Ich bin ein Berliner

Week 2 Programmatic Post

This past week (sorry this post is a little late) we had a lot of class and really started to get into the groove of 75 minute classes and homework. I am still struggling a little bit to get into a routine to the point that I can focus and feel motivated at night enough to do homework. However, this happens at the beginning of each semester and it just takes some push and necessity for me to get back into the scholarly mood.

Also this past week, I got to experience the House of History, a free museum here in Bonn dedicated to German history post WWII. This was especially interesting because I do not know much about German history in general and I really felt like I got to see a piece of German life from the time. Some of my favorite exhibits included a dress made from spare parachutes that would have been left behind after the bombs had torn apart the country and sent it technologically backwards in the war. I thought this was an innovative approach to the situation and the bad economy of the time. As an American, I was really struck by a piece of steel beam that was in the museum from the twin towers. I had never seen anything directly associated from 911 apart from videos and movies and it impacted me greatly. I want to visit ground zero in New York one day because I believe it is a crucial part of 21 century history in the United States. I am slowly becoming more interested in politics and history because I am able to see it in a more global and influential perspective than I ever have before. Also at the museum, we got to see the notes from JFK's Ich bin ein Berliner speech that had both the words and the phonetically described sounds listed for the entirety. As part of the speech, JFK said the famous line that the speech is named after. Ironically, a "Berliner" is a popular jell-filled pastry in Germany so he unintentionally called himself a jelly-donut. However, this is one interpretation. The speech can also be correctly interpreted in the German language to mean the intended phrase because "ein" can be used for emphasis as well.

Tomorrow I will be traveling to Vienna for the week, and the coming weekend I will be in Prague with friends. I am looking forward to both trips greatly. When I get back, I will have my first test in my systems and signals class. I'm having a great time!