Germany – Page 2 – eMag Uni Augsburg

Are you a ‘Faschingsmuffel’?

I always feel like a stranger in my hometown Füssen in the Allgäu. The reason for this is simple: Fasching, the traditional carnival in southern Germany. But thankfully, the Fasching euphoria in Füssen is rather moderate compared to the villages surrounding it, like Buching, Hopferau and so on, which you most certainly don’t know if you’re not from the area.

Reasons to dislike Fasching

But why is that? I simply don’t get it. Okay, some of the costumes at the parades are in fact quite funny but – in my opinion – the majority aren’t. Most of the costumes are even worse! Hordes of badly-dressed cowboys and Indians! For every creative costume produced after hours and hours of work, there are hundreds of boring Wild West reenactments. And then there’s the horrible music. Every year, the same tasteless Schlager playlists penetrate my ears and leave me speech- and breathless (“Atemlos”…)! But for most people at Fasching, it doesn’t matter, since the majority of people just need a reason to get drunk and – even worse – they can’t cope with being drunk and behave aggressively.

Any chance of escape?

You might be wondering if it’s possible to escape from this madness. Well, if you’re living in one of these previously-mentioned Fasching strongholds, there’s only one way to do so: build yourself a soundproof air-raid shelter. Sorry. If you’re lucky and you live a safe distance away from these danger areas, take advantage – stay away and let the others have their fun. Tastes differ and so do ideas about what a good party looks like.

By the way, in case you have to hand in a seminar paper or something similar by the end of February, see the positive side of it: in the library, you’re safe from drunkards in fancy dress and Helene Fischer.

Authors: Thomas Kienast, Sebastian Reimann
Pictures: Noemi Hehl

On air

We’re going to be on the radio! This thought was as exciting as it was scary for us eMAGers who are used to having all the time in the world to create beautiful sentences with sophisticated syntax and impressive vocabulary. So the prospect of having to come up with elaborate statements in a matter of seconds was somewhat intimidating.

Who’s behind Kanal C?

Ronja and Laura from the Kanal C student radio made us feel very comfortable in their ‘base camp’ at the Alte Universität. It was quite obvious from the start that everyone’s welcome at Kanal C, so we weren’t surprised when the two girls told us that their team was made up of students from all kinds of programs. Some get involved with Kanal C to gain experience in producing and hosting radio shows, while others are there just for the fun of it. And we can’t deny we got the impression that the Kanal C team does have lots of fun producing their shows.

Just another radio station?

Before we were interviewed, we were allowed to have a look at the recording studio. Here, Kanal C records passages that are later played in the show, which is broadcast both from the studios and on the frequency of Radio Fantasy (93.4 MHz). Each show is hosted by an anchor who’s supported by a co-anchor. Before you start hosting the live shows you need to practice and get an overview of all tasks that are involved in producing a show. Reports have to be written and recorded, including local and global news that always have to be up to date. Just like every radio station Kanal C offers traffic reports and weather forecasts, but also information about current events in Augsburg or at university. And, of course, Kanal C focuses on its young listeners and updates you on new apps, games and movies in the theaters. If you’re an indie, alternative or hip hop fan, Kanal C is the perfect radio station for you. They played Milky Chance and X Ambassadors long before they conquered the charts and they keep an eye on the local music scene, interview young bands and artists and report from the Modular Festival.

Listen in or become a radio celebrity yourself!

It’s obvious that the Kanal C team puts a lot of time and effort into their shows, but with up to 7,000 listeners their effort certainly isn’t in vain and twenty successful years also speak for themselves! So why not listen to the radio at 9:50pm next Monday? And don’t worry – if you can’t make it, you’ve still got the chance to listen to their podcast on https://kanal-c.net/. We’ll definitely be glued to the radio next Monday when they’re airing their show!

Oh and by the way: if you feel like hearing your voice on the radio, just send the team an email (info@kanal-c.de) or drop by during one of their team meetings on Tuesdays at 8pm at the Alte Universität. They’re always on the lookout for potential new members and they promised us they don’t bite! 😉

Authors: Noemi Hehl & Henrike Wilhelm
Pictures: Noemi Hehl & Kanal C

Star Wars Identities – The Exhibition

Flashback: People in long-term relationships will know the problem: your partner in crime’s birthday is just around the corner and you’ve already given him the most creative presents about a hundred times. And since I’m a huge fan of personal presents, I can’t just buy some random perfume or (God, please save me from this shame) a carelessly purchased gift card. No, I’m a good girlfriend, so I’ve bought tickets for the Star Wars Identities Exhibition in Munich (until Oct 17, 2016; Munich, Olympiapark), because my boyfriend adores Star Wars like Anakin loves Padme. But to be honest, I thought that he would be incredibly grateful and take one of his best friends with him. But what a surprise; he asked me, the most disinterested person when it comes to Star Wars.

A trip to a completely unknown galaxy

Present: So here I am, entering the audio-guided Star Wars Exhibition. The first room shows some strange figures, creepy masks and weird costumes. I’m a bit confused, so I turn around to ask my boyfriend – who are these figures? And where is the little green goblin who always talks as if he’d never heard anything about grammar and word order? But he’s gone. Apparently, I’m joining a trip to a completely unknown galaxy, but my boyfriend feels absolutely at home.

So from this point on please join my very lonely trip into the Star Wars world. As the name already suggests, this exhibition is a journey into the world of Star Wars, but also into your very own identity. So if you go, you’ll learn a lot about how your identity is formed. In order to make the exhibition more interactive you wear black bracelets, which will help to create your own Star Wars character. These bracelets store every answer to different quizzes that you have to answer during your journey. As you can imagine, I’m not very good at answering the questions since I’ve no idea whether I was born in Tatooine or Bespin. But I join the game and follow the path to my Star Wars character. On my way to my new identity I pass 200 requisites, costumes and drawings. The little voice in my ears explains every little detail and I learn that the early versions of the little green goblin, called Yoda, looked like a cross between Santa Claus and a garden gnome at first. And while I’m still wondering if Jabba the Hood, who looks like a gigantic slug, is the most powerful criminal, I’m suddenly facing him. Even I know his name and his breathing problems: Darth Vader himself is standing right in front of me. And now every visitor has to answer the most difficult question: should you join the dark side?

Seriously? I’m working for a slug?

After everybody has decided which side they would like to join, the trip ends and you finally experience which Star Wars character you are. And while everyone around me is pressing their bracelets against a huge monitor and waiting enthusiastically for their identity, I’m also experiencing the thrill of anticipation, waiting for my character to pop up on the black monitor. But my initial excitement about my really cool-looking Star Wars character soon fades, as my boyfriend, who has finally found his way back to me, is dying of laughter behind my back. “You belong to Jabba’s gang,” he screams. Seriously? I’m working for a slug?

After I’ve overcome the disappointment, I ask my boyfriend if he enjoyed the exhibition. But he says nothing, because he isn’t listening to me; he’s still staring at his Star Wars character: a Jedi Knight trained by Qui-Gon Jinn. But it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t answer, because I see the smile on his face and the sparkle in his eyes – oh yes, the force is definitely with him.

Author & Pictures: Julia Huss

Airbnb – there’s no better place to stay

Low-budget traveling has been cool for a long time. The most popular way to go on holiday without much money is certainly staying at a hostel in a dormitory with four to fourteen people. But honestly – is this a “holiday“? If you want to hear your roommates snoring or you want to discover more of their bad habits, you should definitely spend your time there!

However, let me tell you about another, for me personally more comfortable, nicer way of going on a journey. In any case, a very well-organized, practical website to book your accommodation, in any case is Airbnb. You may have heard of it yet: it’s an online platform where people from all around the world offer you a place to stay. The community was founded in 2008 in California to give people who have a free bedsit the opportunity to subrent it, as well as providing an alternative to low-cost booking websites such as “couchsurfing“.

Users can either provide a private room or a whole apartment. Using the website is quite easy. Just choose the city you want to go to and the date, and thousands of hits will appear, from expensive to cheap. The offers are very diverse and, of course, reliable. Airbnb guarantees booking security so you can check in advance whether your host has a good rating or not. A further advantage is that you’re able to pay online, so there’s no need to carry lots of cash with you during the trip.

As a passionate traveler I have already visited eight different places with Airbnb, so I’d like to share one experience with you:

Probably the most adventurous, extraordinary place I’ve been to was a wooden bungalow in the middle of the jungle in the southern Thai province of Krabi: imagine…35 degrees and no air conditioning, sharing your daily shower with frogs, lizards and cockroaches, getting bitten by thousands of mosquitos. Even though this doesn’t sound like a relaxing holiday at all, if I look back now, it’s just a really funny, unforgettable memory which only cost €9 per night.

Anyway, Airbnb has simply everything. It‘s a precious opportunity to explore so many different places, and get to know interesting people from everywhere. Simply unmissable!

Author and Pictures: Isabelle Zint

How about a chat with Angie?

Our author Franziska spent three weeks as intern in the Bundestag. In her letter from Berlin she talks about her experiences so far.

It’s Saturday and I’m reflecting on the past five days: Last weekend I arrived in Berlin with a three week practical in the Bundestag ahead of me. I am studying neither politics nor law, so I wasn’t prepared at all for what was coming and I have to admit I was a bit scared. I would work in the office of the Member of the Bundestag Waldemar Westermayer, he is on two comittees, the commitee for alimentation and agriculture and the commitee for economic cooperation with Latin America.

On my first day, I was very close to freaking out. I had a lot of silly concerns like: Were my clothes alright? Would my political knowledge be adequate enough to get along in there? Would they mind if I spoke dialect? So I arrived at the Paul-Loebe-Haus, which is the building on the left side of the Reichstag, and at the entrance I was checked by an airport-like security control. Then a really friendly secretary came to pick me up, and I took my first ride on a glass elevator. They are great! Really fast and well cleaned, and from in there you have a great view of the building’s seven floors. Funnily enough nobody else seems to share my enthusiasm, so if there’s stuff to get from an other floor, they let me get it. 😉

But I don’t want to get ahead of myself. So I got a warm welcome and an introduction to the building (I’m still getting lost though). After a few phonecalls they even found me another trainee so I would have someone to have lunch with. All this effort that was put into making me feel comfortable blew away my concerns and I became more confident. The office I work in consists of Waldemar Westermayer and his three assistants. Westermayer himself wasn’t in Berlin for the whole week, but that gave me a chance to get used to everything.

I got to do and see a lot of things. Besides the usual office work like organising or copying papers or getting the mail and answering the phone I get to answer letters and e-mails, which means I have to read up on all the political topics that are talked about. This is really interesting as I have access to all of the protocols of the conferences and to other internal information. I also get to go to conferences, where I have to minute what is being said and decided. Moreover, there’s a special programme for trainees that allows us to visit different museums and take part in discussions with well known politicians like Wolfgang Schäuble or Volker Kauder. That’s for now, and I’m really excited about what is yet to come during the next two weeks.

Now a few things about everyday life in the Bundestag. As soon as you get your house ID you can go anywhere you like. I haven’t met even one unfriendly person, quite the opposite, the cantine staff seems to smile 24 hours a day and it’s actually kind of creepy how accurately they arrange the food on your plate. I’ve already told you about the elevators, and there’s really nice and comfy seating-arrangements all over the building. And you can actually wear casual clothes, but not many people do, so I’d feel kind of weird walking around wearing a hoodie, jeans and sneakers.

The most important thing I’ve learned so far is that politics isn’t as untransparent as I had thought, and politicians are humans like everyone else. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you just have to ask, and there’s so many possibilities of informing yourself, I think most people just can’t be bothered to do so. I have to admit I wasn’t really into politics before, but as soon as I got an idea of how it works I actually enjoyed it!

I’m really looking forward to the next two weeks, maybe I really get to have a chat with our chancellor, but if I don’t, never mind, there are so many other things to do and see!

Text & Pictures: Franziska Leichte

Berlin Experience Extraordinaire

Travelling is a great way to spend lots of money. It doesn’t always have to be super expensive though. One way of saving money while travelling is to start by exploring your own country. Germany has a lot to offer, among others my favourite city: Berlin. There’s so much to do there that it can be hard to decide what to do first. So here’s a list of my favourite things to do in the capital.

Berlin’s oldest secret: Don’t ever take one of the tourist buses! Seriously, don’t take one unless you enjoy wasting money on things no one needs. Take the bus #200 from Alex to Zoo and the #100 back and I swear you’ll see everything you need to see and more. And if you already have a day ticket you don’t even have any extra expenses. You won’t have anyone telling you when the Reichstag was built or how tall the TV Tower is, but if you really want to know all that, check out a Berlin Guide from your local library and spend the money you saved on food or books.

Dussmann
Everyone who knows me, knows Dussmann. Why? Because I talk about it pretty much 24/7. It’s a bookstore made of five floors of awesomeness. You need the Latin edition of Harry Potter? Go to Dussmann. Or are you looking for your favourite band’s latest album? You’ll find it at Dussmann. Maybe you prefer it as vinyl? Dussmann is your place to be. The best thing about Dussmann, though, is the English bookshop which you’ll find at the very back on the ground floor. I am pretty sure it’s the biggest English bookshop in the whole of Germany, and definitely worth a visit!
http://www.kulturkaufhaus.de/

Wonderpots/Friedrichsstraße
The best frozen yogurt in town! Wonderpots has three different locations in Berlin but the one on Friedrichsstrasse is without a doubt the coolest one. The frozen yogurt is super yummy but it’s also a really great place to just hang out. You can enjoy your froyo sitting on a garden chair or if you like it a bit more comfy on one of their sofas. My special tip: Choose one of the seats outside. You’ll have a perfect view of the Humboldt University Library and let’s be honest: there is something awfully satisfying about knowing that students inside are studying for exams or working on their thesis while you’re enjoying the food of the gods.
http://www.wonderpots.de/

Burgermeister
A burger joint in an old school restroom may sound a bit strange but the burger at Burgermeister is seriously one of the best I’ve ever had. Judging from the long line that will await you there, I’m not the only one who thinks so. Their choice of burgers isn’t huge but there’s still a burger for every taste. They are fresh, super tasty and surprisingly cheap. So if you don’t mind eating your burger while standing squeezed in between two relatively busy roads, you should give Burgermeister a try.
http://www.burgermeister.berlin/

Author & Pictures: Katrin Bottke

Why ice hockey should be much more popular in Germany

I wasn’t too thrilled when my dad told me that we would watch the ice hockey finals of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Back then, I was eleven years old and all about soccer, American football, and basketball. Ice hockey was the game my brother used to play on our local ponds, not something to watch on TV and get excited about. Then, the game started, and I was hooked. Canada won against the USA, and the game was everything I came to love about ice hockey: fast-paced, rough, and electrifying. After that, though, there wasn’t much hockey on TV anymore. Only the DEL (Deutsche Eishockey Liga) playoffs and that was pretty much it. And then the day came on which pay TV finally began to broadcast the NHL (National Hockey League), and my love affair with hockey continued and quickly blossomed into a lifelong marriage to this wonderful sport. But soon I wondered: why is ice hockey not much more popular in Germany?

Hockey is such an easy sport to follow and the rules are really not hard to learn. There’s also little difference between the basic rules of the NHL and the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation). The biggest differences are the size of the rink and the overtime procedures. The other differences are so detailed that really only die-hard fans need to know them. The best and most fun way to learn the rules of both the NHL and the IIHF is, of course, by watching hockey games. So you should really start watching games right now, if you want to learn something really interesting for a change 😉

The only thing I ever had trouble with watching both, DEL and NHL games, were the German words used for basically the same thing. For illegal plays like slashing, Germans say Stockschlag. The result of such plays is not a penalty but simply a Zeitstrafe. At the same time, Germans say penalty shooting when they actually mean shootout (three shots that determine the winner when the game is still tied after overtime), and in English, a penalty shot is something different altogether. So confusing! Yet the weirdest expression is bully. This is the German word for face-off, the dropping of the puck to continue a game. I guess I might be the only one who is bothered by this, though.

Overall, it’s really such a great sport and even though the German national team hasn’t been doing too well in international tournaments and didn’t qualify for the last Olympic Games, things sure look up when you consider the numerous Germans now playing in the NHL, e. g. Tom Kühnhackl, Leon Draisaitl, Tobias Rieder, or Dennis Seidenberg.

Additionally, ice hockey has given me the best memory of my life as a sports fan when my favorite team, the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009 in a nerve-wracking game seven against the Detroit Red Wings, which reminded me yet again why I love this sport so much. So it’s really kind of sad that I can count the hockey fans that I’ve met in Germany on one hand, although everyone I’ve talked to seems to like at least some sports – hell I’ve even met some German baseballs fans. I thought once I’m studying in Augsburg, this is all going to change – they have the Panthers after all. But that wasn’t the case either since the only hockey fans that I’ve encountered were standing in front of the train station getting ready to leave for an away game. Go figure!

In my opinion, ice hockey is also still sorely overlooked by the media, even though it’s gotten better over the last couple of years and the DEL is now shown on free-TV. So if you’re into sports, just do me a favor: go and see a game if you haven’t yet, even if it’s just on TV and see if you like it (I’m sure you will!). Alternatively, start by watching a movie about hockey, e.g. Mircale. It’s about the surprise victory of the US national team in the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid. It’s one of my favorites! And maybe then, ice hockey will charm you just as much as it charmed me 14 years ago.

Author & Pictures: Alisa Lechky