So that you don’t get lost on the wide grasslands of our campus…
Question and Answer May 7, 2008
photo by Leo
Here we would like to invite you to post any questions you may have as incoming students to Jacobs University Bremen. We’ll try to get back to you with an answer as soon as possible. Don’t hesitate!
How to recognize a major from far away May 6, 2008
Photo by Duncan Blair
Here’s some tips on how you can tell someone’s major without asking him or her:
Is the subject :
a) unshaven and spaced, walking around with a stack of homework and glasses falling off the bridge of his nose ? EECS (Electrical Engineering and Computational Sciences)
b) have a faraway expression and lost in thought about the universe ? HTAL (History and Theory of Art and Literature)
c) part of the IRC furniture ? IPH (International Politics and History)
d) cracking math-related jokes and laughing at them while others look confused ? MATH
e) chemically analysing Aramark food in terms of molar masses and organic structure ? CHEMISTRY
Encountering Cultural Differences May 6, 2008
So you meet this nice Pakistani girl (just an example) at the O-week barbeque, and after having a really nice conversation that lasts for 2 hours, you realize you’re really tired and decide to go to bed. Naturally, after sharing this nice evening, you give her a good night hug. What happens? SHE GETS REALLY WEIRDED OUT. For the next two weeks she avoids you and gives you really weird looks and you feel like an idiot.
This is just a random example of all the weird and uncomfortable situations you might end up in because of the cultural differences between you and others at Jacobs.
Don’t despair:
There is something we can all do to avoid or correct misunderstandings. We can talk! Most of these situations are created because of misunderstanding, of different cultural interpretations for the same action or words. So, when something like that happens and you think you’ve been misunderstood, don’t go sulking in your room cause someone else thinks you’re a weirdo or got pissed off at you. Think about what you meant to convey or express by your words or actions. Then you can go to the other person involved in the misunderstanding, say something like “hey, I think we had a misunderstanding earlier” and clearly state to them what your intention was, talk to them about how they perceived it and what meaning it might have for their vs. your culture (this would be a very “Western” and direct approach).
You can also talk to others, find a mutual friend or someone like an RA to mediate between the ‘parties’, if you do not feel comfortable approaching them yourself.
The important thing is that a dialogue is allowed to emerge. Remember to listen to them and their side of the story, and don’t let your prejudices and expectations get in the way. Be open to new points of view. It will turn a weird situation into a positive and connecting learning experience. Communication is key!
English -Doytsch: Surviving off campus May 6, 2008
Don´t Get lost in a foreign country.. things might be difficult but hopefully knowing basic communication, such as the one listed below, will help you survive!
Photo by Eglantine
Do you speak English?
– Shpreken zee English ?
I don‘t understand German.
– Ick fershtehuh kine Doytsh.
Excuse me, where is the restroom?
– Antshouldeegen zee, vo ist dee tolettuh
?
I don‘t know.
– Ick vyess nickt.
I would like to have a beer.
– Ick hettuh gern eyen beer.
Please help me!
– Buhtuh hellfan zee meer.
Do you wanna dance with me?
– Villst doo muht meer tuntzen?
I need a taxi.
– Ick browcke eyn taxi.
Would you please put a leash on
your dog.
– Bittuh neymin zee eehrin hund un
dee linuh.
I like beer/wine/sausages/Bremen/
Germany
– Ick muhg beer/vine/vuhrstehn/
Bremen/Doytshland.
Funny Facts about countries around the World May 6, 2008
Photo by Wren
These are just some funny facts with which to impress your fellow freshmen and convey a sense of all-knowingness 
- A Welsh railway station, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-gogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, boasts the longest railway station name in the world.
- Bangkok, Thailand hosts the world’s largest Chinatown.
- In Australian English, a banana bender means that a person comes from Queensland.
- Brazil borders every country in South America except Chile and Ecuador.
- Jamaica has 120 rivers.
- China is the second largest fast food market after the United States.
- Belgium is the only country that has never imposed censorship for adult films.
- In Germany, there are over 1,500 types of sausages, such as the Frankfurters
- Iceland consumes more Coca Cola per capita than any other nation
- The army of Monaco has fewer members than the national orchestra.
- In Great Britain, there exists a law since 1934 which states that the Loch Ness Monster would automatically be subject to nature conservancy protection, if its existence was proven.
- In France it is forbidden to name a pig “Napoleon”.
- The area code of Antarctica is 6721.
- On average, America eats 73000 square meters of pizza per day.
- The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses. Virtually no Greek knows all of them.
- Madagascar produces two thirds of the world’s vanilla.
- Saunas outnumber cars in Finland.
