eMAG 23 by eMAG magazine

our generation

DEAR READER Our generation is the best to live in. I know, I know – every other generation that ever walked the surface of our beautiful planet must’ve claimed exactly the same thing. I still believe it’s fantastic to be alive right here, right now. It’s great to have friends all over the world, and to actually be able to talk to them face to face via webcam. It’s never been cheaper to visit friends abroad – and if you wanna go to a place where you don’t have a friend yet, you’ll definitely find someone online who’ll let you sleep on their couch. We’re free to express our opinions without fear of repression, and we do so excessively in social networks, blogs and many other ways. Sometimes it might be smarter to think before we post something… but no matter what we say, the online community will ruthlessly remind us of their own opinion anyway, and the grammar Nazis are lurking behind the next virtual corner, too. As a woman, it’s great to be able to speak your mind and dress the way you want without having to worry that you’ll be assaulted. We’re free to choose our religion – God, Allah, football or Cthulu – or no religion at all. We’re allowed to live with a partner (male, female or other) without a marriage certificate. Like I said: the best generation to live in. Now, grab a cup of coffee, lean back in your chair, ignore your smartphone for a while and enjoy the read! Your editor-in-chief

Sybille

eMAG is an independent non-profit magazine published twice a year, by students, for students. It is part of a University of Augsburg Language Center course, as well as the Begleitstudium Problemlösekompetenz. Everything related to the production of the magazine is conducted in English. The aim of eMAG is to entertain and inform the university community about international, intercultural and local topics in the English language. As part of its philosophy, every semester eMAG donates a full-page advertisement to a local charity. The content of individual articles does not necessarily reflect the team‘s view and opinions. print run: 1,200 price: for free published: January 21, 2014 printed at: Senser Druck GmbH copyright: 2014 eMAG. All rights reserved. www.eMAG-augsburg.de

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Author: Sybille Ehing; Layout: Adina Mutter; Pictures: Ebert (Vöhringen), WingsOfAHero/deviantart.com

KEEP IT LOCAL

OUR GENERATION

Table of contents

International Research made in Bavaria

“The revolution will be muralised!”

It‘s festival time!

Different languages, different countries, different people

University now and then

Cheap, cheaper, cheapest

Music made in Augsburg

Tofu Youth

A homage to the Augsburger Puppenkiste

How to become famous

“Can I buy this shirt in size 37?“

One generation – two languages – two lives?

Where the world feels at home

What‘s in a size?

Augsburg University goes international

Freunde vs. Bạn bè

Living next to Little America

The old new technology

In the shadow of the revolution

“Just writing, no matter the circumstance”

SAME PROCEDURE

WHOLE WIDE WORLD

The good not-so-old days

“Referendariat” abroad – well, sort of

Random Questions

The Tree House Community in Brazil

Watch.Read.Listen.

German invasion of the NBA

Staff’s favorites

Trà Việt

You’re welcome to join us!

One year in the last frontier

Does this path have a heart?

Picture: Florian Hafner, Winner of the eMAG Photo Contest

OUR GENERATION

The revolution will be tweeted, liked and shared. (Source unknown)

The good not-so-old days Why it was great to be a kid of our generation

Aj ell jo wawawawant, so ell me wawawawant, wana heaheahea, wana ziaziga ah. If jo wanna be maj lofa, jo gatta wif maj fends, tajink is isy, eherhmsip eeeends. If jo wanna be maj lofa, jo gatta gif, tajink is isy, butsa weeej is…

exchangeable plastic cases! If you would’ve gotten tired of playing “Snake”, you could switch to your tamagotchi – if your digi pet was still alive, that is.

The oh-so-hi-tech 90‘s

The 90‘s was a time when you knew who your real friends were – simply because they had traded with you your favourite pog or ice hockey collecting card (yes, I grew up in Sweden). We girls also had a blast writing in each other’s “friends’ books”, answering exciting questions about each other’s favourite colour and height. Not too different to the content of many ‘status updates’ on Facebook today. You could even find out people’s relationship status simply by matching together their identical half charms, which the BFFs were wearing.

No Facebook?

I can suddenly be thrown back to the 90‘s when hearing Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” on the radio – a time full of childhood memories. It was awesome to sing along to something we thought sounded great, without knowing at all what it meant. A time which was quite different to the one in which kids grow up in today. First of all, we were much taller since we ran around in the-higher-the-better platform shoes. Second of all, we had heaps of cool things, which when thinking back on it, define our generation. Although there were no iPhones, Facebook or broadband in sight during our childhood, we still had it all!

No broadband? Surfing around on the Internet was an adventure at first, and it was special. We had to plan our connection to the outer world, since the telephone line would be blocked. Asking your parents for permission was usually a must – and there was no way you could get away with the dial-up internet modem cheerfully and loudly connecting online anyway. How precious those couple of minutes were, when you could sit and wait for a page to upload, all excited and with all the time in the world. Good old times.

No iPhone? Nokia 3310, almost magical to hear it, isn’t it? Sure, the apps might have shone with their absence, but who needs apps when you can download (extremely monotone) ringtones resembling popular pop songs and funky screen savers for the monochrome display. And hey, let’s not forget about the

Author & Layout: Tina Myllyniemi Pictures: Tina Myllyniemi, Tomasz Sienicki/Wikimedia Commons, Zapicos/Wikimedia Commons, J-P Kärnä/Wikimedia Commons

The revolution will be muralised New urbanism and how we’re reconquering our public space

Why do parking meters suddenly wear knitted hats, why does every plot of grass now have its own flower bed and why did the cigarette vending machine evolve into a battlefield of political statements on stickers? And who put the ‘Solidarity for Snowden’ graffiti on the wall? People don’t seem to wonder any more. The graffiti will probably be removed soon anyway, as well as the knitted hats, and the flowers will wither in the winter months. It’ll look as though nothing has happened, the city, an eternally stoic entity. People may think such changes are short-lived, as they try to distract us from the usual grey-in-grey. But actually, they’re signs of a huge conversion. We are the city A new urbanism is hitting our streets. Life’s been expelled from our concrete buildings and pavements for way too long, and it’s now forcing its way back, striding towards man-made parks, abandoned buildings and bare walls. A new naturalness, human sense of responsibility and environmental, political, social and economic thoughtfulness is gaining power. The city has long been a symbol of alienation, impoverishment, segregation and privatisation. Investors took possession of public spaces and the ideal of freedom we thought we’d gain in man-made communities was long gone. But now we’ve found new democratic ways to reclaim and breathe new life into those charming stoic entities. Together with thousands of ‘Guerilla Gardening’

activists around the world, we plant apple trees and flowers on every green spot to make the city a more natural place and we declare our critical opinions on injustices with graffiti, stickers, badges, flyers and public events. A unique example of making a stand against grievances is the ‘Building-Better-Blocks’ initiative of Dallas, which is fully committed to making temporary parks out of pathways in an area with many rundown buildings in order to demonstrate against the unbearable situation. With spots of artificial grass, picnic rugs and a ‘Park in Process’ sign they peacefully draw attention to the helplessness and the feeling of disempowerment ‘ordinary’ inhabitants might have. With such anarchic activism they show that cities should be our own space and not that of those claiming power. Breathing life into Augsburg

Graffiti at Klinker Tor

It isn’t surprising that we’re trying to gain power over our public spaces now that more people live in cities than in the countryside. Augsburg’s boroughs have 239,000 inhabitants altogether compared to 272,000 people living in our city itself. And Augsburg isn’t just the City of Peace – and therefore literally stands for ‘life’ opposing to ‘war’ and ‘death’ – but also a gathering place for creative work. Examples include the wonderful (and nationwide unique) Grandhotel Cosmopolis or our festivals like the ‘Friedensfest.’ Such institutions, the reasons behind why they exist and the symbolic meaning they’ve got have become especially important since catastrophes like the

Lampedusa refugee disaster or the Syrian Civilian War. With such institutions Augsburg is demonstrating a city’s will to re-make an activist community out of the faceless area cities have got and to get politically and socially involved in fighting against injustices. A few months back, when you took a walk into the heart of our city, you found yourself in a jungle of diggers, jackhammers and builders. Augsburg: one huge, loud, ugly building lot. The most famous graffiti we’ve got (apart from the ‘Augsburg Blume’) soon became ‘Na das ist ja ganz bezaubernd,’ as seen on a wall of wooden panels on an abandoned building at Leonhardsberg, which originally referred to the fact that that specific house looked horrible in our city centre. But it has become especially ironic since ‘Projekt Augsburg City’ dug up every possible street. And another arts project that catches everybody’s attention is the huge painted wall at the SKM on Klinker Tor. It’s a ‘Friedensfest 2013’ mural showing rioting people fighting together for a better world, holding up signs like ‘Make art, not war’ or ‘The revolution will be muralised’ and commenting on the Arab Spring or Occupy movements that have shaken Graffiti: Unknown our world.

Make art, not war These examples from our city and from around the world are one huge, wonderfully peaceful comment on unbearable situations that should be taken notice of. We can’t accept Snowden being prosecuted for revealing a crime committed by those in power; we can’t support a building frenzy at the expense of our precious environment and we shouldn’t let the Occupy and Arab Spring movements go by unnoticed. In our digital world we’re determined by a modern interactive culture. Collective interests are bundled more easily on social networks and are therefore gaining importance. People are now willing to chip in on public matters, to get in touch with fellow activists in order to create something big together. New urbanism is also characterised by the experience that everything can be changed that has to be changed and that ordinary people are able to gain a voice if they stand as one. We’re the children of the digital revolution and we should put ourselves out for this privilege in order to change societal, political, environmental or economic injustices.

Author: Julia Gehrlein; Layout: Miriam Farnbauer; Pictures: Julia Gehrlein, Pawel Ryszawa/commons.wikimedia.org

Graffiti on a wall at Leonhardsberg

Different languages, different countries, different people

Internationality – a phenomenon of our generation!?

that difficult to accomplish anymore if you consider all the opportunities presented by, amongst others, today’s media.

Being able to communicate as well as being friends with people around the world may seem common in today’s life. In reality this wasn’t possible a few decades ago. “Internationality” is a phenomenon of our generation.

Media and other ways to communicate with people around the world:

Language and its ups and downs Growing up in a small town in Germany you probably wouldn’t have had any “international” friends around to play with. Most of your friends would have been German. The “international” friends you had were not really foreign because their families moved to the town you grew up in long before you were even born.

Past • Lette rs • Goin g on h

oliday

Present • Letters • E-Mails • Going on holiday es like eMAG…) • Going to university (cours l exchange program, • Year abroad (Highschoo ge, semester abroad han au-pair, language exc students)...) al tion rna (ERASMUS, Inte just “English” nationt (no pub Irish an to • Going tralian, Mexican…) Aus ality but also American, ) le(s tab r’s ula • International reg net” or just via als. terp w.in “ww like • Websites . etc , app Facebook, Twitter, Whats • Working abroad • …

The language you grew up with was probably German – nothing else. You started learning other languages in secondary school. The only problem with that was that you didn’t really get in touch with a native speaker - which is obviously necessary to minimize your German accent. Knowing this, you’d totally My British friend and me agree that practicing a foreign language seemed to be pretty difficult to accomplish. This has changed a lot in the last decade; today you actually start learning English in kindergarten, continue in school and finally deepen your knowledge of the language in your free time through the Internet or by going on holiday.

“Original” pen pals versus modern technology I’ve always felt the need to write stories and letters and wanted to do so in English rather than German. Therefore – but not only because

Becoming and staying friends with people of different nationalities isn’t

of that - I started having a lot of pen pals from around the world. The list of different countries is long and I can count people from Japan, China, South Korea, USA, Great Britain, Poland, Australia, Slovenia, Italy and many other parts of the world my friends. How did I get this many pen pals from around the world? Well, not just via “Letternet” but from an internet company called “Interpals” – and later via Facebook. Whatsapp is also a good form of communication as you’re able to write a text message without having to think of high costs or anything like that.

My American boyfriend and me

Personal experience of “internationality” and finding love… If you take a look at exchange programs like ERASMUS I have a personal story to add. Through eMAG I got to know a very dear friend of mine. My friend is British and we met in eMAG. We became pretty good friends after a while and I met a lot of people from different parts of the world through her. My friends are from Canada, USA, Great Britain, Japan, China and Bulgaria. Amongst those friends was an American girl to whose party I was invited to. As destiny would have it I first laid eyes on my boyfriend at this party. We didn’t really talk then but met again at a goodbye party for several Erasmus students we both knew, and got to know each other from then on. I learnt that he came here as an international student years ago and sort of never left – he’s American. Basically, one could say I met my significant other because of the chances life provides us with nowadays.

Author, Layout and Pictures: Susi Vogel

HOCH DAS BEIN!

BALLETT AUGSBURG | PREMIEREN DER SPIELZEIT 2013/2014: 01. Dezember 2013, 19 Uhr, Großßsses Haus

DAS BILDNIS DES DORIAN GRAY 22. Februar 2014, 19:30 Uhr, Grosses Haus

SCHATTENSPIEL 02. Mai 2014, 19:30 Uhr, brechtbühne

WHERE I END AND YOU BEGIN Alle Termine und unsere Angebote für Studenten auf www.theater-augsburg.de oder beim Besucherservice unter Telefon 0821. 324 4900

Cheap, cheaper, cheapest How others pay the price of our clothes Who doesn’t know the feeling? – You get up in the morning, take a bath and stand in front of your closet, but there’s absolutely nothing inside. Not literally, of course, but there’s nothing you feel like wearing. Everything seems old, boring, ugly. So the decision has been made: Time to go shopping! In Augsburg, the range of stores at the City Galerie, the local shrine to consumerism, is huge. In the afternoon the cheapest stores are overflowing. Sale stickers decorate the shop windows: “50 - 70%off”, “Buy 1 – Get 3”, “Low-Price Guarantee”. After three hours power shopping, I leave with 1 brand new dress, 4 T-Shirts and some fake-jewellery – and all that for only €60. OK, I simply ADORE bargain hunting. Next to various new fashion collections every month and the large variety on offer, most of us simply forget to think about where our clothes actually come from. At a rough estimate, an average student in Germany buys about 17 – 20 kg of textiles a year, and throws away about 12 kg. Which proves how short-lived our T-Shirts, jeans and dresses really are. Consumer pressure and our own desire to wear the latest styles are not the only reasons for our clothes’ short lifespan; it’s rather the lack of quality. Most clothes are designed to last for one season only! Most €2.50-shirts from Primark, for example, lose their shape after only 3 or 4 washes; you remove them from your drawer and buy new ones. After all, they were cheap and you didn’t expect any more anyway!

Besides the polyester-tree, the main origin of our clothes is the cotton plantations in, for example, India, Egypt or Pakistan. This is where the exploitation of cheap workers begins: the cotton harvest is usually manual. It’s not uncommon for the work to be done by women and children, and you can imagine how high their pay is. And another thing, cotton is the agricultural product with the highest use of fertilizers and pesticides, and workers are constantly exposed to all of them. These are actually the individual stages of clothes production (and I bet you haven’t thought about all of them): Cotton plantation  spun into yarn  dyed  woven or knit into cloth  sewing facility  agents  transportation  clothing brand  shop  client It’s actually a complex international supply chain with a lot of single stages and suppliers. As everyone in the industry wants to earn their fortune, at each of these stages a lot can go wrong. When a Bangladeshi sewing operator is only paid a pittance for working over 13 hours a day in an overcrowded room with no air conditioning, it’s not necessarily the brands’ fault. They don’t own the sewing factories (and that’s exactly what saved so many brands in this context). For example, an agent might be lying to them. However, it’s an incontestable fact that every brand has to keep an eagle eye on what they’re producing where and under what conditions. As long as they don’t do this, we customers should raise our awareness on this topic!

Things to change in your habits • Ask where clothes come from, or even better: check on your favourite shops on http://www.rankabrand.de, for example; this website informs interested parties about the brands’ sustainability and transparency in their trading • Try to avoid shops like Primark and Kik – but also H&M, S.Oliver, or even expensive labels like Louis Vuitton, which don’t give any information about their trading companies • Be aware: as long as a brand is not trading transparently, something has to be wrong • Do you really need that shirt just because it’s only €3? Only buy things you really like and need! Intelligent shopping not only saves the pennies in your wallet! • Try Second-hand shops, kleiderkreisel or clothes swap parties to swap, buy and resell your clothes • Donate your old clothes instead of throwing them away (e.g. for aktion-hoffnung.de)

One of my favourites in Augsburg: the Second-hand shop Vinty’s. In an area of more than 300 square metres, you’ll find clothes, shoes and accessories. After trying on everything, you can sit down and have a fair-trade coffee or tea as well.

 Always have a look at the calendar of special events. Almost three times a month, they have special sales.

You can find the shop here: Vinty's Augsburg, Oberer Graben 4, 86152 Augsburg

Local alternatives

Manomama is a small fashion label from Augsburg, which produces regionally (their suppliers are all within a radius of 250 km of Augsburg). You can either have a fashion party at home, where a manomama or –papa will present the latest pieces to you, or buy in their online shop.

 Look at the “Das letzte Hemd” section, where they sell things

made of remnants at a reduced price  Because their factory is being renovated, there are currently only a few pieces available

glore.de & glore store in Munich stand for globally responsible fashion. They offer clothes from international brands with modern styles and a responsible way of dealing with their cotton and sewing factories and the people who work for them. Sure, these clothes are a little bit more expensive than some others, but paying more and knowing where and under which conditions they were produced is worth it, isn’t it? And T-Shirts start from €20.00. Quite a normal price, in my opinion… This is the store’s address: glore fashion München, Baaderstr. 55, 80469 München

You can check the label out here: www.manomama.de Author: Stefanie França Leite Layout: Lena Schwarz Pictures: Herbert Dazo/Pixelio, manomama, Stefanie França Leite

The vegan revolution If anything tells you what’s currently trending in Augsburg it has to be random graffiti sprayed on a random wall by a random stranger. Of course in this particular case you might also have been tipped off by a couple of other things: Chili con soja at the Uni cafeteria, the new tofu schnitzel in your hip Augsburg downtown restaurant, plantbased cheese in your little weird health food store, soy yoghurt in the refrigerators of big supermarket chains and organic tofu in your local discounter. The word ‘vegan’ is trending and smiles back at us from walls and product packaging wherever we go. So what is this? What’s happening?

Do you really want to call this a revolution? I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve heard people lamenting about how this generation doesn’t revolt anymore. They laugh at the naïve idea that you could change the world by simply changing the food you eat. But actually this is the way we protest now: Demonstrations seem to have lost their power, but the way we consume hasn’t and probably never will. If we change, the market will too. It already has! Have you seen how the word ‘vegan’ seems to smile back at us from every street corner? Someone should write an article about that.

This generation more than any generation before embraces the veggie lifestyle: More and more people are going vegan or are trying to include more plant-based food in their lives by, for example, trying to ‘veganize’ one of their favorite meals every once in a while. Because of this new trend, there is less of a stigma attached to the movement itself: the girl next door might be a vegan, or your tattooed straight edge punk, or your philosophy student, or your sports student, or just your regular Joe ordering soy milk to go with his regular cup of Joe. Why embrace the trend? What’s interesting and unique for this generation is that for most people animal rights are not the driving force behind their effort to veganize their lives anymore. Instead, they do it for environmental reasons: More than half of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture. You save more water by eating a pound of wheat instead of a pound of meat than you could by not showering for half a year. It’s amazing what numbers you stumble upon once you start googling!

Author and Pictures: Jessica Friedline; Layout: Tamara Kögel

How to become famous YouTube stars on their way to success

Never in history was becoming famous as easy as it is now. More and more young artists are promoting themselves via the internet, especially YouTube. They have millions of fans and their concerts are sold out, but they don’t have a record label or professional management. The principle of success The artists normally start by doing cover versions of frequently requested chart hits. In this way, their fan base grows and grows, so they gradually start to present their own songs eventually. The artists do everything themselves: they record, produce and promote their own LPs; they shoot and direct their own music videos; they design their own homepage and promo material. Thanks to modern technology, the artists achieve almost professional results without spending too much money on gear. Some very famous artists started exactly in this way: now everyone knows Psy, Justin Bieber or Soulja Boy.

Pentatonix is an a cappella group from Texas. The five vocalists won the third season of “The Sing-Off” on NBC and have been making covers of chart hits since. They went on a sold out 30-city tour in 2012 and are currently preparing their 2014 worldwide tour.

Worldwide reputation Although YouTube is mostly used by younger people, the viewership of YouTube stars doesn’t just consist of teenage girls and boys. Record producers, managers and other people involved in music business search YouTube for the next pop star and commercial success. Even bands which are already well known would watch the videos. When ’80s rock band Journey needed to find a new lead singer, they found Philippine Arnel Pineda doing a cover of one of their songs on YouTube. After an audition, he was named lead singer of the band. Lindsey Stirling is a Californian violinist whose videos are a combination of beautiful violin melodies, incorporating dancing, spectacular shots, and (sometimes) weird dresses. In 2010, she was even a quarter-finalist on America‘s Got Talent and in 2012, she went on a worldwide tour. Author’s favorite video: “Lindsey Stirling & Peter Hollens - Star Wars Medley“

Author’s favorite video: “Pentatonix - Evolution of music”

Money, money, money In addition to the enjoyments of becoming famous, YouTube stars also have financial benefits. They can either sell their songs via iTunes or they allow advertising in or before their videos. According to insiders, artists get €1.50 for every 1,000 clicks if they allow advertising. So just one of Lindsey Stirling’s songs, “Crystallize”, for example, has so far provided her with more than €100,000, which is a pretty nice addition to someone’s pocket money. Perhaps I should upload some of my singing, too? ...Well, better not. Author & Layout: Manuel Wassermann Pictures: Ira Serkes/commons.wikimedia.org, Cliprkid/ commons.wikimedia.org

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One Generation, two languages, two lives? “Intercultural communication” and “intercultural competence”. All of us have come across these concepts at some point. Working and interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds is a skill that is highly valued in the job market, after all. When I heard these terms, I always used to picture myself talking to people from faraway “exotic” countries. However, recently I learned that this would not necessarily have to be the case. I started doing a course in German Sign Language, Deutsche GebärdenSprache, because even though I speak foreign languages, I also want to be able to communicate with every German. There are about 80,000 people in Germany who are deaf, and about 16 million who are hard of hearing. This doesn’t automatically mean

that all of them communicate via sign language, but it suggests that being able to sign is useful, and not only for nurses, social workers, and other people who have to rely on interpersonal (and intercultural) communication a lot. The divide we didn’t know existed Intercultural communication can happen between Germans. The DGS course isn’t only about learning another language – it’s offering me a glimpse into another culture that I hadn’t come into contact with before, even though there are people my age who are a part of it. Most people would probably have similar thoughts in this situation – just ask yourself: do you have friends or acquaintances who are deaf or have you ever met someone your age (or not) who is? Have you ever tried to communicate with someone who didn’t hear you or was this something you didn’t try to do because you thought you couldn’t? Are we a generation in which many don’t realize that there are two German languages and two similar, but different, lives? After all, we live in the same cities and have to function in the same society. Often, the deaf and hard of hearing are considered a “they” rather than

a part of “us”. This “otherness” of cultures and lives probably stems from the fact that we do use two languages that, even though they are both German and fully functional in every sense, are different. Connecting cultures Many hearing people never learn DGS and some deaf people might not be interested in communicating with the hearing, but there are those on both sides who work in order to bridge the resultant cultural gaps and make a “together” possible. Let me introduce you to two of them. Carolin is in her twenties, and first came into contact with sign language when she met a family who communicated this way. She is studying to become a sign language interpreter in Magdeburg. Yes, this course of studies exists, and it’s no walk in the park, either. Together with about 15 other, mainly female, students in her year, Carolin not only learns how to sign in different situations; she also has seminars in Psychology, Administration and Law, and Deaf Studies which includes literature from other countries, among other subjects. There are both deaf and hearing lecturers, and the actual classes on interpreting only start in the fourth semester. Each student has to do three internships, varying from four weeks in length to a whole semester. In addition to her courses at university, Carolin has to do extracurricular work by herself. At the end, she will have to write a B.A. thesis as well as pass a final exam. Her future job prospects are pretty bright since competent interpreters, who usually work freelance, are pretty sparse in Germany.

pical devices and programs of our generation such as smart phones and Skype made her life easier. People who sign have profited immensely from such inventions as videotelephony and text messages, as well as various apps. For example, there is an app for the iPhone that functions as a city guide to Berlin in DGS, since tours conducted in DGS are very rare. When asked about what annoyed her most about her surroundings, her biggest complaint was the patronizing and impatient behavior of people who think that Kerstin isn’t able to live her life on her own. What she finds funny is that some people who see her signing with a friend in public try to talk to her in English, or don’t understand why her friend signs simultaneously when she talks to them. The tips she has for people who aren’t able to sign are simple but important: keep eye contact and speak clearly so that you can be lip-read, and/or use your phone or a piece of paper and write down what you want to say. Both Carolin and Kerstin are helping to bring together people and generations, and turn the “they” into an “us”. We are proud of being open-minded and having friends all over the world, but it’s important to take a look at what’s closer to home and to try to connect with sign-language culture as well.

AllerHand: The “Together” matters! Unfortunately I couldn’t find a deaf person my age who would do an interview with me, but Kerstin Mackevicius, owner of sign language school AllerHand, agreed to answer some questions. She works both as a technical draughtswoman and DGS teacher. She was born deaf, and through her work, she’s been helping to bridge the gap between the hearing and the deaf for years. I asked her in what ways the ty-

“Miteinander”

Some interesting facts about sign language • •

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It’s not enough to simply look at a signing person’s hands, their facial expressions and mouth (some words are formed with the mouth, while others aren’t) are also important! There isn’t one universal sign language. Germans sign in DGS, but Americans, for example, sign in ASL (American Sign Language). Since I’m learning DGS, I signed the title of this article in German, the written title is merely a translation. There are sign language dialects, differences in DGS depending on the region or city in Germany. The way “birthday” is signed in Hamburg is different from the way it’s signed in Berlin or Munich. If you’re interested in learning DGS here in Augsburg, you can check out the VHS as well as Kerstin’s school online: www.allerhand-augsburg.de SIGNMARK is a Finnish rap artist, and he’s also deaf. While his band mate raps the lyrics, he signs them. You can find videos of some of their performances online!

 Author, Layout & Pictures: Lena Schwarz

What’s in a size? Female wiles now and then Has this ever happened to you? You’re on a shopping trip with your best friend; both of you are strolling through your beloved local shopping centre and suddenly, THERE it is, THE dress that seems to be made just for you and without which you won’t be able to live. To make a long story short, you end up in the shop grabbing the lovely piece and hurry to the changing rooms. Having tried it on, you hesitate; the image reflected in the mirror shows a troll in a fairy costume. It doesn’t fit anywhere, it’s too long, it accentuates your hips, there has never been any colour that has suited you less, and what’s the single most horrifying observation? The zip won’t close. So you leave the shop, feeling like a beached whale and promising that from now on you’ll eat nothing but half a crispbread a day. And the dress looked so good on all the posters and the display dummy... but wait... we all know it hasn’t always been like this. I’m no angel! Let’s start with one of the early examples of lucky, curvy women: Mae West. Siren and loudmouth by trade, she started her career as a 20’s vaudeville dancer (what else?) before moving to the theatre industry. In 1926 she shocked her audience by starring in a Broadway play simply called “Sex”. Another of her plays had to be performed in New Jersey, as it was banned from Broadway. This might have been just to Mae’s liking, considering that quotes like “Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?” are attributed to her. Nonetheless, all of these more or less verified scandals didn’t harm her career and soon she was the star of the production company she was working for, Paramount. One question remains, though: Can you manage to break any sexual taboo of your time and stick up for homosexuals with a body like a matchstick? Probably not. Happy Birthday, Mr. President! Once upon a time, there was a little girl called Norma Jean. She soon became famous for her magnificent head of blonde curls and for wearing a white dress whilst standing above an underground ventilator shaft (by pure incidence,

of course). Yes, you’ve guessed it, we’re talking about Marilyn. Although she virtually invented today’s ideal measurements, 90-6090, you can’t but notice that in her films her dresses and saucy lingerie tend not to fit too perfectly; in fact, they’re slightly unflattering. The same holds true for her poses. But do we consider this unsexy? Or do we instead experience a desire to actually try on her dresses, because they were worn by Marilyn and therefore simply don’t seem beyond our reach? Beyond Marilyn But Ms Monroe wasn’t the only girl to be successful without being all skin and bone. Jayne Mansfield, soon known as Marilyn’s successor, established her successful career with the help of her gorgeous hourglass body shape. Is there anything we can learn from her? Yes, it’s perfectly alright to misbehave (so badly) sometimes, but make it look charming, unintended and innocent! Now add a tiny pinch of dramatic talent, and a star on the Hollywood walk of fame will soon be yours! Dare to be imperfect! There’s definitely not enough space in this article to cope with all of the great women who show us that it’s never been necessary to starve for a size zero, even though this has become oh so popular. Since Twiggy, supermodel and mother of skinniness, came into picture in the 1960s, she has changed the way we look at celebrities, and also at ourselves. If you’re a size M or L, you can’t imagine how clothes will look on you when you see them worn by skeletons on a runway or by stick-figure like display dummies. But we shouldn’t be forced to adapt to fashion; fashion should adapt to us! And yes, we prefer seeing those women with “problematic areas”. They’re not unaesthetic – every one of them seems effortlessly, timelessly attractive. And most importantly: they’re likeable.

Author: Lena Schlund; Layout: Adina Mutter Picture: Stanbos/deviantart.com

Freunde vs. Bạn bè * Friendships in different culutures

There is a saying: “Living without friends is like living in the desert”. Friendship undeniably plays an important part in our lives; people from all over the world, no matter where they’re from or whatever they do, have friends to share their lives with. As the world is getting smaller, people are getting closer to each other. They’re able to build friendships with people from different corners of the world, especially our generation. When this happens, it’s not just two people who meet, but also two different cultures. So the very international team that is eMAG asks how different cultures define “friendship”.

When West meets East “What? No, that’s not true; we’re not like that!“ That was my initial reaction to an observation that we Germans like to put everything – including personal relationships – into categories. But then I took a moment to think about it. And it occurred to me that this might not be so far-fetched after all. It’s fascinating how you can get new perspectives on yourself by conversing with other people. We never think about the culture we live in, as we’re surrounded by it and take it for granted. Our generation, especially here at university, has the unique opportunity to meet lots of different people from all over the world, from all cultures, and with all kinds of different interests. Though stereotypes certainly don’t apply to all people, I agree that it’s very German to pigeon-hole people. We like to have everything in order. Our brains are like a system of index cards. These cards are useful, for example, for studying.

How do we categorize our friends? Admittedly, ways of categorizing the people we know are there, and endless: colleague, fellow student, friend, childhood friend, acquaintance, buddy, best/close/dear/old friend… Even Facebook – something our generation is certainly quite famous for – offers you the choice between “friend”, “close friend” and “family”. But do we really apply this system to our social lives as well? You can easily test yourself: just open your address book. Is it just people’s names in it, or do you also add where you know them from? Like “Anne, literature class” or “Bob, volleyball team”.

When do you call a person a friend? When I was asked: “When do you call a person a friend?” I instinctively relied on familiar categories in my brain and repeated them like a definition. Well, we should have known each other for at least a few months, have fun together outside university or work, be able to tell each other personal things… I laughed when I realized what I was doing. Categories are helpful for some things, and I understand why people call on them in difficult social situations. You can simply open the mental box with the right label and take out a checklist of dos and don’ts. I wouldn’t necessarily say categories are a bad thing, as long as you’re not too strict with them when it comes to people and you can look beyond your own nose once in a while. Don’t let categories prevent you from having great experiences!

* “Freunde” and “Bạn bè” are translations of the word “friends”.

When East meets West When I first came to Germany, the first occasion which made me think about the concept of “friend” was at a birthday party. It was very strange to see people divide up into different small interest groups to talk with each other. And not everybody knew each other. In Vietnam, however, on such an occasion we would all sit together in a big circle and try to get everybody involved. No one should be left out.

Neither German nor Vietnamese German or Vietnamese is only a concept of mind. To the nature, we’re the same. We’re all human beings. Buddha taught, “All our tears are salty and all our blood is red.” It might be the binary notion of “Youand-I” which divides us. Thus, I always keep a Japanese proverb in mind, “Treasure every encounter since it might be the last time we see each other.” Being able to meet each other in this moment is already a miracle of life.

What makes a friend in Vietnam? In general, Vietnamese people are very friendly. This has its roots in our beliefs. In Vietnam, we believe that we have the same roots and have the same ancestors. Thus, we’re a family and treat each other like family members, such as “uncle”, “aunt”, “brother” or “sister” (even if it’s a person we meet on the street for the first time). The concept of friend is not different from being a relative. That’s why it’s easy to make friends in a familiar atmosphere. A friend is defined as someone who you can share things with. Just like in every other culture, friendship takes time and needs mutual understanding to grow. It’s nourished by love and joy. In our hearts, we have categories such as good friend, close friend, best friend or even lifetime friend. However, we probably don’t put friends in any kind of order. The categories are to help us to know what a friend means to us and how close we are. In the light of tradition, a friend could even be considered a family member. What makes a friend in Germany? Making friends in Germany is more challenging, since Germans tend to distance themselves from foreigners. They need time to observe somebody before they can consider them a friend. There’s a barrier to overcome and it takes time for understanding and trust to develop. However, when the wall is broken down and trust is established, the rewards are very sweet. Having good friends brings much joys and beauty into our world.

Authors & Layout: Tamara Kögel, Hai Nhu Nguyen; Pictures: korkey/pixelio.de, juli.gänseblümchen/pixelio.de, Ra’like/commons. wikimedia.org, Miriam Swientek

Old new technology A quiz about our generation’s devices

Playing Minesweeper or Solitaire on a Windows 95 computer, Game Boys, the weird sound when you logged onto the internet, a cellphone which could only send and receive SMS and calls, Mario Kart with those huge blue controllers, a Walkman to get me through endless car trips… that’s what I have in mind when I think about our generation’s devices. In contrast, my little sister (8) doesn’t even know what you do with an old Game Boy, but knows perfectly well how to play on an iPad. It’s fascinating how fast technology develops and how quickly we forget about all the great technology that forms the basis of today’s smartphones, game consoles and other entertainment technology. Check what you (still) know about “old” and not-so-old devices! The solution is at the bottom of the page.

Question 1

Question 3 What is this device for? 1. It’s got a mirror on the back. Ladies‘ stuff. 2. To save data. 3. A coaster for glasses or cups.

Which was the first sentence spoken into a telephone and which the first SMS sent? (Choose two answers here) 1. The horse doesn’t eat cucumber salad. 2. Hello, can anyone hear me? 3. hi how r u? c u l8er 2day, b there asap! lol btw u r gr8, i <3 u 4. Merry Christmas.

Question 2 What was the nickname of the first Smartphone introduced by IBM in 1992 for $899? 1. Simon 2. Andrew 3. Bob

Question 4

Question 9 Which Game Boy edition doesn’t exist? 1. Game Boy Extended 2. Game Boy Classic 3. Game Boy Light

Question 5 What does USB stand for? 1. Ulrich Seymour Brown (the inventor’s name) 2. Unit for Series and Bands 3. Universal Serial Bus

2 Which of these combinations makes sense?

Question 6

When were the first and the last VHS cassettes published? 1. 1989/2011 2. 1976/2008 3. 1953/1999

Question 7

Which fact about Windows XP is true? 1. You can’t create a folder named CON 2. You can’t change the background picture 3. You can’t play an mp4-file

Author & Layout: Adina Mutter Pictures: Adina Mutter, Nicole Gifi

Q4: Q5: Q6: Q7: Q8: Q9:

Q1: 2. Q2: 1. Q3: 1. (first sentence spoken into a telephone), 4. (first SMS sent) 1. 3. 2. 1. 3. 2.

What was the device that came after the Walkman? 1. Runman 2. mp3-Player 3. Discman

Solution

Question 8

In the shadow of the revolution What has happened to Egypt’s cultural heritage since the Arab Spring

The one thing about the Arab Spring and the unrest in Egypt that most Europeans have noticed are the travel warnings and how Nile cruises and all-inclusive hotels at the Red Sea have suddenly become cheap. The cries of the women who were gang-raped on Tahrir Square were heard all over the world. But there are even more victims, less known victims because they don’t have a voice of their own: the cultural artefacts and archaeological sites that were destroyed and plundered.

ment to begin with. The protesters forced their way into the museum, demolished and plundered display cabinets, and even destroyed two mummies. Priceless historical artefacts were damaged and also many stolen. Among the prominent objects that were taken and until today, three years later, still haven’t been recovered, are statuettes from the famous treasure of the pharaoh Tutankhamun.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is located directly on Tahrir Square. On a regular day, the statues and palm trees flanking the museum are a beautiful sight. In January 2011, when the uprising called the Arab Spring reached Egypt, this close vicinity to Tahrir Square proved to be disastrous. After several days of protests on Tahrir Square, people broke through the human chain of those who were trying to protect the museum and their country’s heritage.

In other parts of Egypt, excavation sites were robbed and their storage houses plundered after foreign archaelogists had been called back by their universities and governments because of the threats that had been made against them. Some scientists decided to stay in Egypt anyway, hoping that their presence on the excavation sites would be enough to prevent robberies.

Mayhem at the museum It was rumoured that the overthrown Egyptian government had set up a commando post and a torture chamber inside the Egyptian Museum. Others claimed that the looting had been staged by the govern-

Civil courage

Others were lucky that their Egyptian workers stayed on the excavation sites with their families in order to protect their country’s cultural heritage. Antiques trafficking Each revolution brings with it an upsurge in crime. In the land of the pharaos where smuggling has never ceased, no matter how severe the punishments became, the Arab Spring seemed to give the green light for smugglers to run their illegal operations in broad daylight. Stolen artefacts are smuggled out of Egypt via Israel and Jordan and other politically unstable neighbouring countries. Some objects vanish into private collectors’ illegal hoards, never to be seen again by the world’s eyes, while others appear on the European market. In 2013 alone, the auctions of more than 800 antiquities were stopped by the police in London.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo

It’s absolutely inexplicable why people are able to destroy and sell off their own heritage. Acts of vandalism as a means of demonstrating power and terrorising others have happened before – just think of the Taliban that demolished the Buddha statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, which were part of the UNESCO world heritage. Many sites in

Egypt are part of the UNESCO world heritage as well, and are important tourist magnets that bring vast amounts of money into Egypt every year. Their destruction directly hurts the Egyptian people and economy.

Excavation in the necropolis of Abusir

Egypt’s uncertain future Sadly, three years after the Arab Spring, the looting still hasn’t stopped: in August 2013, almost all of the 1090 objects on display in a museum in Mallawi were stolen. Forty statues were left behind – not because they were worthless in the eyes of the looters, but because they simply were too heavy to be carried away. On the bright side, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo has been able to successfully restore some of the Tutankhamun treasures after years of work. Exhibition halls have been renovated with international help and the objects have been back on display since September 2013. The international excavation teams are continuing their work and new exciting, scientifically important findings have been made in the Oasis Dahla, in Amarna and other places. The tourists are slowly coming back, although the visitor numbers are still several millions lower than before the Arab Spring. Let’s hope that the Egyptian military government will soon be replaced by an elected democratic one and that peace returns to the Nile valley.

Author & Layout: Sybille Ehing Pictures: Bianca Guerrieri, Sybille Ehing

MEPHISTO BUCHHANDLUNG AN DER UNIVERSITÄT SALOMON IDLER STRASSE 2, AUGSBURG (GEGENÜBER DER STRASSENBAHNHALTESTELLE)

“Just writing, no matter the circumstance” Interview with author Joe Dunthorne

Joe Dunthorne, born in 1982, is a novelist and poet of Welsh origin. He studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. His first novel ‘Submarine’ was published in 2008 and made into a film in 2010. For his second book ‘Wild Abandon’ (2011) Joe received the Society of Authors’ Encore award. We met Joe while he was in Augsburg in December 2013 to give a reading and teach a creative writing workshop here at the university. eMAG: Can you describe the general feeling of people in Britain today? The feeling of our generation? Joe Dunthorne: It’s quite an unusual time for our generation, I’d say, because we’re receiving the counterbalance of the benefits our parents enjoyed. Obviously, education is now very expensive in Britain today. It’s very difficult for people of poorer backgrounds to go to university; a lot of people choose not to. Home-owning is increasingly impossible, especially in London. People in their mid-twenties and thirties – they’re called the boomerang generation – are living back with their parents. The whole thing of living in shared accommodations like you would as a student with four housemates is going on. It’s like all the things we were told adulthood entailed are no longer available, or they’re available to a much smaller group. On the flipside, our generation has this extended childhood where we behave in the same way when we were twenty or thirty. It seems nihilistic, headless, fun-loving, but I think part of it is because we have no other option, you know, living a kind of weekend lifestyle.

breaking up and have to sleep on the sofa of the other couple. The background of it is the pressure of current London life. You have your own homepage with some of your poems online. Do you think having a wide range of genres is necessary to be creative? I don’t think it’s necessary, no. I have always thought of writing as just writing, no matter the circumstance. I write poems or scripts or journalism or novels; that has never seemed unusual to me. I find all kinds of writing exciting. I know that some writers like to specialise, and I can see the advantage of that. I kind of admire writers who narrow their focus, but I’d get bored. How exactly do you write? Can you train to be creative? I’ve trained for craft and for the things you can train for, for routine and critical development, how to read other people’s writings, how to edit. But the creative side of it has to come from somewhere authentic. You have to be willing to banish the tempting half of your life in favour of sitting in front of a computer. I’ve studied creative writing, particularly the technical aspects; but at some point you realise that you can learn more from the close study of other others. Is there an author that inspires you? I normally have a favourite author that changes every couple of days. I’ve been reading Heinrich von Kleist. I immensely enjoyed his novella ‘Michael Kohlhaas’. Such an awesome short book, so powerful and direct and fascinating. And then I read this American book which uses von Kleist’s novel as an inspiration. It’s called ‘Ragtime’ by E. L. Doctorow. It’s really reassuring to know that a writer as well-regarded as Doctorow basically steals a whole plot strand from von Kleist and acknowledges him at the same time.

Joe Dunthorne

What are you currently working on? I’m working on a third novel that’s set in London. It’s about two couples who represent the different fortunes that are available. One couple owns where they live, feeling the upswing of London wealth and all the advantages it brings. The other couple doesn’t and they’re

Intertextual references or referring to films is something that many modern writers do.

Reading at Augsburg University

It seems kind of dangerous to me. You have to be very particular about referencing contemporary things. If something is too closely related to the zeitgeist, then it’s likely to age very badly, particularly technology. I’ve written this poem about the internet and I referenced Firefox. That seemed at that moment to be a futuristic reference, and I had to change it to Snapshot or whatever it was. So I try not to reference too many contemporary brands because you always risk that brand becoming something else. Let’s talk about your novel ‘Submarine’. How awesome exactly is it to have your debut novel made into a film? Double awesome. Quadro awesome. It’s great and surprising and I got really lucky. Did you have a say when it came to picking the actors? Yes, I did. It was great fun to see the casting tapes. It was fascinating. Craig [Roberts], who plays Oliver, he was so right for the role, which seems like a cliché. As soon as he came into the casting, it was clear that he was the one. The main character, Oliver, is a very odd boy. You compared him to a very naughty younger brother. Do you think this is like a character trait that many people have today, like a survival skill to be naughty? I think so. That’s what makes for an interesting discussion between the reader and the book. It’s like a survival mechanism for a particular moment. In all likelihood everyone has to develop their evil side in order to survive high school or secondary school. Or he is extremely unusual, sociopathic, and an absolute exception. I think he’s fairly normal; I don’t think it’s that crazy to be strange, at least in your head, when you’re fifteen. Is that your own kind of humour? Yeah, I think so. Mostly humour in ‘Submarine’ comes from Oliver’s take of things, distorting reality to fit into his own strange psychology. That’s a lot of fun to me, to see the way how we can wilfully misinterpret the world.

joedunthorne.com You can find the first part of the interview with Joe on our website: http://emag-augsburg.de/2013/12/ do-you-sing-in-the-shower-interview -with-author-joe-dunthorne/

Thank you very much for the interview! It’s been a pleasure talking to you! Interviewers for eMAG: Sybille Ehing, Jessica Friedline, Lena Schwarz; Layout: Sybille Ehing, Lena Schwarz; Pictures: Lena Schwarz

WHOLE WIDE WORLD

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. (Mark Twain)

“Referendariat” abroad . . . well, sort of Teacher training in the UK When faced with the end of our studies, many of us are struck by the same feeling we had when we left school, those nagging questions of where to go and what to do. Now that my state exam is drawing closer, I found myself contemplating precisely these things. I think I‘ve found the path I want to follow after finishing my studies, a path that might sound appealing to some of you as well. So, let me tell you a little bit about the PGCE in the UK. The course The PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) – or PGDE, as it’s called in Scotland – is a possible route into teaching in the UK. It takes one year to complete and is a combination of one term at university consisting of courses on pedagogy and didactics and two terms teaching in schools, interspersed with a few days at university. The details vary, though, depending on the university you’re attending. Usually you should already have a degree that is somehow related to the subject you wish to teach, e.g. a bachelor, master or state exam. However, as a native speaker of German, you’re often given a chance without a degree in this subject, though most universities would like someone who has, at least, studied another language or languagerelated subject.

The application If you wish to apply, you have to take – surprise, surprise – an online route, namely the UCAS website, where the application process for the next year (the program starts either in August or early September) opens some time during November. Unfortunately – well, for me, not for you since I’m telling you about it now – a lot of changes have been made for next year’s entry, so it took me a while to get everything right. Basically, apart from your personal details, you need to write a personal statement, a list with your work experience and find two referees. Then you can add three universities which will receive your application, and, hopefully, invite you for an interview. Now, that was the short version, but it really comes down to these aspects (unless they change the whole thing the year you want to apply). The benefits I‘ve already told you the basic outline of the PGCE. In fact, you can compare it with our ‘Referendariat’. I‘ve read some reports by former students who said that the course is quite time-consuming since you have a lot of responsibility right away, a full-time schoolday and still need to complete university assessments. However, every German student I‘ve read about who has completed the course said it was extremely rewarding and definitely worth it. So I thought I’d give it a try. And by the way, after you’ve finished, you’re a newly qualified teacher in the UK, and the degree is also widely recognized in other English-speaking countries. What’s more, in certain cases, you could even be allowed to use it as part of the German ‘Referendariat’ (if you return to Germany, that is), which would then only last 1 ½ years, but this is assessed on an individual basis. So, now I’ve got to get back to finishing my application. Perhaps, now, you’re also considering the PGCE as a possible route into teaching. For more information, take a look at the UCAS teacher training website. And don’t forget to keep your fingers crossed for me!

Author & Layout: Nicole Gifi Pictures: Martin Braun; Anomie/wikipedia.org

The

in Brazil

A local trend is going global Recently, scientists have discovered a new tribe of evolving arboreal dwellers (i.e. tree houses). What started out as a small project in the Youth Center of a little town named Auroville in urban South India has dynamized and vitalized the hearts of many lovers of nature and danger, environmentalists and alchemists around the world, because living in a tree will get you really close and cuddly with nature.

The Tree House Community is an international, multilingual team based in Auroville that builds state-of-the-art tree houses in harmony with their natural surroundings. The members share their unique combination of skills around the world, and on order will build you your own magical paradise in nature. Team members include German initiator Filip, botanist and tree-caretaker, Slovenian-born Narayan, who studied carpentry in France, Ilango from India, who masters a disappearing craft of natural, local, Tamil construction; and Swedish-born Simon, an experienced global eco-builder and one of the young people who pioneered tree house designs in Auroville, having experimented with ways of arboreal living that coupled the local organic architecture with innovative inter branch and cross-tree designs. But don’t be misled – there are women on the team as well. Keya from Switzerland enriches the work

with her dedication and beautiful art, and enthusiastic Erin from the US supplements the team with her experience in permaculture and range of sustainable living sciences. All these members grew up or live in Auroville. Being an aerodynamic, panoramic team, the members constantly change. Some return to their native countries to unearth their roots, and new members discover the arboreal species and join the troop. This and last year the team in Brazil consisted of Filip and Narayan, as well as new members Asim (part-German part-Native American) and Gabriel and Pedro from South America.

From left to right: Gabriel, Pedro, Asim, Narayan, Filip Unfortunately, some eccentric nature lovers seem to entangle themselves in radical branches of powerful campaigns like veganism, freeganism, Christianity and insanity, stealing the media’s attention and displaying the community in a critical light. The acronym THC doesn’t create much reassurance for people who were thus deceived. Fortunately, prejudice only lasts until you know better. How it all began… Kids love tree houses. And Auroville is a “young” city, the foundation stone of which was laid in a South Indian desert in the 60s. So

while trees were planted, the land was farmed and the schools and social systems were still in developmental stages, numerous adventurous kids climbed trees and experimented with their structures and thus sculptured culture. Tree houses also turned out to be an easy housing solution for the transition period of moving out from parents’ houses and into a new place.

Filip always found it thrilling to create spaces and places between branches on ranches, so after extensive visits to universities in Europe he returned determined to perfect the art and take it to a professional, occupational level. He thus created his own apprenticeship – which took him from metal work and engineering with steel to forging, studies in arboriculture, rock, tree and industrial climbing, woodwork and carpentry, tool making, designing, plumbing, ac electric installations and dc solar systems, permaculture and alternative natural construction, as well learning how to use natural renewable materials. His tree house community soon bore fruit – exponential and soon intercontinental interest from friends, clients and media forced him to learn the boring but necessary skills of accounting, management, public relations, etc. One summer, Filip and his friend Geo seized the opportunity to escape the South Indian oven and spent a month in the cool Kodaikanal mountains, building their first tree house with warm water supply and an (Indian) bathroom. Having earned back all expenses within a few months, the guest tree house is still a peaceful retreat for nature lovers.

So why Brazil? To a mainly masala-fed imagination, Brazil is a place with amazing trees and forests. Although the team continuously fly between continents, gaining aerodynamics that far is expensive. When Filip met an Argentinian traveler in India, the opportunity presented itself. In a lightning flash he organized a project to present at the Rio+20 conference, by now representing a whole community of enthusiastic tree house builders that could not go. That year, Filip got 32 square meters of tree space, off-grid in an unregistered spot away from pollution in the rainforest. And this was just the beginning of his 6000km journey. Four tree houses later, he returned to India. While Filip continued his small company in India, the seeds he left in Brazil grew trees - two of the most enthusiastic supporters in Brazil, Gabriel and Pedro, started THC Brazil. But they soon called Filip back to help build bigger, better and stronger tree houses. The team is expanding rapidly and they dream big – of kaleidoscope and world cup themed tree houses and changing the world for the better.

The THC want to inspire and teach people to build with the materials in their immediate surroundings, to leave a positive footprint, to protect and preserve trees and to develop more flexible and natural living patterns. Their aim is to travel, explore and climb to higher heights, to research, document and network treehouses and traditional and alternative building techniques around the world. It may still take some evolution, but the networking will be global so that especially between the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, there will be a milky way of arboreal dwellers, and populations under the constellations will realize the advantages of the forest again and move out of their unhealthy, unsustainable boxed-up lifestyle of the cities.

Author: Filip Kingsplies, Mira Kanehl; Layout: Mira Kanehl; Pictures: Filip Kingsplies

German invasion of the NBA A flood of young talent ready to make a splash!

The National Basketball Association – or simply the NBA – is the world’s top basketball league. It features 30 teams, each consisting of fourteen to fifteen players, which makes a grand total of about 340 players. Since its establishment in 1946, the NBA has seen its number of international players increase from year to year, maxing out at about 19% this season. Germans haven’t had a big cut of the cake so far, boasting only one “star” before German idol Dirk Nowitzki entered the league in 1998, namely Detlef Schrempf. But all of that has changed. Joining Dirk Nowitzki and the naturalized German citizen Chris Kaman, three of Germany’s young talents have already made an impact on the popularity of basketball in Germany by making it in the NBA. The patient scholar, Elias Harris Elias Harris, who starred at Gonzaga University for four years, joined Chris Kaman with the Los Angeles Lakers this season, having made the squad after a good showing in the team’s preparations for this year. The 24-year-old power forward missed the jump to the NBA as a potential First Round Draft Pick in 2010, opting to stay with Gonzaga in order to continue to polish his game and earn his college degree this past summer – an unusual decision for an athlete with his potential in today’s world. Elias is 2.03 meters tall and has the speed and athleticism to be a solid NBA role player, though his outlook for this season is not too good after he was cut from the team at the beginning of December. The native of Speyer, Germany will have to work on revitalizing his three-point-shot that made him a very dangerous offensive weapon at Gonzaga University, while trying to make it back to the NBA through the D-League. Germany’s next big thing? Dennis Schröder The biggest German gem to enter the NBA since Dirk Nowitzki is 20-year-old point guard Dennis Schröder. The First Round Draft Pick

of the Atlanta Hawks blasted onto the scene at the 2013 Nike Hoop Summit this past summer, scoring 18 points while dishing out 6 assists to help the International Team beat the best American high school basketball players. Last season, the 1.86 meter tall German with Gambian roots played for his native city team the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig in the Basketball Bundesliga, taking home numerous awards after averaging 11.9 points per game and 3.3 assists per game. Watching him play it’s no wonder that he’s being compared to superstar point guard Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics. He’s very quick and has great court vision, which, accompanied by his amazing passing ability, is a deadly combination. While his quickness and large wing-span allow him to get to the basket at will, there is a flipside. Early footage has shown that he needs to work on his ball-handling and improving his shooting percentage. For now Dennis is stuck on the bench playing behind starting point guard Jeff Teague, but he will be getting good minutes in an otherwise thin Atlanta Hawks backcourt. The sky’s the limit for this guy! Tim Ohlbrecht – The borderline NBA player The perennial talent who blasted onto the scene in 2007 saw his draft stock drop from the projected second pick overall in the 2007 NBA Draft to going undrafted in 2010. Tim’s problem has always been that he wasn’t able to improve much because of his inability to work on his body and gain weight. The 25-year-old Power Forward spent time in the Basketball Bundesliga with three teams before making a career-changing decision to try to make it to the NBA by playing in the NBA Developmental League with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers last season. The 2.10-meter man, once labeled a bust, has gained a lot of bulk and played a

very good season with Rio Grande, earning a partially guaranteed two-year deal with the Houston Rockets, fulfilling his dream of making his NBA debut last year, but only appearing in three games and averaging one point per game. After the Houston Rockets added NBA superstar Center Dwight Howard this past off-season, they decided to trade Tim Ohlbrecht with the Philadelphia 76ers. The big man from Wuppertal had problems asserting himself during the team’s season preparations, and was eventually dropped from the Philadelphia squad. Ohlbrecht’s NBA dream has ended for now, but he has vowed to try to make an NBA squad by playing in the NBA Developmental League for at least another season.

Did you know that... • basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith – a Canadian physical education teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts – in 1891?

Another German on the verge of playing in the NBA? Tibor Pleiß, a 24-year-old center from Bergisch Gladbach was taken by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 31st pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Pleiß, who is 2.16m, spent the last three seasons with Germany’s top basketball team Brose Baskets Bamberg, where he won three Basketball Bundesliga titles, the 2010 Rookie of the Year Award and the 2011 Young Player of the Year Award. He’s also been a member of the German National Team since 2009, and he signed a four-year deal to play with the Spanish team Caja Laboral this past summer. His chances of being signed to a contract by the Oklahoma City Thunder – who still own his rights – aren’t too bad either, as they have a pretty thin front court and could use his hight and speed down low. The key to his chances of making the squad will be that he has to add a lot of weight to be able to cope with the big bodies in the NBA.

• the NBA didn’t introduce the three-point-line until 1979, leading to a revolution in the game that has since seen countless stars such as Dirk Nowitzki be able to utilize the long-range shot to score more points?

Author: Patrick Roland; Layout: Manuel Wassermann Pictures: Keith Allison/commons.wikimedia.org, Reisio/commons.wikimedia.org, SD Dirk/commons.wikimedia.org

• the first basketball goals were not netted hoops, but peach baskets nailed 3.05m above the ground on walls? • the first official game of basketball – which took place in Albany, New York on January 20, 1892 – ended with the score of 1-0?

• the Boston Celtics (17 titles) and the Los Angeles Lakers (16 titles) are the most successful teams in NBA history with 33 of the 67 total NBA championships since the establishment of the league in 1946? • NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain became the first and only player in NBA history to ever score 100 points in a game when he did it for his Philadelphia Warriors on March 2, 1962? • Dirk was not drafted by the Dallas Mavericks, but by the Milwaukee Bucks, who immediately traded him to Dallas for the rights to Robert Traylor – which, in the aftermath, would known as one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history? • Jason Collins – currently not a member of an NBA squad – became the first active athlete in American pro sports to openly come out as gay in April 2013?

Trà Việt The art of brewing and serving tea in Việt Nam

Successive generations of Vietnamese people have learned that the God of Farming studied various kinds of herbs on earth in search of a medicinal remedy which would increase alertness and sharpen the mind. He succeeded in this quest by discovering tea, “trà.” Ever since then, tea has been a precious medical remedy. Researchers have proven that tea is useful in slowing down the ageing process, prolonging life and preventing heart disease as well as tumors. It also increases the effectiveness of the immune system, lowers blood pressure and prevents blood clots, thus maintaining general health. The three types of tea: “chè tươi,” “trà mạn,” “trà sen” Over a period of more than four thousand years of development, it’s still a mystery to us exactly when tea became a part of Vietnamese life. But we take pride in having inherited the oldest tea drinking ritual of humankind. Vietnamese tea is classified into three main types. That is to say fresh (green) tea, “chè tươi,” which is the most popular and healthiest beverage in Vietnamese families. It comes naturally to the people as a Gift of the Creator and holds inside it the spirit of Vietnamese folk culture. Then “trà mạn” is a type of Chinese tea introduced into Vietnam under Chinese rule. “Trà mạn” diversified the Vietnamese traditional tea ritual with its sophistication and aesthetic enhancement of Chinese culture, and thus provided an ethical dimension to Vietnamese society. But it was not until the 18th century that the Vietnamese practised their subtle distinctive art of brewing and drinking lotus tea, “trà sen.”

The five elements of the universe One of the most indispensable requirements for brewing delicious tea is a perfect set of tea utensils, the regulation of five movements in the world. “Metal”- the brass pot, “Wood”- tea, “Water”- the water used for tea brewing, “Fire” – the cooking stove, and “Earth” – a teapot and teacups. The Five movements demonstrate the harmony and inclusion of all the elements creating Life. Holding a cup of tea in one’s hands is like possessing the quintessence of the Earth. The very best tea utensils are made by the dexterous hands of craftsmen in the traditional pottery village of Bát Tràng in Northern Vietnam. The traditional designs are “dragonflies touching water” or “sweet potato plants.” These are the motifs featuring the natural landscape of the Vietnamese countryside.

The legend of “trà sen” According to legend, a long time ago Vietnamese women flavored tea with lotus. At the end of the day when the sunlight sparkled all over the lotus lake, young women rowed their boats around, choosing the newly blossomed lotus, then hiding a handful of tea in the buds. In the early morning of the following day, before the sun rose over the lotus, the young women rowed back to take their bunches of tea home. Since the tea had been among the lotus flowers the whole night, it acquired the natural, rich aroma of the purity of heaven and earth. The tea was then well-dissolved in the water from the pure dew concentrated on the lotus leaves. This created the unique fragrance of trà sen as well as its profound spirit.

“Tea is not a beverage for the stomach. It’s a drink for the soul.”

- Trà Việt

The Idea of “Trà nô” But the most distinctive characteristic of Vietnamese tea culture is the concept of “trà nô” used to define the person who serves tea. The word was coined by Vương Trịnh Sâm, who said, “Server of tea, Master of wine.” It means that unlike drinking wine, which requires the power, bravery and high-spiritedness of a general, drinking tea emphasizes the moderation of manner and dedication of service. Thus, “trà nô” not only means the server of tea, but also tea lovers. However, much more than this, trà nô means dream builders, those who nuture an ambition to cultivate tea culture.

The continuation of the tradition Bustling as the material life nowadays, the passion for tea and the rituals of flavoring tea naturally with lotus remain unchanged in the hearts of the Vietnamese tea lovers. April to July of Vietnamese Lunar calendar every year becomes the time for the Hanoian artists to have primitive lotus buds from the peak of the Far North of Ha Giang and the strongly aromatic flowers in the West Lake to flavor tea. Tea is also carefully flavored over and over with lotus for seven times, each with more than one thousand lotus buds. All is completely processed by hands, which reflects the aesthetics and the love of the Vietnamese for tea.

The practice Drinking tea in early morning is a precious experience to start a new day. Sometimes, we wake up at five to have tea with each other and to welcome a new day. Otherwise, we would have tea with each other in the evening after finishing school or work. It’s time for us to relax, to come back to ourselves and to spend time with tea and with each other. What is beautiful about the group is the brothers and sisters, who are always eager to share their experience and insights. And there are young people who are eager to learn. Together we learn from each other, cultivate the good seeds inside us. It helps us to grow in a beautiful and fulfilling way.

Author & Layout: Hai Nhu Nguyen; Pictures: Trà Việt Club, The Club of young Vietnamese tea lovers

One year in the last frontier Get a glimpse of the interesting lifestyle in Alaska Alyeska Ski Resort just outside of Anchorage “Are you crazy?” That was the response from most of my friends when I told them that I’d managed to get an internship through Amity as a teaching assistant in Anchorage, Alaska and that I was seriously going to accept it and live there for an entire year. To be honest, at first, I was shocked, since I had been dreaming about living the easy life in Los Angeles or San Francisco at the beach with lots of sun. When most people think of Alaska, they think of cold and snow. At first, I thought the same and was reluctant to accept the offer, but because I’m open minded and really wanted to go abroad to improve my English skills, I agreed. I ended up spending an entire year in Anchorage and it was totally different from my expectations. I actually learned to love living in the last frontier. Moose meat The host family I stayed with was great, which made it easier for me to feel comfortable and almost at home. We usually ate very healthy, which is not normal in the US. Breakfast was the typical cereal, lunch was usually a sandwich in school and for dinner we had a warm dish. I also had the typical American food experience like burgers, fries, American pancakes, but in Alaska, it’s also very common to eat Alaskan salmon and moose, which are both delicious. You’re wrong if you think we bought it at the grocery store. No! My host dad hunted the moose himself and I went fishing with them and caught the salmon! It can also happen that a moose gets hit by a car and then a random individual is called from a list and summoned to harvest the carcass and dispose of the remains. They also get to keep all of the meat, which is usually hundreds of pounds. That’s a law! No single part of the moose is allowed to be wasted. I know. Life is a little bit different here.

Bears and moose Speaking of moose, this is probably the most famous animal associated with Alaska. And it’s true; you see them a lot, but mostly outside the city. Still, it can happen that they find their way to the city and you may run into a moose Unexpected guests just walking around downtown Anchorage. They’re very dangerous and have killed or seriously injured countless people, but are also sensational animals. As well as running into moose, you can also come across bears quite often in Anchorage. I encountered a mother bear and her three cubs right on the driveway of my host family’s house.

Things you may not have known about Alaska • Juneau, the capital of Alaska, cannot be accessed by road from the rest of the state, as it´s on an island. • More than half of the world´s active glaciers are in Alaska. • Mount McKinley rises 20,320 feet above sea level and is the tallest mountain in North America. • Barrow, the farthest North American city, has no sunset for about 84 days between May and August, as the sun circles above the horizon. This is also known as the midnight sun. • In 1867, Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million or about 2 cents per acre ($4.74/ km²). In today´s currency, that would be around $1 billion.

Seasons and Nature If you live in Alaska, you need to be an outdoors person. The nature is definitely impressive and I couldn’t get enough! In winter, you can enjoy the snowy mountains, go skiing, or visit a very interesting snow sculpture exhibit in downtown Anchorage. Alaskans know how to keep themselves occupied during winter time. You can even go cross-country skiing at night since they light up the trails. And let me tell you, winter, at least in Anchorage, is not that cold. Not colder than an average German winter. I have to admit that we had more snow, though, and the final total came in at around 3.5 meters for the season. This set a state record. The fall in Anchorage is short but beautiful. I cannot describe the bright fall colors. In Alaska, they seem so vibrant and way more beautiful than in Germany. You need to check it out yourself. The Alaskan summer can definitely be nice. It’s not too hot and not too cold. Perfect for hiking, enjoying the Alaska State Fair or visiting the National Parks. It can be short but as I said before, the Alaskans know how to make the best out of it. Of course, it certainly helps that Alaska has nearly 24 hours of daylight during the summer months. Beautiful nature in summer

Visit our website If you’re up for an adventure and something different – let’s be honest everyone can do the boring stereotypical vacation to LA or New York-then pack your bags and head to Alaska. If you’re not that much into snow, I would recommend the summer. Maybe you’ll change your opinion about the cold, snowy Alaska you used to think about. Author & Pictures: Birthe Gründel; Layout: Tamara Kögel

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Does this path have a heart? New ecological health trends in Mexico

Maybe you think that Mexico is only the US’s little brother. Even though the countries are on the same continent, they aren’t much alike and for historical and current sociopolitical reasons they don’t really have a sympathetic attitude towards each other. No longer imitating the gringo’s principle of ‘the bigger the better’, young Mexicans are now looking for quality instead of quantity: a healthy ecological European lifestyle is taking over. Vegetarians no longer have to restrict themselves to a diet of qesadillas and fruits, but can feast on international cuisine, like French bakery and Japanese sushi.

Today you can rent a bike for free by just leaving your ID as a deposit and take a 25 km ride to one of the following places around Guadalajara: Tlaquepaque, Zapopan, Tlajomulco or Tonalá. All kind of activities and workshops, as well as exhibitions invite visitors to join

Mexico is changing its image Big cars are finally being replaced by old restored bicycles, and instead of devouring huge amounts of meat, young Mexicans are going for a light salad with a delicate dressing while reading Carlos Castaneda, who teaches us how to live in harmony with nature. The slogan of the Facebook group founded by vegetarians and vegans in Mexico (Vegetarianos y Veganos en México) raises the question: “The vegetarian community is growing – how many of us do you think there are?”, and bears witness to positive changes in ecological thinking. Weekenders spend their time saving turtle eggs from hungry raiders and helping the hatched creatures into the ocean. On university campuses students are trading home-made veggie-burgers instead of potato crisps, and starting campaigns to improve the traffic situation, especially for cyclists and pedestrians. Vía Recreactiva A huge number of enthusiastic inhabitants of Guadalajara are taking part in the social program known as la Vía Recreactiva. Every Sunday a recreation trail is opened across the city, thus banning motorized vehicles from several of the main streets. This all started with a group of citizens called Public Cities (Ciudades Públicas) in 2004; they asked drivers to leave their vehicles at home one day a week, which has met with general approval.

La Vía Recreactiva in Guadalajara; cyclists

this movement, but there certainly are some people who just come by to have a nice Sunday chat. Many other places all over Mexico are following the example and take initiatives. Fashion has its price A light salad costs the same as five to ten tacos, which is a good argument when you really want to fill your stomach. Most of effects of this trend can mainly be found in the wealthier parts of big university towns. The district of Colonia Americana in Guadalajara, the second biggest city in Mexico, is the perfect example. This area is stuffed with bars, restaurants, beauty salons and alternative shops. In addition, it houses many educational institutions which focus on art. Young students who have the necessary financial background to be able to afford a career like that are the perfect target group for the new organic market. Probably it wouldn’t have been easy for the new pricy yoga-school, Casa Yoga, to gain a foothold in a different part of the city.

“All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. ... Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn‘t, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn‘t. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.” Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

Carlos Castaneda (1925-1998) The Peruvian-American author wrote a series of books that describe his a training in Mexican shamanism.

La Vía Recreactiva; dance workshop

With all respect … to those do-gooders who try to cure the world of its ills, especially because I consider myself one of them, I find it important to keep my mind open and not judge someone else for acting ‘wrongly’ before actually knowing about their personal situation. Last year I visited a small hotel in Bacalar on the southern peninsula of Mexico and had a talk with the staff, a Maya from a small indigenous village in Campeche. In his hometown he had been living on carpentry, like almost all of his fellow citizens, until the illegal felling of tropical trees was forbidden and the government sent troops to enforce the law. In two months the young generation had to leave their homes in search of jobs. Only a few inhabitants working on farms could still earn a living in the village, which has been condemned to death because its main business has been taken away, and therefore its young generation has disappeared. It’s certainly worth striving for an improvement in environmental awareness, but we should always be conscious that only those people who are in power make a change, economically or politically speaking. So why not consider some more The Teachings of Don Juan? Author, Layout & Pictures: Leonie Westerboer

La Vía Recreactiva in Guadalajara; jam session at a street market

KEEP IT LOCAL “What is the city but the people?” (William Shakespeare)

International research made in Bavaria Interview with Prof. Gilbert Fridgen from the Finance and Information Management Research Center You also did research on the Smart Grids topic at the University of Georgia in the US. How was that? I was surprised by how much I liked it. The University is located about 100km outside of Atlanta, in a comparatively small city called Athens, with a population of 80,000. Even though the university is located inside the Bible belt, it was actually quite international and open-minded; considering the 30,000 students in town, however, that’s not surprising. The nightlife there is also very nice and diverse. Athens has a rich rock music culture. For example R.E.M. and The B-52s are originally from there. The renowned University is the oldest public university in the US. I worked with Prof. Rick Watson, one of the founding fathers of Energy Informatics. We did research on how to use IT as a society to become more sustainable. I also held a guest lecture in one of his courses. eMAG: Gilbert, you’re a Professor at the University of Bayreuth. Tell us about your connection to Augsburg. Gilbert Fridgen: I habilitated at the FIM Research Center in Augsburg which has grown over the last 10 years. In cooperation with the Fraunhofer Project Group “Business & Information Systems Engineering”, several new professorships were recently created throughout Bavaria, which are co-sponsored by Fraunhofer and the respective universities. Luckily, one of those positions is now mine at the University of Bayreuth. Since almost my entire academic career took place in Augsburg, and the team work with my colleagues had always been great, it was the logical step for me to continue my collaboration with the FIM Research Center. What exactly did you do in Augsburg during your PhD studies? Even during my time as a research assistant, I had already been given a lot of responsibility. From an organizational perspective, I managed the Finance and Information cluster at the Business and Economics faculty. An important aspect of my work at FIM was applied research projects with businesses in which I worked as a project manager. Also, I designed the IT@BWL course and held it for three years. My PhD research was on IT-Outsourcing. Afterwards, I broadened my research focus towards two topics: Project Management of IT, which is basically to ensure that IT projects don’t end up like the Berlin Airport; and Smart Grids, which is one of IT’s contributions to the transition to more sustainable energy sources.

Is there a difference in how scientists do research in the US compared to Germany? In the field of Information Systems (IS): Yes. In North America, IS emerged from social studies and focuses on empirical research, measuring the impact IT has in the real business world. In Germany, IS originated from computer science and engineering. We are trying to utilize technology in order to create solutions for business problems. The two ways complement each other and therefore I am still in contact with the colleagues from Georgia. At the next ICIS conference in Milano, we will host a workshop together on exactly that topic: How should the community evolve regarding energy research. Your time abroad was highly beneficial for your research. Would you advise students to go abroad, too? In general, yes. But you have to know your personal goal. Do you want to go there for technical expertise, intercultural experience, or a good time partying. Choose your destination based on this goal. But be aware, HR managers know you didn’t go to southern Spain for the expertise. Generally speaking, German Universities are comparatively specialized, especially at the Bachelor’s level, whereas a lot of foreign Universities teach more generalized education. Here’s the silver bullet: Choose a renowned University, that’s strong in your field, and go there for a graduate program (after your Bachelor’s degree). Even at renowned University, you can have fun partying! (Laughs) Gilbert Fridgen, thank you for the interview! Author: Manfred Schoch; Layout: Adina Mutter; Picture: Gilbert Fridgen

IT’S FESTIVAL TIME!

A guide to discovering Augsburg’s unique festivals

Modular Festival

Brechtfestival Most of you probably know about Augsburg’s world famous poet Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), don’t you? He was a talented, multi-facetted writer who didn’t confine himself to writing plays and poems. He’s also well known as a singer/songwriter and screenplay writer of the two films “Kuhle Wampe” and “Hangmen Also Die”, which count to all-time classics in the history of cinema.

It’s no wonder that the festival draws such large crowds, especially considering the fact that artists such as Ben Becker and Heino Ferch have represented the festival nationwide. The international star and famous German actress, Ute Lemper, was also among the festival’s guests in 2011. Besides numerous plays on Augsburg’s stages, the festival of 2013 offered many exhibitions and concerts covering all kinds of music genres such as rap & hip hop, folk, electro and swing.

Each February, over a period of 10 days, the festival aims to focus attention on Brecht and allows the audience to gain a better insight into the wide range of his work. In 2010, the Brechtfestival took place for the first time and covered topics such as film, music, politics and theatre. The festival is widely known for its great success and a huge number of annual visitors. In the first three years (2010-2012), more than 20,000 people visited the festival!

In 2014, the Brechtfestival will take place from the 31st of January to the 10th of February. It is going to include the international rock musician and poet, Patti Smith, who will perform her program „An evening of words and music with PATTI SMITH, Tony Shanahan and Jackson Smith” at the Augsburg Theater. Main locations of the festival are the Augsburg Theater and the nearby Brechtbühne. However, they also include various other stages and unusual locations all around the city, like the theater in Augsburg’s public bath house called “altes Stadtbad”. For further information visit the website www.brechtfestival.de and see the program for the upcoming Brechtfestival 2014. Modular Festival The three-day festival represents a great platform for pop culture in Augsburg and seeks to attract young people closer to music, arts and literature. It also offers great activities for families and younger kids. Over only two days in the last two years, almost 20,000 people visited the festival! The Modular Festival has taken place five times so far (usually the last weekend of May or the beginning of June). In the first three years, it was spread out in different places all around the city. Since 2012, however, it has taken place at the unique Kongress am Park location in conjunction with the nearby Wittelsbacher Park. Young and old meet up in perfect harmony on this occasion each year. Dancing, drinking, and enjoying the hot summer sun. Believe me, you don’t want to miss out on this!

Brechthaus in the center of Augsburg

In 2012 and 2013 its impressive line-up included many well-known national and local bands such as Boy Miez Girl, Die Orsons, Beginner Soundsystem, De La Cave, Frittenbude, Who Made Who, Benni Benson, Me And My Drummer, Blindspot, Dendemann, etc… In addition to music events, there are several other attractive cultural offers: • Downtown Music Institute workshops give you the unique opportunity to try out your DJ skills and/or to record your own songs with the help of professionals. • Interested in graffiti? Then the Modular Festival is the place to be for you! It offers workshops where you can learn spray techniques and skills from the pros of Augsburg’s organization “Die Bunten”, which was founded to support the city’s graffiti culture. • Check out the skateboard sessions and BMX contests or the poetry slams! • Visit many interesting exhibitions of Augsburg’s local art initiatives such as “In your Face” and “Lab30”. This list is only a brief look at just how diverse this festival is. To find out about this year’s program, see the festival’s homepage some time around early spring on www.modular-festival.de! You’ll surely get caught up in the relaxed atmosphere, and its very affordable 2013 price of 5 Euros per day is definitely a reason to visit. You’ll get your money’s worth!

Also check out Augsburg’s other festivals comprising music and arts: • GRENZENLOS FESTIVAL (middle of June) → www.grenzenlos-festival.de • FESTIVAL DER KULTUREN (1st weekend of August) → www.augsburg.de • JAZZSOMMER (July − August) → www.augsburger-jazzsommer.de

It’s up to you to discover and enjoy some local culture! Author: Sarah Haderer; Layout: Hai Nhu Nguyen; Pictures: Johannes Ammon, Sarah Haderer

MohrenkönigBiergartenMohren königbetreutesTrinkenMohren königKneipeMohrenköniglive MusikMohrenkönigBillardMohren königRocknachtMohrenkönig gepflegteBiereMohrenkönigWhiskey MohrenkönigViertelskneipeMohren königKartenspielenMohrenkönigFeste feiernMohrenkönigleckeressen MohrenkönigerleseneWeinkarte

 mohrenkoenig@gmx.de Augsburg Sulzerstr.20

Playground campus Augsburg University through the ages Have you ever wondered what Augsburg University looked like for previous generations of students? Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s a little glimpse into the past.

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Music made in Augsburg

An interview with a local band Ever wanted to found a band? Ever asked yourself what it’s like to be a newcomer musician here in Augsburg? Or do you want to know something about the local band scene in general? Well, eMAG interviewed a local new band: Constant Change.

a name everybody was entirely satisfied with.” The main motivation to keep going as a newcomer band is fun. “We meet at least once a week, to rehearse and write new songs,” Mario says, “it’s a lot of work, but we all enjoy playing together, and look forward to every chance to get on stage.” As a fairly unknown newcomer band, they have to put a lot of work into getting gigs. So they ask more popular bands to see if they could open for them. Bands can also participate in certain newcomer contests to get on stage and raise their profile.

“Our mascot is a tiny plush horse with a pink scarf and is called Helga!” answered Mario, bass guitarist, when asked about any unusual band traditions. Mario’s rock/metal band Constant Change was found in 2012, and has performed at a lot of local concerts and smaller events. “Even though we’ve done quite a few gigs, we still only get paid in snacks and a couple of beers.” The band came about as the result of a spontaneous idea. The two ambitious amateur musicians Severin Luff and Mario Djukelic wanted to start up, and found the missing band members via the internet and party acquaintances. The band’s name was a hard decision. “With four members it’s difficult to agree, so we changed our names a couple of times but we were never completely pleased”, Mario explains, “and once we talked about the fact that our band name is subject to - Constant Change. We all laughed a lot and finally had

A difficult part of being a newcomer is that most of the audience on an event actually come to see the headliner band and not yours. Therefore the crowd sometimes acts like “music Nazis” and reacts bored when any band other than their favorite is on stage. Sometimes newcomers even get booed. “The most rewarding thing is playing in front of an epic crowd that cheers you on and rocks as if your band was the headliner.”

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So, playing in a band might be a lot of work. And sometimes it’s really frustrating. But in the end it’s rewarding, a lot of fun, and perhaps you get some snacks and a couple of beers. And who knows? Maybe, at some time or other, today’s newcomers might work their way up to being tomorrow ’s stars. For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/666constantchange

Author: & Layout: Andreas Durner Pictures: Constant Change

01.02. 15.02. 22.02. 15.03. 22.03. 05.04.

Samstag: Axamer Lizum Galtür Axamer Lizum Galtür Axamer Lizum Axamer Lizum

Abfahrt: Axamer Lizum: 06.00 Uhr Augsburg, Plärrergelände 06.20 Uhr Königsbrunn, Parkplatz P2 bei der Königstherme, Königsallee 06.25 Uhr Bobingen, Bahnhof 06.45 Uhr Schwabmünchen, Volksfestplatz Holzheystr. Galtür: 05.00 Uhr Augsburg, Plärrergelände 05.20 Uhr Königsbrunn, Parkplatz P2 bei der Königstherme, Königsallee 05.45 Uhr Schwabmünchen, Volksfestplatz Holzheystr.

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A homage to

The Augsburger Puppenkiste The “Stars on Strings”

The Augsburger Puppenkiste is one of the most famous attractions in Augsburg. This year, the puppet theater proudly celebrates its 65th anniversary and is still popular among young and old alike. With our current fascination with 3D, the internet and smartphones, we could be forgiven for assuming that a puppet theater wouldn’t be able to compete. But, in this case, it can. The Puppenkiste even registered a record number of visitors recently. It not only enthuses our generation and kids, but also our parents and grandparents were and are still enthralled by the family-run establishment.

from”Jim Knopf”

how important friendship, confidence, forgiveness and love are. So it is always more satisfying to watch a play by the famous puppet theatre instead of a nonsensical cartoon about a sponge called Bob. The Augsburger Puppenkiste has remained true to itself and this is why it still enjoys immense popularity.

from ”Urmel aus dem Eis”

65 years of history The puppet theater was founded in 1948 by Walter Oehmichen, his wife Rose and their daughters Hannelore and Ulla. Back then, our parents hadn’t even been born yet. However, it was our grandparents who were lucky enough to encounter the Augsburger Puppenkiste for the first time and were fascinated by the little wooden string puppets, which are handmade and unique. Recently, Klaus Oehmichen, the son of Hannelore, became the new director and manages the Puppenkiste with the help of his brother Jürgen. The wooden dolls including Kasperl and Jim Knopf were incredibly popular in the post war period because watching them provided escapism from the grey and hopeless daily lives of many. The light-hearted plays entertained people and brought them peace and pleasure every time they saw one. Old traditions are still alive The Augsburger Puppenkiste still remains popular among our generation. We grew up with this theater watching daily episodes in the evenings before going to bed. We are no longer 6 years old but some, even in their twenties, still watch the short movies the Puppenkiste produces. Our parents and grandparents often reminisce about the puppet theater. Their generation rarely missed an episode, though many had to watch the show live as they didn’t all have a TV. But how does it still manage to be so popular? Having now been in business for seven decades, it continues to teach us about morals and values. Tomcat Mikesch, Urmel, Jim Button, Luke the Engine Driver, Little King Kalle Wirsch and countless other legendary “stars on strings” aren’t just for entertainment, but children learn

Work bench of the Puppenkiste

Augsburger Puppenkiste now and in the future In October 2010, the theater opened a new attraction: the museum of the Augsburger Puppenkiste called Die Kiste, which has become the most successful of its kind in Europe. There you can see all the wooden puppets on strings in their natural beauty. At the moment, the museum offers a special exhibition called “It‘s only theatre! Both large and small”. It enables young and old to have a look behind the scenes. Visitors are also allowed to watch the rehearsal of a play, see the ballet during their strenuous training and discover many other things that happen in everyday theatre life. You see, the Ausgburger Puppenkiste has expanded not only in size but also in modernity. Throughout its development, it has remained able to connect the interests of older generations with our generation and conserve childhood memories. Let’s support and preserve this popular theater for future generations, so we and our children will enjoy it for many years to come. Of course, the theater will continue to change and adjust according to whatever modern tastes dictate, but this will surely be something to look forward to. Author: Annika Scherpf, Jennifer Pongratz; Layout: Jennifer Pongratz; Pictures: Klaus Oehmichen

Could I buy this shirt in size 37? The story behind Augsburg fashion brand CIRCULAR I met fashion designer Katharina Dirschl over a cup of tea in her apartment in Augsburg. Two years ago the BA art student started her own business: a fashion brand inspired by the newest print trends that hipsters adore. eMAG: Could you describe how you got the idea of designing your own line of clothing and tote bags? Katharina Dirschl: I simply got in. Everything started with the online second-hand market “Kleiderkreisel”, and when I discovered how many printed tote bags were being sold. Slowly more and more people were interested in my work, and soon afterwards I quit my normal job, became self-employed, and started my own online shop “CIRCULAR” on the site “dawanda.de”. The reason for this step was the freedom to be creative and to do what I sincerely love to do. Where do you get the ideas for your designs? Most of my ideas come from my surroundings; my first tote bag was inspired by a necklace and a deer decorated with flowers. Communication and creative exchange with my customers is also very important, which is why I like to post surveys and monthly lotteries. Some of my prints were designed by customers and made it into the online shop via polls. Where do you get the clothes you print on? Good quality and fair trade are the most important criteria for me. As I want to produce affordable clothes for the younger generation, the wholesale price needs to be as low as possible. Luckily, I found the perfect retailers who fulfill every criterion, and I’m happy that the customer response is also very positive. Could you explain which technique you use for printing? It’s the same technique pop art legend Andy Warhol used - silk screen printing. The basic idea is very simple and works similar to a stencil. Instead of cutting out shapes individually, you coat a screen in photo emulsion, then cut an image out using a bright light. The image you pick will be ‘burnt’ into the emulsion. Then you lay the screen over the bag with the design and pour a small amount of ink on the top of the screen. Now all thats left is to push all the ink through onto the shirt.

How much time do you invest in printing, sewing and managing your online shop? I spend most of my weekends with my screens, iron and sewing machine. It’s more time- consuming than you might think. Let’s say there are is a huge amount of orders a week; one print takes about a minute, and there are always several misprints, especially on bad days. Sometimes my material is used up and needs to be reordered before Tuesday – my shipment day. What is your target group? My target group consists of teenagers and people who are looking for something simple but fancy - for themselves or as a present. But even my grandmother digs my tote bags, because she loves cynical statements. Sometimes I print bags for customers like galleries or clubs. How do you promote yourself? Most of my marketing runs on the CIRCULAR facebook fanpage, because it’s the b est way to stay in contact with my target group and increase the number of customers. The facebook community is always the last test a new design has to pass before I put it in the online shop. Do you have any funny stories about special customers to share? Lot’s of customers send me cute pictures of their pets all dressed up in my designs or while doing funny things with my clothes. I’m really happy to see them content with my creations. Sometimes I’m not sure if they are just trying to pull my leg; but there was one girl for example who sent me a message after purchasing a T-Shirt saying: “Can I get this shirt in size 37? Thank you <3”. Size 37 doesn’t even exist and I tried to tell her but she insisted in ordering it like that. These kinds of customers are a bit more to handle but also fuel my creativity - why not print this quote? If you got curious about her products you can visit her dawanda shop at: http://de.dawanda.com/shop/fraeuleinwunderlich orh http://circular.tictail.com/ Why don’t you visit her facebook fanpage. There is a monthly competition where you can win selected products or vouchers. https://www.facebook.com/circularbags

Author: Tanja Stiefenhofer Layout: Andreas Durner Pictures: Katharina Dirschl

Where the world feels at home The Grandhotel Cosmopolis

What comes to mind when you think about hotels? Fancy rooms, all looking similar, with room service and beautifully-dressed page boys all over the place? Well, I think it’s time I introduced you to a hotel where none of this is the case. And it’s still one of the most amazing hotels you can visit: The Grandhotel Cosmopolis. Part of the idea behind this project is to have 12 differently designed rooms for tourists and at the same time rooms for refugee families. Such an easy idea and yet so difficult to make happen. This was reason enough for us to visit Cosmopolis and ask Bernd, one of the voluntary workers there, for a short introduction to this wonderful project. The first thing that occurred to me when I stood in the entrance hall was that you shouldn’t be afraid of dogs if you want to come here, because there was this huge black dog standing and sniffing in front of me. Stef, his owner, fondly calls him “hellhound”, though he (the dog!) looks much more dangerous than he actually is! But apart from this, there’s really nothing to be afraid of. There were a group of voluntary workers sitting at the bar, mixed with tourists and locals who had come for a coffee, and the atmosphere was welcoming and friendly. But what exactly is Cosmopolis? “It is people sharing one world without any borders,” Bernd explains. In other words: They want to find the way for a modern urban society in which extremely diverse groups can live together peacefully in a relatively densely populated space. “It all started in 2011. About five artists who found out that the building was completely empty, and who knew that emergency shelters and asylum-seekers hostels were needed desperately in Augsburg, jointly decided to mix accommodation with artist studios, and asked the Diakonie to help them to implement the project. They didn’t exactly know what it would all look like in the end; they just started to work and after two years and with the help of a lot of voluntary workers the opening on July 18, 2013 was a huge success.”

The result of this project group’s commitment is a concept that combines the social task of accommodating asylum seekers with civil engagement, cultural diversity, and an artistic approach. This will be achieved with a mix of the following components: studios for people engaged in culture, temporary accommodation for people staying in the city for various periods of time, restaurant and events for people in Augsburg and asylum-seeker accommodation. But how do you decide who can stay at the Grandhotel and who can’t? “We actually don’t decide that. The refugees are assigned to us by the Federal Republic of Germany.” And how much is the rent for one room? “Well, I can’t tell you. Everybody can pay as much as they want or can pay and invest in the project voluntarily. Even the furniture in this hotel is second-hand.” And how can we support this project and the refugees in general? “If you visit us and have a drink at the bar, you’ve been a big help! And if you promote our project and our ideas for a better asylum policy everybody can do their bit.” There is only one last question left: What about the hotel’s future? “I really hope it can establish itself and that the refugees become more and more involved into the project. In my opinion it has a kind of role- model function and I really hope it can affect the asylum policy one day.” Every Wednesday there is a Vinyl Evening at Cosmopolis: You bring your old vinyls and if one of them gets played to the end without interruption from the audience, you get a drink for free – so if you want to meet a bunch of awesome people and do some good at the same time, just come and see the Grandhotel Cosmopolis at the Springergaesschen 5 in Augsburg. Thanks again to Cosmopolis for the opportunity to write this article, and thank you, Bernd, for the interview! Author & Layout: Leila Vaziri; Pictures: Grandhotel Cosmopolis Rooms and art at the Cosmopolis

Augsburg University goes international An interview with Sabine Tamm, Head of the International Office What kind of support do you offer for the international students during their stay at Augsburg? Once the semester has started, students can sign up for a campus tour and a guided city tour of Augsburg. Then, for example, we offer various trips to different places like the Ammersee and Breitnachklamm and cities such as Ulm, Salzburg (which is always very popular with our international students) and Nürnberg. The trips are open to German students as well because we want German and international students to have as much interaction as possible. Every international student can get a personal tutor (German students volunteer) at the beginning of the semester as well.

The University of Augsburg is a very international university. Not only do hundreds of students from different countries come here every year, but also our German students love to go abroad and to experience the adventure of spending some time in a foreign culture. In an interview Sabine Tamm told me all about our international campus. eMAG: How many international students came to the University of Augsburg this winter term? Sabine Tamm: This winter term, 479 students from different countries started studying at the University of Augsburg. How many of these students will stay for one semester or two semesters? Do some students stay in Augsburg and complete a degree? It’s interesting that most of the international students who arrive in Augsburg stay here until they graduate. This year, it’s 300 of them. In comparison, only 170 students are exchange students and will stay for one or two semesters only. Where do the students come from and which nationality is the most represented? The majority of the foreign students come from China, followed by Russia, Bulgaria and the Ukraine. In general, students from Eastern Europe are especially interested in studying in Germany.

Not only international students are interested in studying abroad. It seems that more and more German students from our university want to go abroad. That’s right. In the academic year 2012/13, approximately 500 German students took a semester off in order to go abroad. 320 students from Augsburg went abroad as exchange students in a European country. The well-known Erasmus programme offered these students places at different universities. Some can stay for a semester; others can stay for a whole academic year. In addition to the Erasmus programme, the University of Augsburg cooperates with different international universities outside of Europe, like Canada, USA, South America, Australia, China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea; 100 students had the chance to get a place at a university. Last but not least, 30 Campus tour for Korean students students organised a stay abroad themselves.

Which countries do German students prefer, either to study or to have an internship? Students who take part in the Erasmus programme prefer Spain the most. But you have to consider that, for example, there are more Spanish than Swedish universities where you can go to as an exchange student. The most popular countries outside of Europe are Australia and the USA. China is also becoming more interesting to our students these days. Besides studying abroad, which other opportunities do students have when going abroad? Besides the Erasmus programme and the university cooperations, you can apply for an internship. If you do a teacher training programme at the university, you can teach abroad and work as an assistant teacher in a school. There are different programmes like Amity, Comenius or PAD that provide internship places for students all over the world. Additionally, the faculties (e.g. economics or law) have their own special programmes and cooperations.

International D

ay: Mexico

International

Day: Israel

Can students get financial support? There are different ways of getting support if you decide to go abroad. If you prefer a European country, the Erasmus programme provides the fees for the university and money for your living costs. For internships and studying abroad outside of Europe, PROMOS and a partial scholarship of the University of Augsburg offer financial help. You can get detailed information at the International Office and on our homepage. Furthermore, you can also apply for the DAAD or other foundations like the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Max-Weber-Stiftungâ&#x20AC;? in order to get support.

Interna

tional E

vening: J

Which special events or workshops does the International Office offer to both German and international students? Every month we have an International Evening where one foreign country is presented. International and German students often present it together and cook a typical meal for the visitors. Our students also like our famous International Christmas party (mid-December) and our summer festival (mid-July). A big event is our International Day in the lecture hall of building C in mid-June. Countries and universities all over the world are presented by natives or German students who spent some time abroad in one of the particular countries. Additionally, the International Office offers different workshops (e.g. for intercultural awareness). Compared to nowadays, what was the situation at the University of Augsburg ten years ago? Where there fewer international students? This academic year, 9.4% of the students of the University of Augsburg are international students. In the year 1993, it was 5.1%. More international students come to Augsburg now, but foreign students were also part of the university community back then. For more information on the International Office, visit www.aaa.uni-augsburg.de/en/

International Day: Gr

eat Britain

Author & Layout: Miriam Farnbauer; Pictures: International Office

apan

Living next to little America Impressions of peaceful coexistence

Not far from Augsburg, in the north of Bavaria, one of the biggest military bases in Europe is still in existence and it is also the base with the most financial support outside of the United States. The whole Grafenwöhr training area is in fact national territory of the United States of America. As a German you are not allowed to enter unless invited by a member of the US Army or their family. When you go there, you are only allowed to stay for a certain time and you even have to deposit your ID card at the entrance (and, of course, don’t forget to bring US Dollars with you!) High rents in the middle of nowhere Many of them (around 6,000 Germans in Vilseck and more than 10,000 Americans live in the region) don’t live in the military base but, rather, they rent houses or apartments in a nearby little town called Vilseck. The Americans are very popular as tenants, because the rents are paid punctually every month by the US Army. As a home owner, you can charge them exorbitant rents and they don’t care! However, the Germans do care because they can’t afford these prices. As a result the Americans live in the nice and new housing and the rest have to build their own houses or take the fucked-up shacks.

US dollars accepted They even have their own shopping malls (not only shopping malls, but also a bowling alley with integrated access to Burger King) in the base, but they also go to the German supermarkets. Some of them, for example REWE, do sell special American products and in EDEKA you can pay with US Dollars! Not to mention that every sales assistant, no matter if at the baker’s, the butcher’s or the flower shop can speak perfect English. And the Germans don’t even notice the English signs and advertisments anymore. Of course, all restaurants have an English menu and some of them have already adapted to American eating habits. Also, the bars and clubs around are especially geared to the needs of soldiers who like drinking, gaming and picking up girls. Cars and crashes One of the most important things for the Americans is to feel at home in their cars. And I do mean: Their cars! Of course they are especially imported and nowhere else can you find so many pick-ups and huge American cars like in and around Vilseck. You may think: Wow, these cars are not that economical?! Well, when they fill up their cars at a German gas station, they don’t have to worry about the gas price, because they don’t have to pay our German taxes. They just pay as much as the gallon costs in the US or even less. You might have also heard of the American driving skills. Not only that every one of them dreams about driving on the German Autobahn without any speed limits but also the fact that many of them are not used to driving in the wintertime (Why are these crazy Germans changing their wheels?). Despite many signs like: RAIN, FOG, SNOW,

SLOW DOWN or WATCH ROAD CONDITIONS, DRIVE CAREFULLY, many car accidents are caused by Americans every year. Go and see for yourself… …but be careful about taking pictures! I was almost arrested while collecting material for the article and they forced me to delete the pictures of the base entrance. So I had to go there a second time working on the down-low. If you don’t believe all that, go there and see for yourself! Vilseck is just a 45 minute train ride away from Nürnberg. Finding the right track is also easy because you are sure to meet some American guys also waiting for the train to Vilseck. Author & Pictures: Julia Seegerer Layout: Leonie Westerboer

SAME PROCEDURE

James:“Same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?”– Miss Sophie:“Same procedure as every year, James!”

Random questions [Insert random subtitle here] As I’m sure all of you know (yes, in my world, everyone has read all my articles, enjoys them, and is only waiting for more), I’ve been asking random people random questions ever since joining eMAG gave me a good excuse to do so. People will still find it weird that they’re approached by a complete stranger with a maybe odd, maybe personal, but very random question, but they’re more likely to just accept the situation once you say you’re doing this for a university magazine (which is also what I say when I ask people stupid things just because I’m interested). Chatrandom.com To tie in with this issue’s topic I thought maybe this time I should exchange actual human interaction with sitting in front of my computer at home (which is, apparently, what our generation does). There are various websites that offer random webcam chats, with ‘chatroulette. com’ being the one most people know because it gives us amazing youtube videos (like the one with the guy in lingerie dancing and singing to ‘Call me maybe’). Excited, I signed up, clicked on ‘connect me with anyone’ and waited. Nothing happened. Apparently there’s a problem with the server. So I clicked on Google hit #2: “chatrandom. com”: you don’t need to sign up and it connects you instantly. This sounded like a good place to take my random questions.

The do’s and don’ts of random webcam chat My fellow humans, I saw things. Naked things, to be more specific. Apparently, I didn’t know the first thing about the “do”s and “don’t”s of random webcam chat: DO: Be at least partially naked and/or have one hand down your pants. DON’T: Adjust the webcam so people can actually see your face. Maybe I was just being naïve again, but when I thought, “oh I should see what kinds of people I’ll meet in random webcam chats” I was thinking more of “weird people in costumes” than of “naked people without heads”. I was asked to undress so often, I didn’t even bother to hit the ‘next’ button anymore if the person on the other end was at least partially dressed and asked me for my name first. I’ll consider this a self-growth moment. After all I wanted to deliver some random answers to my faithful eMAG audience. In the end, however, I only got to squeeze in two questions to two people. The DVD that is in “random half-naked guy’s” DVD player right now is some war movie and he’s interested in seeing my bra, and “random headless girl” likes to sing R&B songs in the shower and is interested in my sexual experiences with girls. I think I prefer just walking up to people on campus. Normally they’ll at least ask you on a date before they ask to see your bra. Well, nine out of ten times. Author & Pictures: Jessica Friedline; Layout: Tamara Kögel

Watch.Read.Listen.

WATCH Paulette (2013) After her husband’s death, Paulette (Bernadette Lafont) has not only lost her soulmate and contact with her daughter, but also her means of existence. The brasserie she had with her husband is now an Asian restaurant. Left with very little rent, she’s forced to move into a very rundown neighborhood. Her daily search for groceries now means pulling things out of other people’s garbage. Paulette’s tired of living such a degrading life. But just as she’s about to give in and marry her neighbor, who’s been trying to woo her for years, she suddenly finds a package of cannabis in the trash. Protected by her harmless appearance, she quickly advances to the most successful drug dealer in the area, which upsets other dealers, who will stop at nothing to get rid of competition… Bernadette Lafont portrays the tough but quite lonely old woman brilliantly. She’s anything but nice, but the viewer still understands that this is only a mechanism to protect herself in this rough world. The movie paints a very honest portrait of poverty among elderly people, which is often overlooked in our society. This movie will make you laugh, cry and think. How to read a book You always wondered how to read a REAL book? Here is an easy explanation on how to do that. Have fun watching!

READ The Fall by Albert Camus It would have been Camus’ hundredth birthday last November, and his impressive works are still timeless masterpieces. It’s never not the right time to grab his 1956 novel ‘The Fall’ and dip into the world of Jean-Baptiste Clamence who reflects upon his life to a stranger, addressing him directly. You will soon be this stranger, the reader of and listener to Clamence’s story. You’ll stroll through Amsterdam with him, and he’ll tell you all about his experiences as a lawyer, his crisis and his ‘fall’ from grace, and you’ll listen in awe. You’ll feel sad when another day goes by, and Clamence wishes you good night. You won’t be able to wait for the next morning, when you’ll meet again. He talks, you listen – you’ll love this daily rhythm. Camus manages to put all the thoughts you might’ve had about life, love and death into words, puts a smile on your face or makes you think for days on end. ‘The Fall’ won’t let you go very easily; it’s a book to keep close to your heart, and goes deep down into your soul. The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida “I have no problem reading books aloud and singing, but as soon as I try to speak with someone, my words just vanish.” In his book, autistic Japanese boy Naoki Higashida puts into words via the computer what he cannot in face-to-face conversation and breaks free of the imprisonment that not being able to communicate is for him. In the form of answers to questions people have about autism, such as “Why do you ignore us when we´re talking to you?” Naoki offers us a unique glimpse into his head and his emotions and helps us understand why he and others with autism behave the way they do. His book is an appeal for patience, open-mindedness, compassion, and understanding and an incredibly interesting and emotional read. If you´re interested in broadening your horizon and learn more about autism, read The Reason I Jump!

LISTEN United by Dobré Dobré’s personal long-distance relationship between Munich and London is “United” in a happy end: Their second album “United“ was released in October 2013. They’ve grown up and present a mature sound in their musical endeavour, but that doesn’t mean that their music is now boring! The album is influenced by a variety of genres: Indie, rock ‘n’ roll, folk and pop elements characterise Dobré’s individual style and turn it into an album full of catchy tunes. Joe Dobroschke, the band’s singer and songwriter, stands out with his extraordinary voice: His lyrics are more serious than in “Do the Dobré” (2011), but just as easy to sing along. In the songs Dobré tells us about life, friendship and our generation’s feeling of wasting time while growing up. Some might find slight similarities with Badly Drawn Boy, The Shins or Death Cab for Cutie – “United” is an album which lifts your mood and is definitely worth listening to. Snapshot by The Strypes Wild, loud, rocking and shaking – and an average age of 17. The Strypes are the youngest and definitely greatest new Irish Rhythm and Blues band and their 2013 debut album ‘Snapshot’ proves that the 50s and 60s are as alive, as tough and cool as ever. The British press praises them as the modern Beatles; they’ve got living legends like Elton John or Noel Gallagher behind them and a bright future ahead of them. Their album ‘Snapshot’ are twelve powerful songs and covers by these four mods in bespoke suits and sharp boots. Josh McClorey is a demon guitar player, dominating his six strings like no other, and showing his skills in powerful bluesy solos. Pete O’Hanlon satisfies music lovers with tricky, groovy bass lines, Ross Farrelly wins every girl over with his vibrant voice and sexy lyrics, and Evan Walsh gets you to a dance in step with his drums. What’s not to like about The Strypes? Get on your dancing shoes, put the vinyl on and have a proper dance with four of the greatest musicians on offer at the moment.

Authors: Tamara Kögel, Adina Mutter, Julia Gehrlein, Lena Schwarz, Stefanie França Leite, Julia Gehrlein; Layout: Susi Vogel Pictures: Sybille Ehing, Superikonoskop/commons.wikimedia.org, grammophon/pixabay.com

Staff’s favorites My best nineties & noughties memory

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Layout: ; Tina Myllyniemi Pictures: Adina Mutter, Nicole Gifi, Lena Schwarz, Tamara Kögel, Miriam Farnbauer, Jon Sullivan/Wikimedia Commons, Evan-Amos/Wikimedia Commons, foolishfire.com

You’re welcome to join us! Charity article about the Freiwilligenzentrum Augsburg

A little backyard at Philippine-Welser-Straße 5a is the home of the Freiwilligenzentrum Augsburg, maybe one of the most important organizations in and around our city which organises voluntary work. The aim of the institution is to encourage civil engagement by advising and informing citizens about projects which help people in need and make Augsburg a better place to live in. This was reason enough for us to ask Mr Wolfang Krell, a co-organiser at the FZ, for an interview with eMAG… eMAG: How did you come to work at the Freiwilligenzentrum? Mr. Krell: Actually, I founded the centre in 1997, along with the German “Caritasverband”. What was the most moving moment in your work? There are so many! But I remember a woman creeping around outside our old office. Finally, she came in and told us that she has agoraphobia , and that she was scared of other people, but she wanted to help. In the end, we were able to find her a care association where she could work as an assistant, but where she doesn’t work with too many other people. And I can also remember placing a retired bus driver to a senior citizen home where he can still work as a bus driver, his biggest passion, while doing some good at the same time. I love the fact that we connect of all ages, qualities and backgrounds. Which projects does the FZ supervise? Are there also any for students? There are loads of different projects we supervise. We have projects like the “Sozialpaten”, “Lesepaten”, “freiwillige Praktiker” and “change in”, a project for pupils to try out voluntary work. And if you want to work in an outreach service abroad for one semester, we can help you with all the bureaucracy. We can also be the contact person

for law-, Lehramt-, IT- and media design-students with social facilities. In that way, students gain practical experience and do some social work at the same time. Can everybody join the FZ? Yes of course! Everybody is more than welcome to join us. Which is your favourite project? I really like the “Sozialpaten”, a project where voluntary workers help deprived people by reorganising their life and assisting them with everyday problems, especially to do with money. Do you cooperate with other organisations? Yes, we do! In September there was a welfare- and voluntary exhibition at Augsburg’s city hall with about 50 aid agencies. Voluntary service only works if we have a wide voluntary agencies network. What about the centre’s future? The only problem we have at the moment is money. If we could solve this problem, everything would be just fine. Thank you for the interview, Mr Krell!

elp ant to h If you w ou y d n a ople other pe to ow where s don’t kn y a lw a can go, you ne g li il iw Fre a visit the e v and ha f zentrum o e n o with meeting rs e rk o w r tee the volun ! re the The entrance to the Freiwilligenzentr

Author & Layout: Leila Vaziri Pictures: Freiwilligenzentrum, Leila Vaziri

Team Winter 2013/2014

Proofreaders

Carla Monteiro, Svea Schaufﬂer, Heather Bradley, Matt Emery, Katriona Fraser, Blake Tallmadge, Kristen Jung, Kris Kusche, Jenna Peel, Katherine Snow, Lia Askelin, Peter James

Leila Vaziri

Adina Mutter

Promotion team leader

Layout team leader

Tamara Kögel Leonie Westerboer Jenniger Pongratz

Nicole Gifi Tina Myllyniemi Manuel

Wassermann

Lena Schwarz

Pictures

Cover models: university students Cover: thejess Section dividers: Florian Hafner, Florian Wolfgang Kratsch, Adina Mutter, Elisabeth Schmitt

Miriam Farnbauer

Hai Nhu Nguyen

Layout

Susi Vogel

Lena Schlund

Promotion

Andreas Durner

Birthe Gründel Julia Seegerer Annika Scherpf

Patrick Roland Tanja Stiefenhofer

Stefanie

França Leithe

Advertising

Julia Gehrlein

Website

Peter James

Course coordinator

Sarah Haderer

Jessica Friedline

Website team leader

Mira Kanehl

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Manfred Schoch

Sybille Ehing Editor-in-Chief

Special thanks

Klaus Prem – press & support Michaela Kottmayr – ﬁnances

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