Ralph

German Major Alumnus Stephan Maikkula writes to Professor Andreas Kiryakakis

Hi Andreas -

How are you? I hope all is well on your end.   I now live in San Diego. My wife and I have 3 boys (9, 7 & 5) and i am working in the money management industry.  

I work for a Swiss bank (UBS) and cover European stock markets. I really enjoy it and have the chance to travel to Europe a couple times per year. I'm actually going to Germany twice this year.

I hope all is well on your end.

Take care,

Stephan

Soft Bavarian Pretzels Baked at Saint John's for the First Time

An illustration from the 12th century Hortus deliciarum from Alsace may be the earliest depiction of a pretzel, shown at a banquet with Queen Esther and King Ahasuerus.

   There are numerous accounts on the origin of the looped pretzels, as well as the origin of the name; most agree that they have Christian backgrounds and were invented by monks. According to The History of Science and Technology, by Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans, in 610 AD "...an Italian monk invents pretzels as a reward to children who learn their prayers. He calls the strips of baked dough, folded to resemble arms crossing the chest, 'pretiola' ("little rewards")". However, no source is cited to back up these details. Another source locates the invention in a monastery in southern France.

Emblem of the Baker's Guild in Germany

   Within the Catholic church, pretzels were regarded as having religious significance for both ingredients and shape. Pretzels made with a simple recipe using only flour and water could be eaten during Lent, when Christians were forbidden to eat eggs, lard, or dairy products such as milk and butter. As time passed, pretzels became associated with both Lent and Easter. Pretzels were hidden on Easter morning just as eggs are hidden today, and are particularly associated with Lent, fasting, and prayers before Easter. The classic pretzel's three-hole shape begins to take form.

                                                                source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel  

Plans are underway to have a pretzel making evening with members of the CSB/SJU German Club.

Apply for a Five Month Stay in Germany (March 1 -- July 31, 2012) to Study Politics

Dear Friends of the German Embassy,

   We would be very grateful if you could support us in promoting this excellent scholarship opportunity by forwarding the message below to any students and/or recent graduates who might be interested or to any networks available to you that might help spread the word.

   Your help is greatly appreciated! For more information please refer to the information below.

   Thank you and best regards,

Gunnar Christiansen
Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany

676 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 3200

Chicago, IL 60611
_______________________________


Dear Student or Recent Graduate,

Are you interested in politics? Would you like to gain first-hand experience of parliamentary work in Germany? In that case, the International Parliamentary Scholarship (IPS) invites you to take part in an exciting opportunity.

Every year, IPS enables 120 recent graduates from 28 countries to get to know the German parliamentary system through a five month stay in Germany (March 1 -- July 31, 2012). The Program includes an internship in the office of a Member of the German Bundestag, the German parliament. Combined with a supplementary academic program organized by Berlin's three major universities and the fun of being together with people from other nations, a unique experience awaits you in the exciting German capital.

What the Bundestag expects of you:

* Interest in politics
* Excellent knowledge of German
*University degree (B.A., B.S.)
* U.S. Citizenship
* Born after March 1, 1982

What you can expect:
* Monthly grant of € 450.00
* Free accommodation
* Health, accident, and liability insurance
* Reimbursement of your travel expenses to and from Berlin
  
   For more information about the admission requirements, the scholarship details, and the application procedure, please visit the following websites:


Bundestag homepage: http://www.bundestag.de/ips
The homepage of the German missions in the United States:
http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/__pr/K__Wash/2011/02/17__IPS__Program__PR.html?archive=1978778
Application details may be found online at:
http://www.bundestag.de/bundestag/europa_internationales/internat_austausch/ips/index.html

*The application deadline is June 30, 2011*


We look forward to receiving your application!
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
Cultural Affairs Department IPS Committee 2300 M Street NW Washington, DC 20037

German Club Gets Organized for Spring Term

On a snowy January 31st, more than 20 students gathered to learn about leadership opportunities in the German Club, both for spring term and for the 2011-2012 school year. Students also tried their hand at Austrian Käsespätzle guided by our Fulbright assistant, Ralph Neumayer from Vienna -- and the recipe he received from his mother a few days ago. A special thanks to Club Officers, Benjamin Jude Slabaugh, Justin Bork and Tim Marzik for organizing the evening and gathering info about how students want to support the work of the club. Thanks to Ralph for providing the astonishingly good recipe! And welcome back Salzburg students!

Salzburg Group Returns and Enjoys Kaiserschmarren at a Welcome Back Party

Welcome back Megan, Brady, Jennifer, Aimee, Jeremy, Nicole, Kolby, Sean, Kevin, Daniel, Chris, Megan, Matthew, Jacob, and Katie -- and Lisa and Stuart! 

On January 24th, returnees from our semester at Salzburg University enjoyed the traditional Austrian dessert, Kaiserschmarren.  It is generally agreed that Kaiserschmarren was first prepared for the Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I (1830–1916). There are several stories. One  story involves the Emperor and his wife, Elisabeth of Bavaria, of the House of Wittelsbach. Obsessed with maintaining a minimal waistline, the Empress Elisabeth directed the royal chef to prepare only light desserts for her, much to the consternation and annoyance of her notoriously austere husband. Upon being presented with the chef’s confection, she found it too rich and refused to eat it. The exasperated Francis Joseph quipped, “Now let me see what "Schmarrn" our chef has cooked up”. It apparently met his approval as he finished his and even his wife’s serving. Thereafter, the dessert was called Kaiserschmarrn across the Empire.



Emmy Sack Joins Faculty to Teach German

Thanksgiving in Salzburg!

Matt Beck Thriving as Fulbright TA in Nürnberg.

Hallo Freunde!

As 2010 comes to an end, I'm writing to update you on my last few months. It's been a while since my last update, but I certainly didn't want to fill your email boxes with too many details of my everyday life (For example, teaching German students not to place 'for example' smack dab in the middle of a sentence). Quite a bit has happened in the last few months, so I'll start at the beginning.

At the end of October, my friend Alison, who was studying abroad in London, came to visit me in Nürnberg. This gave me a chance to do a lot of the touristy things that I otherwise wouldn't do. For example, I live a five-minute walk away from Hitler's colosseum and the Nazi rally grounds. Alison and I trotted over there, and after walking around and inside the colosseum, which is architecturally awesome, we visited the Documentation Center, a museum built into the colosseum. What I really liked about it was that it focused on the time leading up to the holocaust, rather than on the holocaust itself. Having known little about this time (about 1919-1939), it was an educational experience.

After a week in Nürnberg (and yes, you can experience Nürnberg in a week), we took a train to visit our friend Andreas in Vienna. Unfortunately, we only had three days to spend there. While Andreas worked during the day, Alison and I explored Vienna ourselves, visiting a couple palaces and walking around the city center. At night and on the weekend, Andreas showed us around other parts of Vienna.

November and December were focused on getting settled in and finding more to do. For some reason, the German Ministry of Education thinks that twelve hours of work a week is enough to keep teaching assistants occupied. It also sounds great on paper (Fulbright: get paid to live in Germany with no responsibilities!), but in reality, it leads to quite a bit of boredom. My resolution: I'm voluntarily working more at the Gymnasium (academic-track school) by teaching more upper-level classes and by helping to revise and evaluate senior theses. I've also been given my own conversation class and am planning a literature class for spring.

This past week, I went to Switzerland to celebrate Christmas with my roommate Filip's family. Although I was only there for a few days, my impressions of Switzerland are pretty positive. People seemed nicer than in Germany, and I love the accent (much softer and more melodic than the Franconian accent). The dialects, however, are a bit difficult for me to understand if I'm not concentrating.

Over the course of the next few months, I have quite a bit planned. On Friday, I'm invited to a Silvester (New Year's) party at the home of one of my colleagues. Next week, I'm going back to Vienna to visit Andreas again. In February, I'm hopefully going skiing in Austria with the 7th grade class. Following that, Fulbright has a week-long, all expenses paid conference in Berlin at a four-star hotel. Win.

In closing, here are some more bullet points about my life here:

* It took me three months for me to get a residency permit. In the end, the worker only needed to enter some data into her computer and print the permit for me.

* I got a library card so that I could read some German books, but I had to bring proof of residency with me.

* I've been apologized to by the manager of a bank and by the alien registration office for inefficiencies that delayed my applications. In addition, being apologized to in your second language is awesome.

*A few inches of snow disables Germany. Streetcars shut down. Trains stop. Department store floors turn into lakes. The snow removal systems that exist are minimal at best.

• On a more positive note:

* After four months of searching, I finally found someone to do an impression of an American speaking German. It was hilarious and educational.

* I've been trying to master the German r, which is pronounced only enough to be difficult for English speakers (in contrast to the American r, which is heavily pronounced.

* I'm improving U.S.-German relations (the real reason I'm here) by establishing a pen pal program.

* With my extra time here, I'm looking into starting a third language. The forerunners: Arabic and Turkish.

* With more friends coming to visit, I should have my tour of Nürnberg perfected by the end of the year.

Best wishes and a happy new year!

Matt