 50 km had come to protest. First, everything was quiet as we gathered. As you looked around, you tried to read the other signs. Those beautiful, sarcastic but also terrifying signs: One said: “This planet is getting hotter than young Leonardo DiCaprio!”, another one read: “Wake up Humans! You’re endangered, too!“. They’d have been funny, but as the topic is so relevant, they were simply sad and scary. You could already hear strident whistling everywhere. A lot of pupils had brought whistles and started to sing: “Wir sind hier! Wir sind laut, weil ihr uns die Zukunft klaut!” (We are here! We are loud! Because you’re stealing our future!) Everyone else joined. And it was getting louder. We wanted to make (fucking) noise. We wanted to be (fucking) heard. So we screamed our heads off.

As we started to walk, the one big chant developed into more smaller chants in smaller groups. We were followed by disapproving glances of people. But we didn’t care. I mean, why should we? They apparently don’t care about our future, so I don’t give a fuck if I jar on their nerves. After an hour of walking, we topped at a little square. And the speaker started to sing the recasted “Bella Ciao” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zemK3S79tpU). Then, he talked about the European Elections. And I would like to do the same thing now.

There’s no excuse for today!

I know as a student it might be hard to participate in those projects because of work or other obligations. But there is no possibly accepted excuse for not voting today. You can change the world. You can make a difference. You can make the difference this world needs so desperately. I plead you: Don’t let your vote be wasted because you are too lazy after a boozy night.

Author: Leyla Bayraktar

Picture: Ela Bayraktar

Sympathy for a killer

The lights come on and in a nightgown Ruth Ellis (Lotte Albrecht) enters the stage to the bittersweet Blues of Billie Holiday, which immediately draws the audience into the stylish, but flawed version of the 1950s that forms the backdrop for the story preceding Ruth’s death. On 13 July 1955, at the age of 28 she is hanged, the last woman in Britain to suffer this fate. Her crime: she shot her lover in cold blood. What drove this young, beautiful woman over the edge? Why did she not even attempt to defend herself? These are some of the questions “The Thrill of Love” by Amanda Whittington aims to explore.

An emotional rollercoaster

The story is told in flashbacks through the perspective of Inspector Jack Gale (Jack Sigel). During his investigation he reconstructs a selection of events that give us an insight into the seedy world of gentlemen’s clubs and the women working the nights. Always present on bar room stage, he is a constant reminder that even the happiest moments in the lives of the women there are nothing but stepping stones on the path to the grim future we already know. However, these scenes of joy are one of the greatest feats of the play: it’s all too easy to get lost in the hopelessness and sadness that is usually associated with the story of Ruth Ellis. The playful banter between the women is a welcome break and allows the actresses to display their perfect timing and quick delivery. Thanks to these moments the characters become more than just parts of a tragic story. We become invested in their hopes and dreams, although we should know full well that they are unlikely at best. When this realization finally kicks in during the second half of the play, it hits that much harder.

Powerful performances

There are no extras in “The Thrill of Love”. Every character has his or her moments. The club’s manager Sylvia Shaw (Lucie Marchand) appears to be all business, but she cares deeply about all the women who work for her. The charwoman Doris (Anna Hilbel) often puts her needs behind those of others, even if it puts her own happiness at risk. The young Vicky Martin (Sara Steffes) hopes to meet powerful men and become a star on the big screen. Even Inspector Gale, cold as he may seem, turns out to be motivated by more than the mere desire to solve a case.

An unforgettable evening

“The Thrill of Love” is a powerful experience. The crew surrounding Rudolf Beck has managed to create a captivating atmosphere that lingers long after the curtain closes. We may know the outcome from the very beginning, but we don’t know the story behind it. In finding out, it’s difficult not to feel somewhat like a voyeur. Personal tragedies happen in silence. It’s when they emerge that we start to care.

Performances:

Thursday 6^th December
Friday 7^th December
Tuesday 11^th December
Thursday 13^th December

8 p.m., Hörsaal II

Author & Poster: Andreas Böhm

Questions of a reading worker

Who built Thebes of the seven gates?

In the books you find the names of kings.

Was it the kings who hauled the rocks?

And Babylon, repeatedly destroyed.

Who rebuilt it so many times? Which houses

Of golden-gleaming Lima did the workers live in?

The evening the Great Wall of China was completed,

where did the masons go? Imperial Rome

Is full of triumphal arches. Who

Did the Caesars triumph over? Did Byzantium, much extolled,

Offer only palaces to its people? Even in mythical Atlantis,

The night the ocean swallowed it, the drowning screamed for their slaves.

Young Alexander conquered India.

He on his own?

Ceasar beat the Gauls.

Didn’t he at least have a cook with him?

Phillipp of Spain wept when his fleet had sunk.

Was he the only one to weep?

Frederic the Second prevailed in the Seven Years’ War. Other than him,

Who else prevailed?

Every page a victory.

Who cooked the the victors’ feast?

Every ten years a great man.

Who paid for the expenses?

So many reports.

So many questions.

If you like Brecht, be sure to check out this year’s Brechfestival, which will be held from February 23rd to March 4th! For further information visit https://brechtfestival.de/programm

Author: Bertolt Brecht | Translation: Maria Diamantopoulou

Bretzel, birra e rock’n roll

Il 4 ottobre 2017 è stato per molte persone un giorno come tanti altri, ma per me ha rappresentato un nuovo inizio. Alle 15:30 di quel giorno io, papà e mamma siamo arrivati ad Augsburg dopo ben dieci ore di viaggio in macchina e lì ha avuto inizio per me quella bellissima avventura chiamata Erasmus.

Dopo essere arrivati allo Studentenwohnheim Göggingen e aver sistemato i bagagli nella mia camera, io e i miei genitori abbiamo passato alcune giornate insieme tra Wurst, Bretzel, Kartoffeln e giri nei posti più importanti di Augsburg e in particolare ci sono piaciuti molto il Rathaus e la Fuggerei, il primo complesso di case popolari nella storia. Il 7 ottobre abbiamo passato un’intera giornata a Monaco e il giorno dopo, dopo gli abbracci e la classica lacrimuccia, i miei genitori sono partiti per tornare in Italia. Ed è proprio dopo la loro partenza che sono sorte le prime insicurezze…

Quello ad Augsburg rappresenta il secondo semestre Erasmus della mia vita, dato che nel 2014 avevo passato sei mesi a León, in Spagna. Ma mentre lì mi sono ritrovato in un paese di cui conoscevo e parlavo bene la lingua e ho potuto fin da subito comunicare con la gente del posto, l’inizio del mio Erasmus ad Augsburg non è stato altrettanto facile. Non studiavo il tedesco da circa quattro anni e all’inizio non capivo niente di quello che dicevano i professori a lezione. Inoltre, quando mi trovavo a parlare coi miei compagni di corso tedeschi, facevo fatica anche a formulare frasi semplici come „Wie geht’s dir?“.

Molte persone si sarebbero perse d’animo, ma io non sono il tipo che si demoralizza alla prima difficoltà. Fin da subito mi sono rimboccato le maniche ed è andando a lezione di Deutsch als Fremdsprache e parlando con molti studenti tedeschi (tra cui la mia bravissima tutor Alexandra e alcuni ragazzi di ESN, l‘Erasmus Student Network) che sono riuscito a raggiungere un buon livello. Adesso riesco a sostenere una conversazione in lingua tedesca senza grossi problemi e questo è senza dubbio il traguardo più bello che potessi raggiungere.

Oltre a conoscere tanti ragazzi tedeschi a lezione o al Göggingen, ho stretto amicizia con molti italiani e con ragazzi provenienti da paesi come Grecia, USA, Spagna, Francia e Irlanda e questo mi ha permesso di fare pratica anche con le altre lingue straniere che conosco (inglese, spagnolo e francese) e di conoscere meglio altre culture. Coi miei amici, che non ringrazierò mai abbastanza per il solo fatto che mi sopportano, ho condiviso tante serate nella Bierstube del Goggingen e in locali di Augsburg come Mahagoni Bar, Peaches, Nachtcafé e Mo Club e tra una birra e l’altra mi sono sempre divertito tantissimo.

Party in Albertus Magnus Studentenwohnheim. Credit: Chayangkoon Mangkornkarn

Ma coi miei amici non ho condiviso solo serate di festa. In più occasioni abbiamo deciso di avventurarci al di fuori di Augsburg per scoprire città nuove e questa voglia di viaggiare ci ha portati fino a città come Nürnberg, Berlino (dove abbiamo partecipato allo Spree Break organizzato da ESN Deutschland), Lindau (col suo bellissimo mercatino di Natale) e Dachau (dove abbiamo visitato il campo di concentramento). Grazie a queste gite abbiamo potuto apprezzare il grande impegno dei ragazzi di ESN, i quali hanno organizzato per noi studenti Erasmus anche numerosi eventi di ogni genere tra cui un allenamento di Wheelchair Basketball, la visita al birrificio Brauhaus Riegele e serate sulla pista di pattinaggio.

L’Erasmus ad Augsburg è divertimento, viaggiare e „Bretzel, birra e rock ´n roll“, ma c’è anche altro. Essendo ancora uno studente, ho trascorso la maggior parte del semestre all’università e devo dire che mi sono trovato molto bene. Il campus è un bellissimo mix di natura ed edifici moderni e all’avanguardia e l’organizzazione è davvero ottima. I professori dei corsi a cui ho partecipato sono molto gentili e disponibili e le lezioni sono state tutte molto interessanti e coinvolgenti. In Italia c’è grande distacco tra studenti e professori e questo mi ha fatto apprezzare ancor di più l’approccio dei docenti dell’Università di Augsburg.

Conoscere gente fantastica da ogni parte del mondo, esplorare luoghi nuovi, parlare e imparare una o più lingue straniere, vivere esperienze nuove, confrontarsi con un mondo nuovo e arricchire le mie conoscenze.

Author & Pictures (except the one from the party): Alessandro Palma

Medicine freshmen in Augsburg in 2019

Great news! The University of Augsburg is getting a medical faculty! Wait, that’s not really… news. But first of all it’s great and what’s new is that future medicine students might have to improvise a bit. Why’s that?

Nickl_&_Partner_Medicine_Faculty — © Nickl & Partner Architekten AG

Within the blink of an eye

In 2009 Horst Seehofer promised the university hospital. And on 26^th June 2017 the topping-out ceremony for the hospital extension was celebrated. But there is much more work to be done. The future students don’t have a proper campus yet and they start studying in 2019! You could say, well, they still have heaps of time left to build a new campus but in these circumstances two years will go by in the blink of an eye.

What needs to be built:

… the main campus consisting of seven buildings with up to eight floors for research and teaching
… car parks for a few hundred professors, teachers and about 1,500 students
… more buildings towards the living quarters in Stadtbergen for teaching and research with up to five floors
… a single huge building for the Mensa, library etc.
… some more buildings for stores, daycare centers and whatever uni life is in need of
… even more buildings for god knows what

They have 99 problems …

… but money ain’t one. The new medicine campus will be as beautiful as the current campus, which – by the way – is among the most attractive ones in Germany – so a lot of money and effort will be invested in this project and it’s very unlikely that it’ll be finished before 2022/2023. So the students will start studying in 2019 – that’s more or less definite. You see the problem? Where will they be sipping their coffees, listening to lectures and crying before the final exams if not on their new campus? The answer might be a little hard to digest.

As you might know, anatomy is one of the medicine students’ main subjects in their first years. In order to be able to have a look into these dead bodies there has to be space for tables to dissect on. These are only provided in… wait for it… the old pathology rooms. Yay! So hold your breath and don’t let the obnoxious smell of death confuse you! Seriously, this smell is disgusting. The people working there either have to be very, very good with bad odours or they probably just don’t have a sense of smell at all. But the good thing about it: students who can cope are one step closer to being good doctors in the aftermath.

New from old and a lot of improvisation

Time management is, as we know, kind of a big deal. But when it comes to improvisation and new from old the management of Augsburg is playing ‘first league’ matches. For the first few years, the old hospital for children will provide an accommodation option for future medicine students. But the medical-informatics science students will already be accommodated on the main campus starting in 2018. And what a campus this will be! Almost as huge as a whole district – precise. That’s insane! But that’s the future. Let’s just wait and see when we can finally go to proper medicine student parties and let them cure our alcohol intoxication.

Augsburg’s Christkindlesmarkt

_{Ah, it’s that time of the year again! The air is full of the scent of gingerbread and mulled wine, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, fir trees and Christmas… Wait! Oh gosh, I forgot to buy the last presents! If you recognize yourself in this scenario, don’t panic. I’ve got some ideas that will not only help you to find a last-minute gift but also involve a bit of fun…}

The time is running out…

Only four days left until Christmas Eve and you have to buy some last-minute gifts for your family and friends. So it begins… hustling through the crowded shops with thousands of stressed-out shoppers who – yes, you got it – have forgotten to buy them, too. Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it?

Augsburg’s Christmas market – something for everybody

But lucky you, in Augsburg there’s the annual Christmas market, called Christkindlesmarkt by Auxburger. There are plenty of things to do and buy! On entering, you’ll see all kinds of booths which have even more products waiting. There are, for example, some stalls with beautiful ornaments for your Christmas tree, some of them 100 per cent handmade; and if your tree also needs some lighting, there’s another booth which sells fairy lights in various fancy designs.

If you’re more into decorating a Christmas crib, you won’t be disappointed either! There are a million ways to give your grandma’s old one a complete update. For the more spiritual among us, there are stalls that offer all kinds of angel figurines, too. If you have kids, a trip to the Christmas market will probably make their eyes light up like the star of Bethlehem. At the Moritzplatz tram stop, there’s a tiny children’s Christmas market for your little ones. It even has a little merry-go-round! And at the main market, they can write Santa a letter at the postal office.

Countless ways to satisfy your hunger

After you’re done with your last- food_and_drinks-min minute shopping, you’ll certainly be hungry. No problem, because food is everywhere! So-called Weihnachtsfladen (similar to Lángos), a breadroll filled with sausages, all kinds of sweet dishes and candy are only a few examples of what makes your mouth water when only reading about it. My tip: try out the so-called Dampfnudel, if you haven’t already! The vanilla sauce tastes yummy! The market is also famous for all kinds of hot alcoholic beverages, but the most famous one is mulled wine. As an alternative for the kids and those who don’t drink, children’s punch is a big deal as well!

Let this thoughtful time come to its finest

As you can see, there are many ways to either get your missing gifts or just spend the evening getting into the Christmas spirit. Try not to waste these last few days in a state of exhaustion!

Happy holidays! 😊

Author: Denise Bieber | Pictures: Katharina Dück

Life’s not always Simpel

It’s Saturday night and you’re bored to death. How about solving this problem by going to a special cinema: Thalia. It’s one of the three cinemas in Augsburg which are popular for showing rather unknown movies. Thalia, Mephisto and Savoy, are known as the “Kinodreieck”, and can be found between the Rathausplatz and the cathedral. They’re easy to get to – just take the tram (number 2) and exit at “Dom/Stadtwerke”.

Thalia rocks!

Thalia is the cinema we like best because you can meet up with your friends just for coffee. In case you get hungry, they also do breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. And if you feel like it – after your coffee – just pick a movie and lean back. The Kinodreieck also organizes special events like Lechflimmern, movies in the original language, Augsburger Filmtage and many more.

Simpel – the movie

Recently we went to Thalia to see the new German movie, Simpel. It’s based on the book with the same name by Marie-Aude Murail. Since it won the 2008 German Youth Literature Award and we‘ve both read the book, it seemed like a good idea to see the movie as well.

In case you don’t know the story, we’ll give you a short summary of the movie.
It’s about two brothers in their early 20s, Barnabas alias Simpel (David Kross) and Ben (Frederick Lau), who are inseparable. Simpel has been mentally disabled from birth so someone always has to look after him. Their family situation is quite complicated, too. The mum (Anneke Kim Sarnau) dies at the beginning of the movie and the dad (Devid Striesow) left the family when both kids were still little. A few days after the mum’s funeral, Simpel is taken away to a mental home by the police and freaks out. Brother Ben never wanted this to happen and, on the spur of the moment, decides to run away with Simpel. It’s going to be quite an adventure with many problems, but we don’t want to spoil anything…

Our opinion

We liked the movie because it deals with really important topics such as responsibility, disability, friendship and family relations. The basic story in the book is well done, although some significant scenes don´t go into depth. We would have liked some more details about Simpel´s and Ben´s life, instead of having such an eventful movie. The actors are well cast, though. Star actor David Kross’ performance is stunning as a disabled character – we believed him in every single scene. Frederick Lau’s (Simpel’s brother) role is also made for him.

Simpel the movie is on until Christmas, so don´t wait too long. Enjoy it or just go to Thalia, the bookstore, and get the book there.

Text & Pictures: Isabel Mair & Carmen Bauer