All posts filed under: Blog

An Odyssey  | Eine Odyssee

EnglishFor days, I’ve been stuck with my friends. The other day I relocated to another city, but still no transportation to my town is going where the floods were more serious than around here. I’ve been trying every day to find train tickets, busses, private cars. Nothing has been going. The news is that streets are blocked, and that’s why not even busses and cars have been able to go. Uber services aren’t even working at all, the app has been useless these days. Only today, we were finally able to find a driver who was willing to venture out, and see if he can make his way to the airport, which is near our town. (Trains and busses are still not going.) Though he won’t take me all the way home, I jumped at the opportunity to make it back to my town, even if I have to take the taxi for the last leg. The price the driver offered was decent (considering there is a high demand, and he could have named any …

Flooded | Überflutet

EnglishI’m still stuck with my friends, and looking at options of how to return home, but the news we’re getting isn’t very promising. I’m receiving photos and reports of all the flooding back home, and it makes me glad that I missed all the action. Here, we’ve had a lot of rain, but nothing else. For me, the biggest question is how to get home these days when all manner of transport (private and public) has broken down. Friends are telling me to relocate to another city, and try my luck from there. So, that’s what I’m preparing to do. DeutschIch stecke immer noch bei meinen Freunden fest und suche nach Wegen, wie ich nach Hause kommen kann. Aber die Nachrichten, die ich erhalte, sind nicht vielversprechend. Mir kommen Fotos und Berichte zu, die mir das Ausmass der Katastrophe (selbst auf dem Campus) vor Augen führen. Es macht mich froh, dass ich die ganze Action verpasst habe. Hier haben wir nur viel Regen aber sonst ist nichts los. Die größte Frage für mich ist nun, …

Stuck | Festgesetzt

EnglishI was supposed to return home today, but nothing went according to plan. Instead I spent hours at the train station, after my first train was canceled, trying to catch a train – any train – that would take me home. Only to realize that no trains were going. Period. Only much later did I realize the reason for why nothing was moving: the torrential rains have caused serious flooding all around the wider area of where I live. For me it means two things:1. I might be stuck for days to come.2. I escaped a life-threatening situation. The subway in the city where I was headed had flooded, and caused fatalities. Videos were sent to me showing people stuck in subway trains, and the water reaching up to their necks. Had things gone according to plan, I would have been in that very subway at exactly the time it was flooded. So, as I began to understand the extent of the situation, I also realized I was extremely thankful that today nothing went according …

Visit with Friends | Besuch bei Freunden

EnglishThe summer break has started, and I decided to visit my friend out of town. It’s been fun so far, seeing people I haven’t seen in years. But it’s also been raining with the exception of the first day, almost the entire time. Obviously, my friend isn’t detracted from that. He still takes me out of doors all the time, together with the kid. And we manage to have fun in spite of the rain. DeutschDie Sommerferien haben angefangen, und ich habe mich entschlossen, ein paar Tage bei Freunden zu verbringen, die ich seit ein paar Jahren nicht mehr gesehen habe. Aber abgesehen vom ersten Abend hat es bislang die ganze Zeit geregnet. Mein Freund scheint davon herzlich wenig beeinträchtigt zu sein. Mit Kind und Kegel nimmt er mich mit, und irgendwie haben wir doch immer Spass, trotz vielen Regens …

Work Ethic | Arbeitsmoral

EnglishEver since I first set foot in this country was I fascinated to see how people work here. What fascinates me most is how many people are involved in a single task here. Tasks like construction sites, repairs, etc. Whereas where I grew up, you might have one, two, three at the most people involved, here the numbers of people working on that job don’t even start with less than that. Like the people who went about mowing the lawn in front of one of our educational buildings. Where I come from, it would take a single worker about 10-15 minutes to mow that patch of lawn single handedly. Here, I counted seven plus workers, who all descended on that lawn! DeutschSeit ich zum ersten Mal Fuß in dieses Land gesetzt habe, fasziniert es mich, Leute hier bei der Arbeit zu sehen. Was mich am Meisten fasziniert ist, wie viele Menschen an einem einzelnen Auftrag involviert sind. Arbeiten wie Baustellen oder Reparaturen. Wo ich herkomme, sieht man vielleicht eins, zwei, drei Arbeiter, die zusammen arbeiten. …

Learning About Taoism | Wir lernen was über Taoism

EnglishThe school asked some of us to represent them at a conference about taoism. And since it would give me an opportunity to get away for a few days, I decided to join. While the morning was spent listening to various speeches given on taoism, the afternoon turned out to be fun and relaxing, as we went to visit a historical site. DeutschDie Schule hat um ein paar Freiwillige gebeten, die die Uni bei einer Konferez über Taosim vertritt. Da es mir eine Gelegenheit geben würde, mal vom Campus zu kommen, sagte ich zu. Den Morgen verbrachten wir dann auf der Konferenz, mit verschiedenen Ansprachen. Aber am Nachmittag wurde es interessant, da wir eine historische Stätte besuchen konnten.

Competitions | Wettk¨ampfe

EnglishIt’s still a busy week for school with lots of activities happening all around campus. Like these boating competitions that students can take part in. DeutschAuf dem Campus ist immer noch viel los. Zum Beispiel liefen gerade diese Bootswettkämpfe.

Parade Day | Paradetag

EnglishThere are some important visitors on campus, and that means: the school is putting up a big show with lots of activities. One of those activities is a parade where students from the various departments get to show off their creativity. DeutschWir haben wichtigen Besuch auf dem Campus, und das heisst: Die Schule muss eine große Show aufziehen. Dieser Tage gibt es viele Aktivitäten. Eine dieser Aktivitäten ist eine Parade, wo Studenten von den verschiedenen Abteilungen ihre Kreativität vorführen dürfen.

All Natural Peanut Butter | Reine Erdnussbutter

EnglishThere’s this place in town where you can get all natural peanut butter, freshly made. My friend and I love to go there to stock up on peanut butter. And as they make it right in front of your eyes, you really know: there’s nothing in there except peanuts. Not even salt. You’d have to add that yourself. DeutschDa ist dieser Laden in der Stadt, wo man reine Erdnussbutter bekommt, frisch hergestellt. Meine Freundin und ich besorgen uns unsere Erdnussbutter dort sehr gerne. Immerhin wird sie direkt vor unseren Augen hergestellt und du weisst: da ist nichts drin als nur Erdnüsse. Nicht einmal Salz kommt dazu. Das musst du selbst hinzufügen wenn du magst.

Spring Has Sprung | Frühling im vollen Schwung

EnglishSpring has definitely arrived, as you can see when you go for a walk around campus. It’s lovely to see everything bloom and grow after a long winter. And the air quality has gotten a lot better. DeutschDas Frühjahr ist defnitiv im vollen Schwung – wie man sehen kann sobald man den Fuß vor die Tür setzt. Es ist herrlich, nach einem langen Winter alles grünen und blühen zu sehen. Und die Luftqualität hat sich viel verbessert.