All Things German In California
PIT STOP IN MALTA
Those of you who had the chance to listen to my journey on audio on my friend’s podcast know that I had a pit stop before my final destination Germany. When I made the decision at the beginning of 2018 to leave the US, I already had a destination in mind: the Mediterranean island of Malta. [Read more…] about Pit Stop in Malta
MY STORY OF LIFE AS AN EXPAT IN A NUTSHELL
Now that the cat is out of the bag, I would like to offer you a deeper look into why I left the United States and reveal where I first ended up before moving back to Germany. But instead of writing you a novel, I would like to switch things up this time and present my story in a nutshell to you in the form of audio.
A few months ago, while I was already living in Europe but not in Germany yet, one of my dear friends, who has visited me twice while living in the States, asked me if I would like to be a guest on his podcast and talk about my experience as an expat. I loved the idea and agreed to record an episode together with him. [Read more…] about My Story of Life as an Expat in a Nutshell
A few years ago, a brave woman from East Germany started a project that is now a wonderful meeting place for many German-speaking families and families, who are interested in the German language: The German Pacific School of San Diego.
In the beginning, Wiebke Elbe, a former pharmacist, had just a few resources but managed quickly to connect with a number of similar oriented projects in San Diego and other parts of California.
With growing know-how, she started one German after-school-class in a small facility in Clairemont followed by the first German Summer Camp in San Diego.
Within six years the school has grown and now has 4 locations in La Jolla, Clairemont, Carmel Valley and Poway with more than 200 students attending classes from 4 to 6 pm during the week and Saturday classes.
Our founder Wiebke has started a new project in Norway! But she has put so much effort and energy in our project, that today GPSSD is thriving and continuing attracting more and more germanophile families that attend our school.
Wiebke has always made a point of creating a relaxed and stimulating learning atmosphere. She had a discreet manner to inspire our teachers and helpers. She induced them to the philosophy that German lessons and German summer camps should be a fun experience, where children should be inspired and helped to develop their own initiatives and creativity.
With our new principal Christine Johnson, we are continuing this philosophy, and we are still getting a lot of support and help from Wiebke and her husband Hauke.
Summer Camp 2019 will be amazing! This year it’s all about magic!
This year’s GPSSD camp will be at a wonderful location at the French American School in La Jolla! It’s a campus that offers a lot of space for many outdoor and indoor activities.
Depending on their interests, the campers will dive into a magical atmosphere where they can learn magic tricks, create their own theater play or even create their own video ( 3rd week)! We would like to give our campers impulses and inspiration and then encourage and help them to create their own play or show.
In our magic oriented group, campers will read and listen to magic stories and plays. The magic flute might appear from time to time to enchant us with new ideas. Campers will also be surprised by magic tricks and then learn and practice them for a little end of the week show.
In our theater oriented group, campers will get inspiration by German plays and stories, ways to perform a play, and materials they could use. Our camp teacher Heather has a broad spectrum of ideas and ways to carry away our campers imagination. They can choose to create a performance that matches their interests, from a simple puppet show or a self-performed play on stage.
In our third week, campers will create their own small video with the stop motion film making technique.
A lot of crafting, painting of props and other hands-on activities are always part of our summer camps. All groups will liven up their activities with fun games and a lot of music and entertainment. We will also do Karaoke and will not only use the airy sports field but also the playground to do our outdoor activities. And, of course, our camps are full immersion German language camps.
That means that we will help our campers to better understand German words and sentences by repeating, describing and explaining German expressions. We will also help our campers to produce German sentences and to speak German by their own initiative.
We are looking forward to a relaxed and fun summer event, that will take place from June 24 to July 12, 2019 from 9am to 4 pm. And there is also aftercare available for working families.
Weekly sessions can be booked online at www.gpssd.org. Call us for more information at 858-461-9118 or send us an email, germanpacificschool(AT)gmail.com
Text: Vicky Ripart – GPSSD Camp Team
Images: ©GermanPacificSchoolSanDiego
IT’S TIME TO FLIP THE SCRIPT…
My dear readers, yet again I owe you an apology and explanation. A lot has happened over the past eight months, but things are finally starting to settle down. I usually don’t describe myself as a person who is willing to settle easily. But at some point, even I need a break and feel home at one place. At least for a little while.
So today, I am sharing some news with you. Not sure if I should call them news though since that entails the word ‘new’, which doesn’t quite fit my situation anymore. I have to admit, I lived in hiding from you the past several months. Not because I am ashamed of my actions, but because I needed time to process. [Read more…] about It’s Time to Flip the Script…
In the Aisles, a German drama film directed by Thomas Stuber opens in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Royal on Friday, June 21. We have two pairs of tickets to Give Away! Details below!
In the Aisles gives an affecting and bittersweet glimpse into the shared connections of a motley group of nightshift workers at a warehouse superstore, with the reclusive Christian (Franz Rogowski, TRANSIT) and the charming but mysterious Marion (Sandra Hüller, TONI ERDMANN).
“The story’s main focus is Christian (Rogowski), a tattoo-covered loner with a troubled past and a socially awkward manner that borders on autism. Christian has just begun his probation period as a shelf stacker at an unnamed warehouse superstore in a faceless East German backwater town. His avuncular mentor is old lag Bruno (Peter Kurth), a chess-loving ex-trucker who misses the mundane certainties of the former Communist era. The young rookie also develops a shy crush on Marion (Huller), a flirtatious married woman 10 years his senior whose abusive husband commonly features in hushed workplace gossip.” (excerpt Hollywoodreporter.com)
TICKET GIVE-AWAY – If you would like to be one of the first to watch this movie then send us an email with “In the Aisles” in the subject line, letting us know that you would like to be considered. We will give away 2 pairs of tickets to 2 lucky winners out of the first 10 people emailing us. The winners will be informed by the end of next week per email. Good Luck!
“In the Aisles” is in German with English subtitles. It will open in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Royal on Friday, June 21.
Buy Tickets Here: http://gwi.io/oovflj
Image & YouTube: ©MusicBoxFilms
Have you chosen the perfect summer activity for your child yet? Here are some German Summer Camps to choose from. We will add to the list as we hear of other summer camps out there. Let us know, too, if you hear of one!
MATH CAMP :
DANCE CAMP – Rumba / ChaCha / Samba / Waltz
Let us know about a German Camp near you!!
Featured Image: Pixabay.com
Pittance Chamber Music, known for featuring the extraordinary resident artists of the Los Angeles Opera pit and stage, presents A Tale of Two Émigrés with James Conlon. LA Opera Music Director James Conlon curates and conducts a unique program that tells the tale of Jewish émigré composers Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Arnold Schoenberg, who left their homelands and ultimately settled in Los Angeles as a result of the Nazis’ rise to power. The program will include a talk by Maestro Conlon, who will also conduct works by Korngold and Schoenberg performed by a large ensemble from the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra. The concert takes place at Zipper Hall, Colburn School in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at 3:00 p.m.
This special program features E.W. Korngold’s Sextet, Op. 10 and Arnold Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony #1, Op. 9. According to Lisa Sutton, Pittance Chamber Music Artistic Director, “Both pieces are extraordinary masterpieces of late romanticism, requiring a high level of virtuosity from the performers.”
James Conlon, Music Director of Los Angeles Opera and Principal Conductor of the Italian RAI National Symphony Orchestra, is one of the world’s most important and successful advocates for the music of composers suppressed during the Nazi regime. He is the founder of the OREL Foundation, an organization created to encourage interest in and, especially, the performance of works by composers suppressed as a result of Nazi policies from 1933 to 1945 in order to allow the greater musical community of today and tomorrow the opportunity to determine the place of these composers and their works in the history and canon of twentieth-century music.
Lisa Sutton, Artistic Director and Assistant Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra founded the Pittance Chamber Music in 2013.
Single tickets for A Tale of Two Émigrés with James Conlon are $10. Tickets are available online at PittanceChamberMusic.org or at the venue on the day of the concert if tickets remain. Zipper Hall is located at the Colburn School, 200 South Grand Avenue, downtown Los Angeles, 90012.
WHAT:
A Tale of Two Émigrés with James Conlon. (Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Arnold Schoenberg). The program will include a talk by Conlon, who will also conduct works by Korngold and Schoenberg performed by a large ensemble consisting of members of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra.
WHEN:
Saturday, June 15, 2019 at 3:00 p.m.
WHERE:
Zipper Hall, Colburn School
200 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
PROGRAM:
E.W. KORNGOLD Sextet, Op. 10
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG Chamber Symphony #1, Op. 9.
TICKETS:
Single tickets $10
Information:
www.PittanceChamberMusic.org
Image ©Los Angeles Opera
This month’s XPAT Spotlight Interview features multitalented artist Maria Loewenstein, who was born into the household of two music and art lovers in Vienna, Austria. After her parents built a house on a property they had bought in Klosterneuburg, the family of six exchanged busy city life for a quieter one in the outskirts of Vienna. Appreciation for art in all its forms and variations established then has remained an integral part of her life since childhood. Little did she know then, that she would become a multimedia artist in a city that’s full of inspiration: Los Angeles.
Maria, how has your childhood in Austria impacted your life, now far away from your original home?
Being raised in a suburb always left me wanting more, even though there was no lack of culture and diversity in our lives. Every weekend our parents bribed us with a promised McDonalds happy meal, which included a toy, to join them for Sunday mass followed by an art exhibit in Vienna and the occasional classical concert or play for children. It goes without saying that this might have
been the main reason that turned the four of us into artists/musicians and awakened our adventurous side. [Read more…] about Finding Her Muse in the City of Angels – Maria Loewenstein, Austrian born Artist & Author (Interview)
(Ein Gedicht von Friedrich Güll, 1812-1879)
Drunten an der Gartenmauer
hab’ ich sehn das Häslein lauern.
eins, zwei, drei: legt’s ein Ei,
lang wird’s nimmer dauern.
Kinder, lasst uns niederducken!
Seht ihr’s ängstlich um sich gucken?
Ei, da hüpft’s und dort schlüpft’s
durch die Mauerlucken.
Und nun sucht in allen Ecken,
wo die schönsten Eier stecken,
rot und blau, und grün und grau
und mit Marmorflecken.
(Friedrich Güll)
Image: Pixabay.com
.
Frustriert geht Birgit an den dicht gedrängten Kleiderständern vorbei. Von der Decke rieselt beruhigende Musik, die von schlurfenden Schuhen auf dem Fliesenboden und dem Rascheln von Kunden, die sich durch die Stände wühlen, beinahe übertönt wird. Die eintönige Geräuschkulisse wird hin und wieder von kreischenden Kindern und dem Gezeter gestresster Eltern unterbrochen. Der Geruch von Schweiß und nasskaltem Straßenschmutz gemischt mit Lavendel-, Vanille- und Rosendüften verdichtet die Luft zu einer zähen Suppe.
Ich hasse Textildiscounter, denkt Birgit. Aber für Menschen mit meinem Einkommen bleibt ja nichts anderes übrig. Die Preise in einem der kleineren Läden, die hier mit den Discountern konkurrieren, sind für Birgit unerschwinglich. Das Einkommen einer Kellnerin bewegt sich heute zwischen der oberen Grenze der Armut und der unteren Grenze des mittleren Wohlstandes. Nicht genug um sich über steigende Mieten, den Kosten fürs Auto und den sonstigen Lebensunterhalt keine Sorgen machen zu brauchen, aber zu viel um wirklich als arm zu gelten. Dennoch hofft Birgit, sich hier mit einem neuen T-Shirt belohnen zu können, ohne Konzerne zu unterstützen, die Kinder für sich arbeiten lassen oder mittellose Wanderarbeiter in Sklavenverträge zwingen.
Endlich hat Birgit den Stand mit den T-Shirts gefunden. Hoffnungsvoll geht ihr Blick über die Stapel unterschiedlichster Farben und Muster. Zunächst registriert sie den schmächtigen Mann am gegenüberliegenden Stand kaum. Doch die verhaltenen Bewegungen und der hektische Blick des Mannes, der unauffällig die Umgebung sondiert, weckt Birgits Aufmerksamkeit. Der Mann ist etwa Anfang Zwanzig und trägt eine für diese Jahreszeit viel zu dünne Jacke. Die verschlissene Jeans hängt schlaksig an den schmächtigen Hüften. Er stöbert in einem Stapel T-Shirts und zieht schließlich eines heraus. Es gibt immer noch Menschen, denen es viel schlechter geht, denkt Birgit, als sie den Mann hinter der Trennwand zu den Umkleidekabinen verschwinden sieht. Wahrscheinlich kann dieser arme Kerl sich nur ein zwei Mal im Jahr ein neues Stück leisten.
Eine Stunde später hat Birgit den Mann völlig vergessen. Ihre ganze Aufmerksamkeit richtet sich auf einen Ständer mit buntbedruckten T-Shirts. Eines der T-Shirts sticht mit seinem warmen Orange heraus. Begeistert nimmt Birgit es vom Ständer und ist entzückt vom frechen Schriftzug, der quer über der Brust in geschwungenen Buchstaben steht.
Plötzlich mischen sich das Scharren und Poltern von hektischen Schritten und aufgebrachtes Gebrüll in die eintönige Geräuschkulisse. Zwei Männer in blauer Uniform hechten den Gang entlang in Richtung Rolltreppe. Sicherheitsleute! Sie jagen jemanden!
Birgit beschließt, ihre Neugier zu bezwingen, und geht auf kürzestem Weg zur Kasse. Vor ein paar Tagen hatte sie einen Film gesehen, in dem in einem U-Bahnhof Panik ausgebrochen war und hunderte von Menschen sich gegenseitig zu Tode quetschten. Zehn Minuten später erreicht Birgit die Drehtür des Kaufhauses und tritt erleichtert in den kalten Nieselregen. Ein Polizeiwagen steht rechts neben dem Eingang im Halteverbot.
Am nächsten Tag stand folgender Artikel in der Tageszeitung:
Ein 24-Jähriger ließ ein T-Shirt und Parfüm aus einem Geschäft im Regensburger Einkaufszentrum mitgehen.
REGENSBURG. Am Dienstag gegen 14.30 Uhr, wurde ein 24-Jähriger beim Ladendiebstahl erwischt. Das Personal stellte in einem Geschäft im Regensburger Donau-Einkaufszentrum vom Personal fest, dass er nach dem Verlassen einer Umkleidekabine ein unbezahltes T-Shirt unter seiner Kleidung trug. …
©Samantha Sam
Image: pixabay.com
Samantha Sam – grew up in Mecklenburg Vorpommern. She now lives in a little, enchanting town called Lappersdorf by Regensburg. Since early childhood, she was devoted to writing, which served her well in her later profession as a communications specialist; even though writing there was business related rather than creative.
In her personal life, she has been writing speeches for weddings as well as birthdays of family and friends; speeches, that are still on everyone’s lips years after. Often family and friends encouraged her to devote more time to writing professionally. So, when her daughter left home, ‘the time was ripe’! Her passion for writing made her engage in her first novel, which she is in the process of putting on the finishing touches. She writes under her pen name “Samantha Sam”.
