Dear followers,
This will be my third post of the trip. Since last week, much has happened. As a group, we have pretty much explored all Münster has to offer and established our presence. Personally, I have met many new friends that I will maintain contact with through Facebook, Instagram, and other social media outlets even after I leave and head home. I have also discovered new places and things to do in Münster with my classmates. We have also traveled to Osnabrück. My German has also greatly improved as well as my knowledge of the city and public transport. I finally feel comfortable striking conversation with anyone on the street or giving directions to fellow tourists.
First and foremost, this trip has given me the opportunity to meet so many diverse and interesting individuals from around the world. Along with developing my friendships with the other Rollins students, whom I previously never met before this trip, I have also made friends with many Swiss, Spaniards, French, British, Japanese, Swedish, and Vietnamese individuals. From my experiences, there are many negative attributes of attending Kapito as our language school including the waiting time to test out of levels, the quality and distances of their host families, and their one size fits all teaching methods. However, perhaps not to Kapito’s intention, Kapito serves such a diverse population of students from all over the world. This is very beneficial to other International Business majors at Rollins who are looking to meet many individuals from diverse cultures and mindsets. Kapito also does a fantastic job at providing group/team building exercises necessary to form relationships with all the other students. While I only attended three of these activities, I witnessed the pother students appreciated those opportunities. Additionally, I have witnessed the appeal and benefit of learning German for an International Business major at Rollins College. The Wall Street Journal currently recently rated German as the second most demanded language in European and world business behind English. This statistic was apparent to me after talking to the vast amount of Kapito students that are in fact studying business. It seems I have in fact picked a useful language after all and I hope the under-rated German program at Rollins expands in years to come as demand for this language becomes universal.
Furthermore, as our group was searching for activities after class and in the evenings we found the EMS Canal, which we all wished we had found our first week. The EMS Canal or simply, the canal, is a 269 km long canal that passes through Münster. The Canal is located between the inland port of the city of Dortmund and the sea port of Emden. It is used by cargo ships in order to lighten the load on railways, which cannot transports products of the Ruhr area. In Münster however, it is used as a beach, swimming hole, and a party location especially in the summer. I highly recommend checking it out. Though somewhat dirty, it is without doubt one of Münster’s best and most entertaining daytime activities. I have researched the Canal modestly and apparently it was attacked several times during WWII due to it’s great strategic importance. We didn’t know it, but we were actually taking in a historical sight.
On Wednesday, 22nd we all traveled to Osnabrück to sightsee and go to the Felix Nussbaum Haus. The Felix Nussbaum Haus is a museum in Osnabrück Germany and is home to the collective works of German-Jewish painter Felix Nussbaum. The building itself is an exhibit and houses an exhibition space which focuses on racism and intolerance. I really enjoyed the Felix Nussbaum museum. I have never heard of him or his work until my visit. The artwork which I have posted below isn’t the most beautiful i’ve ever seen in person but it delivers and encompasses such strong emotion and delivers the melancholy and depression of the Holocaust. My favorite is Triumph Des Todes
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Organ Grinder
The Damned
Triumph Des Todes
Self Portrait with Jewish Pass