Finals… German 1: Final was hard, but that’s partially because I wasn’t very proactive about reviewing my vocab. German 102: I hate to call a final “easy,” but if you paid attention and had a mild interest in the subject matter, then this final was fair and accurate. A perfectly structured final, Mr. Tokofsky. We said our goodbyes in the park, sharing giant pizzas together and reminiscing on all the good memories. The past month has felt like an incredible permanent vacation, except today, I finally realized it’s not permanent. |
The final report is due in just two days. Luckily I found my memorial: The Missing House. It's truly a unique memorial, as it uses empty space to convey themes of intrusion and portray the effects of the Holocaust. Click below to see my full picture album on The Missing House. Mentally and physically exhausted, I came back and fell asleep for about half the day. A few students and our German 1 professor took a short day trip to Poland, but that was out of the question for me. Calm weekend, but I needed the weekend to rest and catch up on work. Spent a good amount of time relaxing in the hotel room. Update on classes: German 1: By this point we have learned enough vocab to start making decent conversation. We spent the last week heavily focussing on grammar and different verb tenses. There is no exam on Monday, as our next exam will be the final on Friday. Many students have started studying this weekend and are spacing out their vocab memorization time. German 102: Big themes for the Berlin section of this class: WWII, The Holocaust, and memorials. While we still spend time studying art, memorials and how their audiences interact with them along with their cultural and societal implications are now the big points. Subsequently, my second project is to do a written report on a memorial. I have still not selected my memorial, but I plan to do that tomorrow.
Otto Wagner. Professor Tokofsky will talk a lot about this architect in German 102. Otto Wagner is incredibly important to Austrian history, architectural history, and art as a whole. However, I didn't realize how important it is to physically visit the architecture you study. It’s completely different than looking at pictures in a way I can’t objectively explain.
My project that I chose for German 102 was to do an oral presentation of the Postsparkasse—the Viennese Postal Savings Bank designed by Otto Wagner. I was alone for the most part while photographing the building, so it was nice to get some time to just think and relax under Wagner’s thoughtful architecture. Click below for my full Postsparkasse pictures album. |