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5 Weeks until Xmas – 5 Ideas for Books to Give as a Gift

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Have you started Christmas shopping yet? 5 Ideas are on its way.

The next five Wednesdays leading up to Christmas we’ll support your Christmas shopping with some unique book ideas that make for a special gift.

We are going to introduce some German or German-related books that are refreshingly uncommon and off the beaten path. Let’s say not all are mainstream literature just yet, but so worth discovering.

Among the 5 books we’ll present, you will find one that’s perfect for children. Two of them make the perfect gift for all the history buffs among you as they deal with German history in quite different ways: One is a memoir of a German expat while the other is a historical fiction novel, packed with the suspense of diplomatic and political drama. 

Lastly, we have one book in our gift repertoire for just pure enjoyment and entertainment and another, that lets you dive into the depth of famed German literature.

Curious yet? Stay tuned and check in with us this and every Wednesday until Xmas, and find out what we have in store for you. 

You might just find the perfect gift for someone special!

Image: Pixabay.com

Happy German Unity Day!

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800px-World_Cup_2006_German_fans_at_Bochum.jpgTag der Deutschen Einheit 

A relatively young country is celebrating its coming of age

When I was in elementary school, there was no certainty when or if the two Germanys would ever reunite. Every time I visited the United States then, I was met with great interest by many trying to figure out which Germany I was from. … “Are you from West Germany?”, ” Have you ever been to the East?”, and so on …

Nowadays it’s almost unthinkable that Germany, as it looks and feels today, has not always been like that. It had to go through a lot of growing pains!

From its birth as a united country in 1871, to forcefully being separated after WW II, to miraculously being reunited in 1989.

Germany’s reawakening

Germany has gone through quite some changes during my lifetime. I would have never anticipated seeing the German people cheering on the streets with cars happily sporting the German flag. Young people proudly singing the German national anthem and having the colors of the German flag painted onto their faces.

This was 2006. And we happened to be visiting Germany while the country was hosting the Soccer World Cup. We witnessed first hand this newly found self-confidence of a ‘new’ Germany.  It still gives me the shivers!

It’s good to see Germans being proud of their country again. May the past, however, not wane as a reminder of the darker times that Germany lived through but encourage the German people to stand up for the ideals of humanity, social justice, freedom and equality, and keep its doors open to a world that is moving closer and closer together.

My best wishes to a beautiful young country! I am glad you have been finding your way.

Much luck for the future.

Now let’s celebrate! 

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Credits: © Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.de / CC-BY-SA-3.0

EUSTORY, an International History Competition for German and French Youth to Reflect on Peace

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Students of a German School in San Diego learn how to write a movie script

About a month ago  German Pacific School San Diego and San Diego French American School collaborated in preparing for an international competition that invites them to reflect on the concept of peace before, during and after WW I.

EUSTORY, an international history competition wants to guide students to a greater understanding of historic events but also engage them in finding relations between today’s events and events in the past, and overall help them become productive citizens of the world.

Both schools decided on choosing film as a medium for their project, and to learn the ‘nuts and bolts’ of scriptwriting they participated in an intercultural scriptwriting seminar. In the following read more about their experience:

German and French students collaborate on international competition

( by Lenni Elbe)
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An excited buzz fills the air as groups of French and German students discuss their ideas. They are preparing for an international history competition, called EUSTORY.

On October 14, students from San Diego French American School and German Pacific School San Diego partook in a seminar run by a professional scriptwriter, Diane Alpaio, to help prepare them for the competition in Spring.

The script writing workshop led students through a pre-written script in order to learn the basic elements of story writing. First, they watched and analyzed a short film. Then, they were split into small groups and wrote their own scenes using those basic elements such as dialogue, conflict, and characters.

The students left with a greater understanding of how movie scripts are written, and with plenty of ideas on how to continue their own EUSTORY project. “Working with the French students was great and I didn’t expect the seminar to be so much fun. It really got everyone excited about the competition” said Jack, a student at GPSSD.

The script writing seminar was just the start. Students will continue to meet on a regular basis throughout the script writing process. Instructors from both schools are guiding the students, including Mr. Baron (SDFAS), Ms. Brouder (SDFAS), and Ms. Elbe (GPSSD).

EUSTORY was started in order to provide students with an opportunity to reflect on the events of World War 1, to work together, and to foster cross-cultural understanding. This year’s theme is: “Peace in War Time, Peace in World War 1.” This initiative is representative of the creative potential in students, and broadens young people’s perspectives, giving them the tools and skills required to become productive citizens of the world.

The short film will premiere this coming spring at an event at SDFAS.
For more information, please visit http://www.eustory.fr or http://www.gpssd.org

Images: German Pacific School San Diego – GPSSD

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It's Father's Day in the USA – Vatertag in the USA

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Today is Father’s Day here in America. This day of honorig all Dads is celebrated in the USA every year on the third Sunday in June, almost a month later than in Germany!

In Germany, Father’s Day – ‘Vatertag’ coincides with the church holiday of ‘Christi Himmelfahrt’ (Ascension of Jesus). It’s a national holiday and it’s always happening on a Thursday since the Ascension of Jesus is celebrated 39 days after Easter Sunday.

Interestingly, not all German speaking countries are celebrating Father’s Day on the same day. Austria for example has its Father’s Day on the second Sunday in June, while Switzerland initially didn’t have a dedicated Father’s Day until 2009. Since then the official Swiss Father’s Day is happening on the first Sunday in June.

How is Father’s Day celebrated in Germany? It used to be or often still is a day, on which fathers/men celebrate themselves and enjoy each other’s company in fact without family and children! In North Germany and East Germany, Father’s Day tellingly is called ‘Herrentag’ (Day of the Men) .

But more and more young families nowadays celebrate Father’s Day pretty much the same like we do here in the United Sates and make it a day with the family. I personally remember Father’s Day being a day for and with my Dad.

While Father’s Day has been an official holiday in Germany since 1934, the United States’ first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910 in the State of Washington; however it wasn’t until 1972 that Father’s Day became a permanent national holiday in the USA.

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there! 

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Image: Pixabay.com

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Bringing the Myth of Cleopatra to Life

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Two Scientists in Search of Historical Truth and Evidence

“CLEOPATRA” at the California Science Center in Los Angeles

Having been an intriguing figure already in her lifetime, Cleopatra became a legend that’s been kept alive throughout the centuries. Historians, authors and filmmakers alike have gotten inspired by her life , her story and her much appraised exceptional  beauty.

An expansive show that started on Wednesday, May 23, at the California Science Center in L.A. tries to shed light on this legend. With help of the discoveries of the ancient submerged Royal Quarters of Alexandria and the lost cities of Heracleion, Menouthis, Canopis and others, the exhibition is putting the many historical puzzle pieces together to find out: who was Cleopatra really?

The visitor gets immersed into the ancient world of Egypt by enormous statues, amazingly preserved and beautiful jewelry  and other artifacts from that time that have been recently recovered by archeologists Franck Goddio and Zahi Hawass. An audio tour, provided to every guest as part of the exhibition experience, is guiding through the exhibition in “Cleopatra’s voice”.

“Cleopatra” is on view from May 25 to December 31 at the California Science Center. It is the only West Coast appearance.

To enhance the experience of ancient Egypt the movie “ Mysteries of Egypt” shows at the IMAX theatre at the museum at the following movie times – May 23, 2012 – June 28, 2012 , 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 pm, (5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday only)

Tickets for the exhibition are $19.75 for adults and $12.75 for children.

Here are some of the amazing artifacts:

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