Wieder Zurück

Well, after one year away I am finally back in good old Deggendorf. Right now it is quiet, peaceful, and stress free. I know that will change in the coming weeks, but it is nice to enjoy the beauty and culture of the city I love so much. I still can’t quite fathom why I have such a bond to Deggendorf. Most students here are bored of the same routine and same small city after just a few weeks. But for me, that boredom never sets in. There are always new things to learn and experience here, and if Deggendorf does start to seem too tiny, then Munich and other cities are just a train ride away.

A few days ago,  I sat in the hallway of our beloved “A” building at the FH, looking out over the empty common area that, within a week’s time, will be bustling with activity, excitement, and the happiness of reuniting with old friends over a cold beer, hot cappuccino, or fattening Leberkasesemmel. The last time I saw the campus this empty, I was dropping by to speak with Professor Bausersachs about the International Management program shortly before applicants were chosen for the class of 2009- back in the summer of 2005. Wow, that sounds so weird to say…class of 2009. It is less than one year until my graduation!!! Well, I shouldn’t digress…back to Deggendorf…

I moved in to my new apartment within two hours of my landing in Munich. The building is gray and a bright salmon color. I really don’t quite understand the reasoning behind these colors, as they dont really mesh with the rest of the city. The location is amazing though. The town center and FH are only 5 minutes away! I think the room is a bit bigger than my last, although this one didn’t come with a microwave. What kind of student housing comes furnished, but without a college student’s best friend?!?! All of the washers and dryers work (a very nice change from the Schachinger Wohnheim…), and the landlord is a GAPP exchange alumni like me. My room is at the end of a quiet (for now) hall. However, I get plenty of noise from sirens blaring, buses stopping at the bus station next door, and traffic on the major road right across the park. So much for the peaceful I mentioned before…

I also got myself a job which, in the best case scenario, will keep me on task and focused on school. Kind of weird, right? But unless I am very busy, I will sit around watching TV or go out with friends too often. The job is doing something I was born to do…be a native English speaker. Really, I am just proofreading documents before they are sent to the European Commission for errors and wording. But I have become the target of envy from my friends, who find that my wage is much more than they can make as a German. I guess sometimes life just isn’t fair

By tomorrow evening, many of my friends will have begun to arrive. The town that is so peaceful and quiet during semester breaks will once again become a student town- and the International Management students in my class will kick off our last year in this Bavarian town I so dearly love.

Buzzword

Change. It is the word that will rule our world in 2008. Already, “change” is being used globally in politics, medicine, environment, country relations, and personal growth. At the commencement of a new year, many use this word freely and lightly, but this year should be different. The people of the world desire substantial change. Personal. Social. Environmental. Political. I would like to share an excerpt from Senator Barack Obama’s concession speech from the New Hampshire primaries earlier this year:

“There’s something happening when Americans who are young in age and in spirit, who’ve never participated in politics before, turn out in numbers we have never seen because they know in their hearts that this time must be different. There’s something happening when people vote not just for party that they belong to, but the hopes that they hold in common. And whether we are rich or poor, black or white, Latino or Asian, whether we hail from Iowa or New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, we are ready to take this country in a fundamentally new direction. That’s what’s happening in America right now; change is what’s happening in America. Democrats, independents and Republicans who are tired of the division and distraction that has clouded Washington, who know that we can disagree without being disagreeable, who understand that, if we mobilize our voices to challenge the money and influence that stood in our way and challenge ourselves to reach for something better, there is no problem we cannot solve, there is no destiny that we cannot fulfill. Our new American majority can end the outrage of unaffordable, unavailable health care in our time. We can bring doctors and patients, workers and businesses, Democrats and Republicans together, and we can tell the drug and insurance industry that, while they get a seat at the table, they don’t get to buy every chair, not this time, not now. Our new majority can end the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas and put a middle-class tax cut in the pockets of working Americans who deserve it. We can stop sending our children to schools with corridors of shame and start putting them on a pathway to success. We can stop talking about how great teachers are and start rewarding them for their greatness by giving them more pay and more support. We can do this with our new majority. We can harness the ingenuity of farmers and scientists, citizens and entrepreneurs to free this nation from the tyranny of oil and save our planet from a point of no return.We will end this war in Iraq. We will bring our troops home. We will finish the job — we will finish the job against Al Qaida in Afghanistan. We will care for our veterans. We will restore our moral standing in the world. And we will never use 9/11 as a way to scare up votes, because it is not a tactic to win an election. It is a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear weapons, climate change and poverty, genocide and disease. But the reason our campaign has always been different, the reason we began this improbable journey almost a year ago is because it’s not just about what I will do as president. It is also about what you, the people who love this country, the citizens of the United States of America, can do to change it. That’s what this election is all about. We know the battle ahead will be long. But always remember that, no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change. For when we have faced down impossible odds, when we’ve been told we’re not ready or that we shouldn’t try or that we can’t, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can. It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes, we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can. It was the call of workers who organized, women who reached for the ballot, a president who chose the moon as our new frontier, and a king who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the promised land: Yes, we can, to justice and equality. Yes, we can, to opportunity and prosperity. Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can repair this world. Yes, we can. And so, tomorrow, as we take the campaign south and west, as we learn that the struggles of the textile workers in Spartanburg are not so different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas, that the hopes of the little girl who goes to the crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of L.A., we will remember that there is something happening in America, that we are not as divided as our politics suggest, that we are one people, we are one nation. And, together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story, with three words that will ring from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea: Yes, we can.”  (New York Times, 8 January 2008) Change can happen. In your personal life, your country, and your world. That is why 2008 should be known for change. We are being given the opportunity to induce real and lasting change. So get out and vote, volunteer, and let your voice be heard. The Colorado Caucuses were February 5, and I finally got to vote for my first time ever. Coloradoans, this year we have a voice. The caucus turnout was amazing, but we still have a long way to go. The primaries are in August (as well as the Democratic National Convention), and of course, the all-important November vote. Even though I will be abroad, I will not miss my opportunity to be a part of something incredible this year.

P.S. In the spirit of Democracy, I went to a rally for Hillary Clinton. Former President Bill Clinton spoke, and even though I fully support Barack Obama, it was a great experience and a great way to get involved, get information, and become an informed participant for the caucuses. I recommend everyone attend a rally for the person (or party) they support before the November elections.