Unser Konzert!
Firstly, I was struck by how nice the space was! For the past month I had been walking past the Alte Börse (see below) but had never realized what a beautiful structure it is. So, I just wanted to express how lucky I feel that we were able to perform in such a space. I am also so proud of everyone—from watching the concert, I could tell that everyone had put in a lot of hard work, and I really enjoyed each performance. I thought that it was so nice that all the people from InterDaf came—it was very supportive and I appreciate them taking the time to do that. I am so glad that we got to play/sing the two Bach pieces together—it was a really nice way to begin & culminate the program, and I just felt lucky to be making music with everyone.
A bit on InterDaf ~
I really enjoyed the German aspect of this course. Though I realize that not everyone had a fully positive experience, I just wanted to talk a bit about mine. When I began the course, the teachers did not exactly know where to place me because I had not taken the placement test (it ended up having been sent to my spam folder and I just never found it). So, I tried out a few of the levels and ultimately ended up in C1 (see our class pic below). I was scared because, although I had taken German for a long time, I really did not feel secure speaking German and I had also not spoken for over a year (since the last time I spoke more than a couple of words was in high school). Anyway, for the first few days, even the first week, I was doubting my choice to do C1—it was hard to understand the teacher as she spoke rapid German in a Leipzig accent, and I felt that the others in my class were much better at German than I was. AFter that adjustment period, however, I began to greatly enjoy the course, partly due to how challenging it was for me, and partly due to the content. Gradually I became more comfortable making mistakes and asking questions, and I also started to understand a lot more of what my teacher was saying. Throughout the weeks, I felt my German improve, and by the end of the course, I became so much less scared of talking in German, not only in class, but also to strangers on the street.
Bach in VR
The concept sounded really cool and I thought that I would really enjoy it. I did at first, virtual reality is seriously cool and the harpsichord that was in the middle of the room really looked real. However, as I wore the goggles for longer, it started giving me a headache, and also made me weirdly drowsy. I know that a few others had a similar experience—as I woke up for a moment during it, I noticed that others were also slumped over, fast asleep ;).
Maurice, I’m glad you stuck it out in the C1 class; languages learning requires a kind of fearlessness, but it’s so easy to let self-consciousness get in the way! But I’m sure the work that you did in German this summer will stay with you in the coming years. Regarding the Virtual Bach—it was kind of strange. I’m glad we got to see it, but I did notice it had a strange effect on many of us! Not sure why it made most of us a little drowsy! But it’s interesting to think about what technology can and can’t do to get us closer to the past.