Note: Tim is an amazing musician who arranged with us to do his first year of college in Germany. As a sophomore, Tim will bring his many talents and a truly unique view of German culture to our campuses. Welcome Tim! Dear Father Mark,
Thank you for your email. I am having a great, educational time at the Kreuzgymnasium here in Dresden, Germany. We are currently on Osterferien, so I have some time to enjoy the city and spend time with friends on the Elbe. My favorite class is the Musik Leistungskurs. It's quite fitting to learn music history in the language of so many great composers. I have also had to learn all the music terminology in German, which has reinforced the music theory that I've previously had in the English language.
In our German course, we are currently reading and discussing "Die Verwandlung" by Franz Kafka, and will be visiting the Kafka museum in Prague next weekend. Being in east Germany has also been very interesting for me this year; I am not far from Leipzig, Prague and Berlin, and I will surely miss being so close to all the history here. All of our teachers have great stories from "back in the DDR", which I wouldn't have been exposed to in the west. As far as my location in Dresden is concerned, my year has exceeded my expectations thus far. I am also quite impressed with the Gymnasium system, and that one can start narrowing down subjects with two Leistungkurse starting in the 11th grade. I feel that this would help focus many students in American high schools, and this difference is certainly reflected in the maturity of the students I have met here in Dresden.
Musically, I have been exposed to Bach's Johannespassion and the Weinachtsoratorium, two traditions that everyone in Dresden attends. I also have played a show live with a friend here, although there isn't much of a new music scene in east Germany, at least in comparison to back home. Not surprisingly, the young people here are more interested in the latest music from the USA and England.
Thank you very much for your German blog link. I am very impressed with all the scholarships and what the recipients had to say. I am excited to meet you and spend some time analyzing my experiences this year as a student at St. Johns. I hope you had a nice Easter and look forward to seeing you in the new school year!
Grüße aus Dresden,
Tim Marznik
