Wow, I have been so busy this first month in Germany, I have forgotten to write about my experiences. But I guess I will get right to it: the following posts will be able for various weeks here in Germany and my trips around Europe.
So I guess I should start with the opening weekend. I stayed in hostel the first two nights and met up with a few of the others from the group. On the first official night, we met up and had dinner with our site director, Hartwig Pruessman and ate dinner together. Their are eight of us in all: Brooks, Eric, Dan, Sharif, Ian, Kellen, Trysta and myself. It's a small group, but we get along well.
We met up that next morning, where Hartwig took us on a short tour of the main parts of the city, including the Rhein River, Old City, and most famously the Cologne Dom. We then departed and were taken to our respective host families. I am staying with the Lansch-Knoerr's. They are a wonderful family, with two sons about my age. The parents are very nice, but don't speak any English, which is good for me (more practice of my German).
On Sunday, we met up again with our unofficial social director, Maxi, and went on a bike tour of the city with her as our guide. A bike tour is a great way to see any city and Maxi was a wonderful guide. Half way through we stopped at Media Park and went to the restaurant about 2/3 way up of Media Tower. There we enjoyed coffee and cake on a wonderful, sunny Sunday afternoon.
Monday was the start of school finally and it was intensive German all week. But we also were able to make it out to Frankfurt and Munich - about those in Part 2!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Quick Update
Hello everyone, as I currently write this, I am sitting in an airport internet terminal waiting for my connection. I am on my way to Cologne, Germany. I will be studying abroad for 3 months there which has been a long time coming. I will be posting more updates about my travels and experiences.....
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The Big "Aristotle"
Wow, it has been so long since my last edition - well, with Alpha Kappa Psi events, 3 consecutive weekends of being out of town for at least 4 days (including Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Portland for my brother's wedding), finals, and more work - I just couldn't find anytime to write. But now I am back. I still have summer school, and work, and trying to prepare for my upcoming trip to Germany, but I will try to keep up with a few more editions before I leave... Now on to business.
I have never been a fan of Shaquille O'Neal. My utter distaste for him started when he was on the Los Angeles Lakers and beat my beloved Portland Trail Blazers. Now anyone who knows me will tell you that I am one of the most passionate sports fans around. I grew up rooting for the Blazers and they are near and dear to my heart, my favorite sports team of all time. I also never root for any other team in the Pac-10 other than my Ducks. I couldn't care less that the Oregon State Beavers have won two NCAA baseball championship back-to-back. So it understandable that I would never be a fan of Shaquille O'Neal even though what he did to the Blazers was so, so long ago. I cannot stand Shaq's arrogance, his smugness, and his attitude. He thinks he is funny, and he calls himself "the big Aristotle."
But tonight I watched his new show on ABC called "Shaq's Big Challenge." In this self-help reality series, he takes 6 overweight children in Miami and tries to help them lose the weight, gain never-before-seen self-confidence, and hopefully inspire others watching the program to follow in their footsteps. Naturally, Shaq thought that this would be an easy task. But man was he humbled tonight. I was just as shocked as he was when I saw these kids.
One was a video-game addict that never gets outside and still has a baby-complex way of life. One comes from a Cuban family with traditional large meals, and he just can't stop. One gained all her weight from depression when family problems came. The last three kids are just as overweight if not more, and because of their own unique reasons. After they all failed the Presidential Fitness Test, he took them to a child obesity specialist and there Shaq received the biggest shock of all. Every child was diagnosed morbidly obese. Shaq said that he knew what the two words meant, but not that the two words together could mean something so bad.
Well, if you saw the show like me, I am sure you are horrified as well. But for the first time ever, I saw a different side of Shaquille O'Neal. I saw genuine compassion, concern, and caring for these children. When he received the news from the doctor at the children's clinic, I could see the dismay and sadness on his face that these kids could die if nothing was done to help them. Although he still displayed is normal arrogance and cocky attitude, he showed me that he is not only about running over every single other player in the NBA and winning 4 championships.
So when the new NBA season starts, I can go back to rooting for any team that Shaq plays against. I can't wait until that first game when Greg Oden (a guaranteed Blazer come Thursday's NBA draft) goes up against Shaq. But for now, I will continue to watch "Shaq's Big Challenge" and be rooting for him to help these kids turn their lives around, as long as he doesn't rub that "Big 'Aristotle'" attitude onto them.
I have never been a fan of Shaquille O'Neal. My utter distaste for him started when he was on the Los Angeles Lakers and beat my beloved Portland Trail Blazers. Now anyone who knows me will tell you that I am one of the most passionate sports fans around. I grew up rooting for the Blazers and they are near and dear to my heart, my favorite sports team of all time. I also never root for any other team in the Pac-10 other than my Ducks. I couldn't care less that the Oregon State Beavers have won two NCAA baseball championship back-to-back. So it understandable that I would never be a fan of Shaquille O'Neal even though what he did to the Blazers was so, so long ago. I cannot stand Shaq's arrogance, his smugness, and his attitude. He thinks he is funny, and he calls himself "the big Aristotle."
But tonight I watched his new show on ABC called "Shaq's Big Challenge." In this self-help reality series, he takes 6 overweight children in Miami and tries to help them lose the weight, gain never-before-seen self-confidence, and hopefully inspire others watching the program to follow in their footsteps. Naturally, Shaq thought that this would be an easy task. But man was he humbled tonight. I was just as shocked as he was when I saw these kids.
One was a video-game addict that never gets outside and still has a baby-complex way of life. One comes from a Cuban family with traditional large meals, and he just can't stop. One gained all her weight from depression when family problems came. The last three kids are just as overweight if not more, and because of their own unique reasons. After they all failed the Presidential Fitness Test, he took them to a child obesity specialist and there Shaq received the biggest shock of all. Every child was diagnosed morbidly obese. Shaq said that he knew what the two words meant, but not that the two words together could mean something so bad.
Well, if you saw the show like me, I am sure you are horrified as well. But for the first time ever, I saw a different side of Shaquille O'Neal. I saw genuine compassion, concern, and caring for these children. When he received the news from the doctor at the children's clinic, I could see the dismay and sadness on his face that these kids could die if nothing was done to help them. Although he still displayed is normal arrogance and cocky attitude, he showed me that he is not only about running over every single other player in the NBA and winning 4 championships.
So when the new NBA season starts, I can go back to rooting for any team that Shaq plays against. I can't wait until that first game when Greg Oden (a guaranteed Blazer come Thursday's NBA draft) goes up against Shaq. But for now, I will continue to watch "Shaq's Big Challenge" and be rooting for him to help these kids turn their lives around, as long as he doesn't rub that "Big 'Aristotle'" attitude onto them.
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