Hello everyone!
Germany is pretty damn awesome! I am quite happy with everything here, and am having a lot of fun! For those of you who have been expecting a blog post...**cough** MOM **cough**...I don't have a laptop currently because it died and I ordered a plug adfapter so I can recharge it. I'm living off of borrowing other people's computers, so I haven't had time to post here from their computers. Hopefully the adapter I bought gets here soon. I'll start posting as soon as I can!
Auf Whiedersen for now!
--
Roberto
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Welcome all! Willkommen in Koblenz! (Welcome to Koblenz!)
Welcome, everyone, to "There and Back Again: A Wolverine's Tale by Robo Jimenez." For those of you that don't get the title reference, please go and read "The Hobbit." It is probably one of my top 3 books of all-time and a wonderful story about taking a chance and traveling to a far away land, and having a growing experience along the way. If that doesn't apply to my trip then nothing does. Hopefully I'll avoid dangerous situations unlike Bilbo Baggins...but I also hope I get the chance to grow as a person culturally and intellectually.
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| The wonderful town of Koblenz |
This picture is the area of Koblenz known as the Altstadt, which means "old town." This area is part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site, and contains various large churches and old cultural buildings, as well as being next to the Rhine. This river is a crucial aspect to the natural landscapes found in this area, as well as the foundation for this region's commerce.
What will I be doing?
You're all probably thinking that this place is really cool, but...what exactly am I doing? Enter AIESEC. Thanks to this wonderful student organization I joined in my junior year of college, I was able to find a traineeship with the University of Koblenz. If you go back to the picture above, you can see there is a river on the left,the Moselle, flowing into the larger Rhine river in the back, continuing northward. Well, the Moselle actually curves around a bit, and on the other side of the river (directly behind from the photographer's point of view), is the University of Koblenz.
While there, I will be working for the Computer Science Faculty, taking a Program Manager position for their International Summer Academy. Later in the summer, graduate students from all over the world will come to Koblenz for two months and take part in lectures geared toward the field of computer science, as well as activities for them to learn more about the University of Koblenz, Germany and Europe in general. These activities include social events, academic activities, and a weekend trip to Brussels which I am super excited for.
There will be three people running the show: me and two other University employees. In the first phase of the project, I will be in charge of guiding prospective students through the application process, and some marketing responsibilities to ensure that we get the best students we can possibly get. After this, the program begins, and my job will be to manage any events for the program participants, as well as attend to any student affairs situations that arise. Finally, once the program is over, I will have to create a report to evaluate all aspects of the program, so that it can continue getting better in years to come.
How am I feeling?
At this point, I could not be more excited for leaving. Enough so that it's becoming an issue when I'm doing work. Let's face it...it's cutting into my sleep time. But who sleeps in college anyway?
I have an obscene amount of work to do in the next 10 days, so I'm freaking out a bit about the prospect of leaving so soon. But...after 2 exams, a final presentation and 2 take home exams, I'll be ready for...actually, I'll have to pack and clear out my room after that. Mmmmm...AFTER THAT! After that I'll be ready for a wonderful experience in Germany. It will set many new milestones for me, such as longest distance traveled, furthest I have ever been from home, it will add to the longest time away from home (8 months total), and will hopefully make me trilingual by the time I come back. I hope you all have fun following along, whether you are abroad yourself, doing something cool stateside, or sitting at home twiddling your thumbs. Class of 2011, you know I love you all, and am sorry I won't be there for your graduation. Stay in touch.
How to contact me
Some of you might not be able to go 3 months without looking at this lovely face.
Yes, Mom...I'm looking at you. No, but really...It's only a 5-hour difference from Eastern Standard Time, so I'm not completely off anyone's normal hours of operation. If you want to talk, feel free to Facebook chat me at any time. Skype is also quite wonderful, so add robo24wolverine to Skype and Skype we shall.
I will post once again the weekend I leave, and will probably post about once or twice per week once I am there, depending on the requirements for my class, how much new stuff I have, and how much work I have at the time. I leave you all with one message before I continue with my hell week:
You're all probably thinking that this place is really cool, but...what exactly am I doing? Enter AIESEC. Thanks to this wonderful student organization I joined in my junior year of college, I was able to find a traineeship with the University of Koblenz. If you go back to the picture above, you can see there is a river on the left,the Moselle, flowing into the larger Rhine river in the back, continuing northward. Well, the Moselle actually curves around a bit, and on the other side of the river (directly behind from the photographer's point of view), is the University of Koblenz.
While there, I will be working for the Computer Science Faculty, taking a Program Manager position for their International Summer Academy. Later in the summer, graduate students from all over the world will come to Koblenz for two months and take part in lectures geared toward the field of computer science, as well as activities for them to learn more about the University of Koblenz, Germany and Europe in general. These activities include social events, academic activities, and a weekend trip to Brussels which I am super excited for.
There will be three people running the show: me and two other University employees. In the first phase of the project, I will be in charge of guiding prospective students through the application process, and some marketing responsibilities to ensure that we get the best students we can possibly get. After this, the program begins, and my job will be to manage any events for the program participants, as well as attend to any student affairs situations that arise. Finally, once the program is over, I will have to create a report to evaluate all aspects of the program, so that it can continue getting better in years to come.
How am I feeling?
At this point, I could not be more excited for leaving. Enough so that it's becoming an issue when I'm doing work. Let's face it...it's cutting into my sleep time. But who sleeps in college anyway?
I have an obscene amount of work to do in the next 10 days, so I'm freaking out a bit about the prospect of leaving so soon. But...after 2 exams, a final presentation and 2 take home exams, I'll be ready for...actually, I'll have to pack and clear out my room after that. Mmmmm...AFTER THAT! After that I'll be ready for a wonderful experience in Germany. It will set many new milestones for me, such as longest distance traveled, furthest I have ever been from home, it will add to the longest time away from home (8 months total), and will hopefully make me trilingual by the time I come back. I hope you all have fun following along, whether you are abroad yourself, doing something cool stateside, or sitting at home twiddling your thumbs. Class of 2011, you know I love you all, and am sorry I won't be there for your graduation. Stay in touch.
How to contact me
Some of you might not be able to go 3 months without looking at this lovely face.
 |
| Thank you, Jordan Buckner, for what is my favorite pic of myself. |
I will post once again the weekend I leave, and will probably post about once or twice per week once I am there, depending on the requirements for my class, how much new stuff I have, and how much work I have at the time. I leave you all with one message before I continue with my hell week:
Ich kaum Deutsch sprechen...
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