Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The CSB/SJU Salzburg Group is Thriving!


CSB/SJU is among the very top German Studies Departments nationwide to send so many students abroad for entire semester. Some students stay on to complete an entire year in Salzburg. Many go on to become Teaching Assistants in Austria and Germany for a year or two after graduation as part of two different Fulbright programs. Thank you Professor Lisa Ohm and Stuart Golschen for your guidance of this remarkable group.

Hallo from Salzburg! Students on the Salzburg Program are absorbing German and culture at a fast pace. We just returned from a field trip to Vienna, where we absorbed the art, architecture, music, and cosmopolitan air of the nation’s capital. The impressive imperial buildings of Vienna remind visitors of the vibrant history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s capital situated in today’s (rather small) Austria. It’s great to have friends in Vienna: Robert Mewissen gave us a delightful tour, and Andreas Raab attended the concert with us. We visited the imperial rooms (20 of the 180!) in Schoenbrunn Palace and attended a concert in the Kursalon. Nearly everyone adventured up the lift + stairs to the top of the cupola in Karlskirche. The restoration of the paintings on the ceiling gives visitors (without a fear of heights) this opportunity to feel like Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel—or a bird! In Salzburg we attended a Mozart opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, which had not been produced often until recently because it deals with a harem in the Islamic world. It was presented by students from the Mozarteum, the name of the University of Salzburg’s world-famous music and theater department. At Kehlsteinkopf (Eagle’s Nest) in Bavaria we had the Baroque sensation of being pulled between the thrilling beauty of the surrounding Alps and the morbid underground bunkers in the Hitler complex. At Salzburg’s Open-Air Museum we saw typical rural homes from two of the five “counties” in Salzburg Land: Flachgau, & Tennengau, the oldest home dating from 1640. Houses from Pinzgau, Pongau, and Lungau were also represented. During a longer break at the end of the month students will be testing their new socio-cultural skills in trips further afield in Europe. Gute Reisen!

Oktoberfest at Brother Willis -- Songs, Dancing, Brats and Bretz'n

On October 16th, Maren Gotchnik and Phil Roye graced the festival with their authentic costumes.


Over 200 CSB/SJU students attended and learned new dances and sang German songs.


Unsre Schuplatterbuabn.


Our Fulbrighter Ralph Neumayer from Austria did the DJ honors.


Dear German Club students. You can be very proud of all the work you put into making this first Oktoberfest at CSB/SJU such a success.  Herzlichen Dank!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Internship in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Exchange

Dear Students:  This is what Jessica Raboin write of her experience in this program:

This is the program I did. It is an EXCELLENT program that is FREE minus spending cash ($300/month I needed). If you ever want me to talk to a class about this opportunity, or a specific student, please let me know. I would love too. I had a life-curving experience that continues to shape what I am and who I want to be today--it was truly a transformative year. I not only began learning the German language and culture from the moment I stepped on the plane to my orientation in D.C., but along the way I learned about dozens of other cultures, languages and customs, which has improved my communication and critical thinking skills. Plus, I had the best host family ever! I have nothing bad to say about the program. Anyway, just letting you know.     Jessica Raboin (current student at CSB/SJU
  The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX), a yearlong fellowship to study and intern in Germany, is currently accepting applications from your students. CBYX is open to applicants in all career fields without any prior German language knowledge, and is funded by the US and German governments through a grant provided by the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, under the authority of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, as amended. More information can be found at www.cbyx.info .
The CBYX program covers the costs of and annually provides 75 participants with:
   • 2 months intensive German language training in Cologne, Bremen, or Radolfzell

   • Semester of study at a German University or University of Applied Sciences

   • 5-month internship with a German company in the participant’s career field

   • Homestays with German host families, in shared apartments, and student dorms

   • Transatlantic airfare, health insurance, and monthly living expense stipends

   • Various seminars in the US and Germany

   • Local in-country support throughout the program
CBYX for Young Professionals is open to students in all fields of study, though preference is given to students in vocational, technical, engineering, agricultural, business, and scientific fields. Applicants should have clear career goals and some relevant work experience in their career field, which may include summer, part-time, or internship work. Prior German language knowledge is not required, though it is strongly preferred. Participants must be between the ages of 18-24, possess a high school diploma or equivalent, and be US citizens or permanent residents.
Interested applicants can apply online at www.cbyx.info . The application deadline for the program is at the end of November .
  Sincerely,
Will Maier
Program Officer, CBYX for Young Professionals
CDS International
440 Park Avenue South, 2nd Fl
New York, NY 10016
wmaier@cdsintl.org