Dear all,

All regular events (Schokoladenstunde, Max Kade Deutschtisch & Kaffeestunde, German Lab) will resume their normal hours as of tomorrow (Wednesday 10/16)!

Some of you may be looking for a summer internship in Germany or may be looking at the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Program for Young Professionals.  Cultural Vistas, a non-profit organization that is coordinating these programs and others, will give an information session on Thursday, October 24.

Students who are currently living in the Max Kade German Residence can apply by Wednesday, October 16 for the George Valenta Scholarship, which amounts to $1,500.  If you are interested in living in Max Kade German Residence next year, please attend the Open House on Thursday, October 24.
 
Registration is still open for the Language Resource Center’s 2019 Translate-A-Thon. Students at all levels are welcome for a weekend of translation. A link to register is on the webpage!
 
Other highlights from this week’s email, and what section to check for more details:
  • International Opportunities Fair – Upcoming Deadlines and Events
  • Nosferatu at Michigan Theater – Upcoming Deadlines and Events
  • German Lab, Schokoladenstunde, Kaffeestunde, and Deutschtisch – Conversation Hours, German Lab
  • German Club Stammtisch this Wednesday – German Club
  • Study Abroad (Freiburg!), Internships, Scholarship Deadlines – Study Abroad/Internships/Scholarship Info
  • Advising Hours – German Courses & Majoring/Minoring in German
  • Conversation Partner Options – Miscellaneous
  • International Center Global Engagement and Education Abroad email list – Miscellaneous
  • yourdailygerman.com – Miscellaneous
  • Joke ads: Wunderharke 5000 & Wunderrad 3000 – Miscellaneous

Schokoladenstunde (with games!): Tuesdays 5:30-6:30 and Thursdays 11-12, in the Language Resource Center in North Quad.

  • Schokoladenstunde will take place in the comfy seating area between the two computer classrooms in the Language Resource Center. There will be some German chocolate there 🙂  All students at all levels are welcome to come and chat and play games in German (e.g. Tabu etc.). Schokoladenstunde will be facilitated on Tuesdays by Silvia Grzeskowiak, and on Thursdays by Mary Gell or sometimes Veronica Williamson.
  • If you ask Silvia/Mary/Veronica to email your instructor that you were there, you can use this to make up 2 “A&P points” in 101-232.

Max Kade Kaffeestunde (Thursdays 9-10 pm) & Deutschtisch (Sundays 6-7 pm)

  • Kaffeestunde at the Max Kade Haus takes place Thursdays 9-10 pm in the Said Lounge on the Residential Side of North Quad – but please check this page for occasional updates!
    • The Said Lounge is in the residential portion of North Quad, which is only open to residents ==> when you go, please email Reid (gordreid@umich.edu), so that someone can come to the front door and let you in. You can also just knock on the door of the residential portion and tell a residence staff member that you are there for the Max Kade House event, and you will be let in.
  • Deutschtisch in the North Quad dining hall: Sundays 6-7 pm.
    • You will need a meal plan or Entrée Plus to enter, or you can purchase a meal at the door (note that this is not cheap) – but you may also be allowed to come in just to talk and not eat, if you say at the door that you are there for the Max Kade event.
    • The group has yellow signs with “Max Kade Deutschtisch” to identify where they are sitting.
    • For questions, contact Reid (gordreid@umich.edu).
  • German students at all levels (101 and up) are welcome at all Max Kade events. You can make up “A&P Tally” points in 101-232 by attending Max Kade Deutschtisch or Kaffeestunde. Just ask Reid to email your instructor that you were there!

German Lab in Alcove B in the Language Resource Center in North Quad is open Mon-Thu 1-4 pm.

  • The German Lab is open Monday-Thursday 1-4 every week. It’s in Alcove B in the LRC (ground level of North Quad, Room 1500).
  • Go to the German Lab for any kind of help (except we can’t proofread your essays for you): if you need help with homework or a test review sheet (we can proofread your test essays for German 101-231), if you need grammar topics explained or reviewed or need more practice, if you just want to speak some German for fun and/or for your AMD etc. If you have time in the afternoons from 1-4, do your homework in the LRC! Then if you get stuck on something, you can just stop by the German Lab alcove so we can get you unstuck.
  • Click here for more info!

LRC Conversation Partner Site

Go to this page to sign up or find a conversation partner. Please notify the LRC if you notice problems (e.g. outdated records etc.). Don’t be shy: the more people sign up, the better the site will work!

RC Coffee Hour: Mondays 4-5, Greene Lounge, East Quad

  • All are welcome to come to this German conversation hour!
  • This is NOT something you can do to make up an absence, but you can still go for fun and/or write about it for an AMD.

Ann Arbor Stammtisch

  • A German Stammtisch meets once a week, usually on Thursdays at 8:00 pm at Grizzly Peak or another bar near Main Street. Join the email list to stay up-to-date on where and when the group will meet.
  • There’s also a facebook page: look for “German Table / Stammtisch”
  • Alternatively, contact Andy Kasten at apkindland@yahoo.de for the current location and for more information. Wherever the Stammtisch meets, he’ll be wearing a VfB Stuttgart soccer jersey — Debitel on the front, Bordon #5 on the back. It’s white with a red collar and stripes.
  • This is NOT something you can do to make up an absence, but you can still go for fun and/or write about it for an AMD.

German Club – “Stammtisch (Wednesday, October 16, 7-8 p.m., Michigan League Underground)

Questions/Comments: email Paul (pauljc@umich.edu) or Drue (druefro@umich.edu)

Email germaneboard@umich.edu to get put on the email list, or “like” the club on Facebook at facebook.com/germanclubumich for updates!

Please note that by attending German Club meetings, you can make up “A&P” points in German 101-232. Just ask one of the German Club officers to email your instructor (or write a note) saying you were there!

Faculty Advisors Mary Rodena-Krasan & Kalli Federhofer

  • Contact our two faculty advisors, Mary or Kalli, for advice on study abroad, internships abroad, a German major/minor, upper-level German courses, career opportunities in German, study-abroad and work-abroad opportunities, etc. They have frequent office hours in Fall/Winter, as follows:
  • Mary Rodena-Krasan (MLB 3128; mkrasan@umich.edu):
    • Her office hours this week are:
      Wednesday, October 16: 2-4 p.m.,
      Thursday, October 17: 1-4 p.m.
  • Karl-Georg Federhofer (MLB 3422; kallimz@umich.edu):
    • His office hours this week are:
      Monday, October 14: no office hours,
      Tuesday, October 15: no office hours,
      Wednesday, October 16: 10-11:30, 1:30-4:30 p.m.,
      Thursday, October 17: 9-11 a.m.,
      Friday, October 18: 10-11:30, 3-4:30 p.m.,
      and by appointment
  • To reach either advisor: germanadvising@umich.edu
  • You can also schedule appointments with Mary & Kalli by clicking here
  • …and you can contact Kalli via text message (734-277-7341) or via Facebook (Kalli Federhofer)

German Peer Advisors/Mentors

If you would like to get in touch with a peer mentor in our Department, please write to: germanmentors@umich.edu. Their expertise includes:

  • Current classes and potential courses
  • Study abroad, internship, and traveling in Germany
  • Academic requirements (major/minor, LSA language requirement) and combination (engineering, pre-health, etc.)
  • Max Kade House
  • Departmental scholarships/fellowships
  • On- and off-campus German opportunities (German Club, German Day, etc.)
  • Career/job search
  • Getting involved – enhancing your undergraduate experience with the German Department

This page will only include entries in this category when there is a job/internship etc. aimed at German students at all levels. To see more internship and job opportunities, scroll through Kalli’s blog, addressed to all upper-level German students

There are two German Department facebook groups:

  • “German Advising at University of Michigan” [Read news here!]
    • Join this group to see much of the information you see in this email, as well as other relevant info, in the form of individual announcement posts.
  • “German Program at University of Michigan – Vorwärts Blau!” [Post things here!]
    • You are encouraged to join this group to in order to read and post interesting/fun items related to German language and culture. If you have trouble joining the group or posting something, please email Hartmut!

AND there is a German Department facebook page. Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/umichGerman/

You can find weekly updates similar to this email but with lots more content on this blog.

We also encourage you to join us on our LinkedIn site: ‘University of Michigan German Department’

You can also follow us on Twitter: @umichGerman

Conversation Partner Options: Various options for finding conversation partners are listed on this page.

Sign up here for the International Center’s Global Engagement and Education Abroad email list. Weekly emails include info on workshops regarding travel and work abroad, conversation groups, cultural info sessions etc. SEHR interessant!

yourdailygerman.com

Great site, with thorough, funny and creative daily explanations of word usage, and LOTS of other resources, including an online course, a great selection of annotated resources, practice exercises (“Work Out”) and more. You can read two posts per week for free, or pay more for unlimited access: currently $30 for a year, $5 to check the site out for a month.

Joke ads: Wunderharke [“Miracle Rake”] 5000 & Wunderrad [“Miracle Bike”] 3000

  • Click here for die Wunderharke, here for das Wunderrad
  • These joke ads include a long list of objects you can conveniently pick up with the Wunderharke, and a long list of objects the Wunderrad is able to ride over.
  • Fun for learning some random vocab. Vocab help:
    • das ewige Bücken = the eternal bending over [i.e. always having to bend over to pick up what you raked]
    • nass / trocken / vertrocknet = wet / dry / dried up
    • Tannenzapfen = pine cones
    • der Amboss = anvil