First Report from the Taossphere!

By Jennifer M. Hoyer
Saturday, June 28, 2008

Goodness, I got to Taos on Monday and since then it's been so busy! There is too much to tell, so here are some highlights from the first week of the 33rd German Summer School in Taos Ski Valley!

We have a great group this year, close to fifty students from all over the US: college students, teachers, graduate students, even several extremely motivated high school students! Yesterday we had our first major lecture in the Grundkurs, a big class where all students come together to hear a lecture on a particular topic. The Grundkurs happens every day except Wednesday and Sunday (our days off), after the language classes meet. That way the students are all ready to follow a lecture.

Yesterday's lecture was held by Professor Richard Rundell from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, a frequent visitor and important person for the summer school. He has been involved since the very beginning, in the 1970s, and has come to teach or present a lecture most years since then.

Democracy and Freedom
in the Plays and Poems of Brecht

Professor Rundell talked to the students about democracy and freedom as topics in Bertolt Brecht's poetry and plays, in particular the ones he wrote while in exile in the United States. The students enjoyed the poems and several students even asked questions — which is just tremendous for the first lecture!!!

Normally, students are a little shy at first, and it takes some time before they feel ready to formulate questions in German, but already at the first lecture there were at least three wonderful student questions. A testament to the group we have!

An Exciting Array
of Total Immersion Classes

The classes are underway, and students are busy busy busy writing essays, reading texts, and studying German cities. The classes include "Intro to Lit," "Intro to Culture," and "Intro to Swiss Culture" by our excellent guest from Switzerland, Tobias Wyss; "Age of Revolution" by our resident director, Jeffrey High; and "The Red Army Faction in Film" by our director, Katarina Schröter.

BUT tonight is the night off — and tonight will be the first Dance Party, when we clear away the tables and books, and the students can rock out to celebrate what great progress they are already making! I said it goes fast. Just yesterday I was talking to a student whose German has already improved leaps and bounds — one day searching for words and the next creating fluid sentences. Just two days of class and vrooooom!

Next time I will report on the festivities, and on our next lecture, which is being held today by our guest Professor Nele Hempel-Lamer from California State University Long Beach. (GO BEACH!) Bis bald Taossphere Leser!