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| April 2003 Newsletter |
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| German-Maltese Chamber of Commerce |
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Are you between 18 and 25 years of age? Do you have a basic knowledge of German? Are you a member of the German-Maltese Circle? Do you want to join other youths from all over Europe working in projects in Stadt Freyburg (Sachsen-Anhalt) between the 20th July and the 10th August 2003? TRAVEL – BOARD – ACCOMODATION – PROGRAMME EXPENSES ALL PAID! Then the EUROCAMP 2003 is waiting for you! More information and applications from the German-Maltese Circle’s office. Closing date: 30th April 2003. |
| Das Gemälde von Raymond Catania (Student am Deutsch – Maltesischen Zirkel) |
Eines Tages ging eine alte Dame mit ihrem Hund ins Atelier. Sie wollte, dass der Künstler von ihr ein Porträt mit einem Hut malt. Die Bedingung war, dass ihr Hund sie auf dem Gemälde erkennen würde. Sie bot dem Künstler viel Geld. Die Dame kam jeden Tag ins Atelier des Künstlers, um sich das Gemälde anzusehen. Nach einem Monat hatte der Künstler das Gemälde fertig. Er war stolz auf seine Arbeit und rief seine Kundin an. Am nächsten Tag kam sie mit dem Hund an der Leine ins Atelier. Der Künstler sagte zur alten Dame: ,,Das ist wirklich ein nettes Gesicht. Was denken Sie?’’ Die stolze Dame antwortete: ,,Was ich sage, bedeutet gar nichts. Der Hund muss entscheiden. Wenn der Hund mein Gesicht auf dem Bild ableckt, dann nehme ich das Gemälde.’’ Der Hund erkannte das Gesicht auf dem Gemälde nicht und er lief schnell in ein anderes Zimmer. ,,Es tut mir sehr leid, ich kann das Gemälde nicht kaufen. Der Hund hat ja Angst vor meinem Gesicht. Sie müssen Verbesserungen vornehmen”, sagte die Dame. Der Künstler malte ein zweites Gemälde. Nach einer Woche kam die stolze Dame wieder mit ihrem Hund ins Atelier, um sich das Gemälde zu ansehen. Diesmal sprang der Hund auf das Gemälde und leckte es ab. Die Dame war damit sehr zufrieden. Sie gab dem Künstler ein großzügiges Honorar. Natürlich war er unheimlich glücklich, aber er lachte auch über die alte Dame. Nachdem die Dame mit dem Gemälde und ihrem Hund das Atelier verlassen hatte, sagte der Künstler: ,,Stellen Sie sich vor! Ich habe ein Stück Speck an den Hut auf dem Kopf der alten Dame geklebt. Aus diesem Grund hat der Hund das Gemälde abgeleckt und die Dame hat es nicht bemerkt.” Wie kam der Künstler bloß auf diese kluge Idee?
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| Olaf Rieck's Library Corner... |
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Neue Videos in Deutsch In der Bibliothek stehen viele neue Videos kostenlos zur Ausleihe bereit, so z.B. die Spielfilme E.T., Der Prinz aus Zamunda, Santa Klaus und der Name der Rose. (Spende von Collin J. Smith) KUBUS Nr. 53 Der erste Film des neuen KUBUS-Videos hat den Titel “Wetterfrösche”. Wetterberichte werden in den Medien immer aufmerksam verfolgt aber häufig auch sehr kritisiert. Wie Wettervorhersagen erstellt werden, wie Daten ausgewertet werden und warum die Prognosen oft falsch sind wird in diesem Film dargestellt. Im zweiten Beitrag geht es um das “Funkhaus Europa”. Dieses vom Westdeutschen Rundfunk produzierte Radioprogramm richtet sich speziell an die über sieben Millionen in Deutschland lebenden Ausländer. Wie immer gibt es ein Begleitheft zum Video mit dem Text und Hintergrundinformationen in deutscher und englischer Sprache. Landeskunde We invite you to visit the site www.german-easter-holiday.com which contains very interesting information (in German and in English) on Easter Bunny Customs in Germany, on the Easter Eggs Market, on the German Easter Holiday and on many other related traditions! Visitors from the University of Rostock On March 28th, the film “Letztes aus der DaDaeR” produced in 1990 by the state film production of the ex-DDR was screened at Messina Palace and was followed by a very interesting discussion by visiting Prof.Heinz-Jürgen Staszak. The next day, March 29th, Dr Ellen Tichy, from the Department of German as a Foreign Language of the same University gave a half-day seminar for teachers on the subject “The use of drama in the teaching of foreign languages”. These events were possible through the kind intervention of Mr Albert Friggieri
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| Techtextil – the International Trade Fair for Technical Textiles |
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(Frankfurt am Main from 8 – 10 April 2003) The first Techtextil was held in 1986 and attracted 195 exhibitors and 5914 visitors. In 2001, there were 785 exhibitors and 17,200 visitors. » The terms ‘white collar’ and ‘blue collar’ are used to subdivide the working world and to show in which part someone works. However, a blue overall is often fully inadequate as an item of protective clothing for those people who do not sit in an office wearing a white shirt and tie. The circumstances in which ‘blue collar’ employees work call for special garments that, in the majority of cases, protect the wearer. Thus firemen and steel workers need protection from great heat, track inspectors who walk along railway lines and spend all day out of doors have to be protected against the elements while at the same time making them highly visible. In the chemical industry, the focus is on protection against a broad spectrum of substances. A process that turns clothing into protective wear is the application of special coatings and finishing. At Techtextil, one could investigate the new coatings and laminations being applied and also the introduction of new yarns which for example have flame-resistant qualities and from which garments can be made which are functional and comfortable to wear. An innovative development being shown at this year’s Fair are individual temperature managed garments of use especially for those whose work is out of doors in all types of weather. These garments made from fabric consisting of two airtight and breathable laminates bonded to each other with an air chamber in between operate on the ancient knowledge that air is a poor conductor of heat and hence is the best natural insulation agent. » If little Peter was to sit with his granddad in the sandpit and ask how roads are built, then he would probably hear the answer, you heat the tar, pour it out and then roll it flat. Perhaps Peter would also want to know how a canal is built and his grandfather would possibly say that you dig out a long channel and let water run into it. It may be that Peter would also ask how tunnels are built into mountains. The old man would then perhaps describe how a digger gouges its way through the stone and after that the cars can drive through. But it is not quite that simple. The construction of roads, waterways and tunnels is a complex business and it requires many materials, processes and skilled people. Experience over the last few decades has thus shown that for certain applications it makes sense to replace mineral-based materials with geotextiles. Geotextiles fortify, separate, filter, protect and permit drainage. To quote a few examples: in road construction geotextiles are laid in order to improve the mechanical properties of soil layers. In hydraulic engineering they act as a dividing layer and prevent the coming together of different types of soil that lie adjacent to each other. In tunnel construction they fulfil the function of ensuring that there is no damage to the plastic membrane film used. This interesting development can also be seen at Techtextil. » No car can move without technical textiles: even the four indispensable 'rubber' tyres depend on textile belts. And it is thanks to special textiles that car interiors have such a comfortable ambience. Seats without modern fabrics, for example, would soon become worn out, lose their colour and cause the driver and passengers to sweat quickly and unnecessarily. As these few examples show, the mobile world would be a much poorer place without technical textiles. The most commonly used fabric for automobile upholstery is polyester. Also used to a lesser extent are polyamide and wool. Polyamide is the main choice for floor coverings. Many people have discovered the problem of static electricity after receiving a shock on getting out of a vehicle. Researchers are tackling this phenomenon by integrating conductive fibres into the fabric or including conductive layers between the upholstery and the foam backing. The complete range of technical textiles for the modern automobile and transport sector can be seen in the 'Mobiltech' segment of Techtextil 2003.
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The Astronomical Society of Malta will be holding a basic course in Astronomy at our Messina Palace. This course will consist of six lectures and two observing sessions. First lecture is on the 24th April. Members of the GMC are being offered a discounted enrolment fee of just LM10. For info and enrolment contact Tony Tanti on 99842684 or email: ttanti@maltanet.net |
| George Cremona |
 George Cremona, born in 1982 and hailing from Gozo, joined the GMC in 1999 as a member and became a student of German the following year. This was the same year he enrolled at the University, majoring in German and Maltese, set to graduate in 2004, and very much looking forward to teach German and Maltese in one of the local schools.The natural question for me to ask is, what made this young Gozitan schoolboy chose German with such lasting perseverance? And George told me that his German teacher Father George Cordina in Form 2 had promised the class a trip to Germany, if the students would reach a certain level of communication till Form 4. “You”, he quoted as having said many times to his teacher later, “planted the seed of my love for German”. Well, the class made it, and in 1997 George together with teacher and class mates went to Germany, to Düsseldorf, capital of North-Rhine-Westphalia. Since then his special love next to the language includes this city by the River Rhine, - which by sheer coincidence happens to be my birthplace, so I think I do understand his infatuation very well. By now George visits this city regularly, having also attended summer school at Düsseldorf Heinrich-Heine University. He told me of the sensation he felt while speaking German on this first arrival at Düsseldorf Airport, which again gave him great motivation for further studies. Today, George has reached a level where he handles the language well, also at points when he lacks a word. With his permission, I repeat a hilarious example of his aptitude to save a stranded linguistic problem: During a lecture, talking about winter in Europe I wanted to hear from him what the leafless trees looked like. George, lacking the word for ‘barren’ (kahl), saved his situation by saying: “Die Bäume sind alle FKK”. (For the non-German reader: FKK – Freikörperkultur - is the abbreviation for nudism, used for beach areas etc.) Next to the studies of German, George has two other very sincere interests. The first developed when he was a boy of four, listening to the radio of his great-grandmother. He was fascinated by the music and voices coming out of ‘that box’, and he mimicked taping music and reading from children’s books, as well as his own piano playing, which he took up at the age of seven. Growing up he began dreaming of producing a proper radio program. On the occasion of a visit to the studios of Bay Radio Station he was adamant: “This is what I want to do”. Consequently, with the assistance of Archpriest Mgr. Joseph Farrugia of Gozo and together with a few others a new community parish radio station was born in 1999, called “Lehen il-Belt Victoria” (Die Stimme der Hauptstadt). This station evolved to a great success, now with seventy volunteers contributing regularly. After this achievement, his next step was planning for his own program on a national radio station, and he went on the air on Radio Calypso for the first time in June, 2001, producing a Sunday breakfast show “Fi Sbih il-Jum” (Der Beginn des Tages), early on Sunday mornings, offering interviews within the cultural and music scene. Since July last year, Calypso FM has entrusted him with a Maltese music program “Taghna f’ Taghna”, (Heimatklänge) broadcast on Sundays from 7.30 to 9.00 pm. So you may want to tune in! George’s second interest and involvement is his children’s choir. At the age of 17, guided by the Capuchin monk Father Paul Bugeja, a choir was founded in February, 1999, with fifteen girls, 8–14 years of age, and called “Fjur t’Assisi” (Kleine Blume von Assisi). Soon George became director and conductor, and while sitting for his English Intermediate Exams one Saturday morning, the choir won its first festival in the evening of the same day. Needless to say, this choir of presently 36 girls and 25 boys ‘helping out when necessary’, was also taken to Düsseldorf by George, where their performances were well received. - Three major objectives in life, and this young gentleman George has only just turned 21, if he carries on with his activities at the same speed and thoroughness as up till now, we surely will be in for a series of most pleasant and interesting surprises in the future! (George was interviewed for our Newsletter by Frau Ingrid Kidder) |
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