Zürich is wonderful, I had an odd bit of homesickness that abated when I talked to Steve for a bit. It is really nice to be with family and to comprehend everything around me (finally! Speaking, however is always harder). I am getting a lot of language practice and it is feeling even more natural to speak German now. Swiss-German, though...
Oh God. I watched Paranoid Park last night and had pangs of longing for Portland. Beautifully shot film, good music selection, and even a fitting main character. The acting skills of the girl, Macy, left a great large 'something to be desired'. The non-actor thing did not work so well with her except for the part where she was on the bicycle (read it, send it, burn it... etc).
So, winter break is enjoyable. I have no internet at my Oma's, which leads to a mixture of productivity and boredom. We have been really active with the Bauers the past couples days. Eva looks great, not fully pregnant yet (4 months), and her house is gorgeous. Viola is always really smart and perceptive in social groups, that was interesting to observe her observing me, hah. It is strange because they are all my family but I was left feeling a bit isolated. Everyone talks all at once here and interrupts lovingly. I am used to the American 'everyone has a chance in the spotlight' mentality and almost extreme polite manner. I see so much of my Mom in them, and in myself, but this is my first time back in Swizterland where I am humbled and comforted by my American identity.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Class difficulty
Today was enjoyable; I got up earlier, printed out my reading for Thinking and Problem-solving at the university, then went to Deli Star, where I read for hours while slowly drinking a cappuccino. I had lunch and then class at the Institute, then came home, relaxed and read the rest of my psychology material before going to class.
Our theme today delt with machines and any potential cognitive ability they may have. We talked a lot about the tower of Hanoi, Kasparov and Deep Blue, and the Hobbits/Orcs (or Missionary/Cannibal) problem. I spoke up a little bit, but not too much... I do not really participate in that class very much, despite an overeager start, and all earlier assumptions I had about the other students were proved wrong. Yet I do listen very actively and I feel like I am learning from the material and lectures. This begs the question, however, of whether it is psychology or German that I am learning.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed by it.
Thinking and Problem-solving is also not my particular area of interest within psychology, although I do find it intriguing. This combined with my inability to speak rapidly and fluently, my difficulty with immediately formulating questions about the text, the language barrier and the extent to which I have to concentrate to understand what others naturally understand, how quickly some students talk and lastly, the fact that they are all native speakers and in that way it is different from my other classes, not specially tailored to people who may not understand a word here and there, make this class challenging.
I still light up whenever there is an English term or quote, which is fairly often. When we were talking about Vygotsky, I had an advantage because of my passion for developmental psychology. Now, however, this is not the case.
Mal sehen.
Our theme today delt with machines and any potential cognitive ability they may have. We talked a lot about the tower of Hanoi, Kasparov and Deep Blue, and the Hobbits/Orcs (or Missionary/Cannibal) problem. I spoke up a little bit, but not too much... I do not really participate in that class very much, despite an overeager start, and all earlier assumptions I had about the other students were proved wrong. Yet I do listen very actively and I feel like I am learning from the material and lectures. This begs the question, however, of whether it is psychology or German that I am learning.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed by it.
Thinking and Problem-solving is also not my particular area of interest within psychology, although I do find it intriguing. This combined with my inability to speak rapidly and fluently, my difficulty with immediately formulating questions about the text, the language barrier and the extent to which I have to concentrate to understand what others naturally understand, how quickly some students talk and lastly, the fact that they are all native speakers and in that way it is different from my other classes, not specially tailored to people who may not understand a word here and there, make this class challenging.
I still light up whenever there is an English term or quote, which is fairly often. When we were talking about Vygotsky, I had an advantage because of my passion for developmental psychology. Now, however, this is not the case.
Mal sehen.
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