Veranstaltungsabende 2007
Jeder erste und dritte Mittwoch im Monat von 18.30 bis 20.00 Uhr

Language Courses & Examinations News

Goethe Institute Examinations

Grundstufe Examinations
End of course examinations for the Grundstufe classes (Years 1 and 2) are due in the last week of June.  Please look out for the next Newsletter for more details regarding applications and more details. Only those members whose attendance in the German language Grundstufe courses organised for them during the scholastic year 2006-2007 has been 60% or more, will be allowed to sit for the end-of-year examinations.   The last lesson for this scholastic year will be on Tuesday, 19^th June 2007.  The Examinations’ timetable can be viewed on the Circle’s Noticeboard or online. 

Learning German the Fast & Fun Way
Another course in this popular series of short courses will start on May 10^th.  Lessons of 2 hours each starting at 6.00p.m. and held every Thursday.  Emphasis on spoken everyday language aimed at Beginners who just want to know “some” German quickly for travelling, communicating at their place of work, etc.  Call at the Circle’s office for more information and to collect an application form.  Course fee: LM35 

Deutsche Sprache in Deutschland
The Goethe Institute and the Auswärtiges Amt are offering 2-week German language scholarships – one in July and the other in August.  These courses integrate within them practical projects between the participants and German institutions.  These are open to persons with a knowledge of German between the B2 and C1 levels, who need to speak German in the course of their job especially in work contacts with Germany and/or the EU Institutions and who occupy positions from at least an Assistant Director level upwards. Further information available from the German-Maltese Circle’s office.

WORT-Werkstatt  Hören – Malen – Reden
Die nächste WORT-Werkstatt für deutschsprachige Kinder findet am 12. Mai um 16 Uhr im Deutsch-Maltesischen Zirkel statt.  Wir bitten um verbindliche telefonische Anmeldungen bis spätestens 11. Mai im Deutsch-Maltesischen Zirkel (Tel. 21246967) unter Angabe der Mitgliedsnummer.  Aus Platzgründen müssen wir die Teilnehmerzahl leider auf 10 Kinder begrenzen!

Other News

Wednesday, 13th June at 19.00 hours
"Cabaret Culture and Popular Music: From the Weimar Republic to United Germany"  

Lecture by Frederick A. Lubich, Professor of German and Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at Old Dominion University, Virginia, USA.  

The lecture will be supported by visual excerpts and music samples, and will deal to a great extent with the type of entertainment prevailing during the first half of the twentieth century as well as post war Germany up to unification. This will be very interesting for our younger members to hear and see what amused their great-grandparents - and for our not so young members to evoke nostalgic memories. In English!

Jugend Treffen   Berlin 24 – 29 June

As part of the German Presidency of the European Council, the Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel has invited young Europeans to attend a European Youth Meeting to be held in Berlin from June 24th to 29th. European Union countries have been encouraged to submit a creative project using any one or more of the following forms of expression: Music, Dance, Film and/or photography, New media, Theatre, Visual arts, Language. The selected projects will contribute to the artistic presentation and workshop discussion of the meeting’s theme: On the road in Europe: opportunities for young people to study, work and live in Europe. The German-Maltese Circle together with the EU Programmes Youth Unit was entrusted to promote this project in Malta.   Two projects from Malta were eventually forwarded to Berlin for final selection.  One was a dance project named “Malta – Moving Imagery” presented by Natasha Galea of Pauleen’s Dance Studio and the other was a visual art project named “EUTH” presented by a duo under the name of Youth Metro (Christine Cassar & Elaine Mifsud).

Die Stille - Günther Schlichte

Hörst du sie nicht? Sie ist leise, doch ich nehme sie wahr, die Stille.
Sie kann stören, unangenehm in unser Bewusstsein eindringen.
Sie ist da, obwohl sie sich zurückhält. Ich möchte sie anschreien, sich doch zu melden. Sie macht mich einsam, sie macht mir manchmal Angst!  –  „Stille soll beruhigen“, sagte mir kürzlich ein Freund. 
Das sollte ich eigentlich wissen. Ich versuche es, will abschalten, schließe die Augen. 
“Sie lässt die lauten Töne vermissen. Stille muss man ertragen können“. 
Es ist herrlich. 
Ich bin ganz mit mir allein. Aber da ist sie wieder, ich spüre es, möchte es gerne verstehen, was es bedeutet.
 Ich halte inne. Deutlich spüre ich – das NICHTS. Ich beobachte, gehe weiter und genieße die Stille plötzlich.
 Welch ein Wandel! Jetzt wünsche ich mir, dass sie eine Weile bleibt. Es gefällt mir. 
Sie spricht mich an. ­ Stille kann eben beides, beängstigend und befreiend sein.
Nutzen wir die Stille, um in Ruhe klare Gedanken fassen zu können.
Wenn wir es geschickt anfangen, lässt sich Stille gut ertragen. Sie gibt uns die Chance, unsere Gedanken zu ordnen. Nutzen wir die Stille als Regulativ für den Geist. Gehen wir aktiv mit ihr um, es kann sehr nützlich sein!

Josette Buttigieg is a real Gozitan. “My parents are 100 percent Gozitan, still speaking Għawdxi, (the Gozitan dialect) and I as an only child walk (mostly!) in their footsteps”, says the radiant young lady, but quickly emphasising that she loves being on Malta as well, travelling to many countries, yet always coming back to Gozo, her island and place of birth.

She grew up in Xlendi, spending the summers mostly on her father’s boat, getting familiar with the sea and its creatures. After matriculating her life changed in so far as she took up her B.Educ. studies in Malta. And she melted in the memories of her first few months of what she called “freedom”, living and feasting with friends in Malta beyond her parents’ sight. Only when the exams drew closer did she realise the seriousness of a University education, which nevertheless she finished in 1999. At those times only one major subject was required for this course and she had chosen German.  

Why German? This is the cutest reason I have ever heard: Her family used to look after a house belonging to a German friend from Düsseldorf during the periods this friend was abroad. And Josette as a curious child spent hours in this house looking at the many books, newspapers, magazines lying about, which she tried to read, obviously in vain. However, she was fascinated and impressed not only by the quaint Gothic print in the old books but also very much by the length of words! She wanted to learn this language, but her parents made her start with French at the age of 11 and only arranged for German when she was 13 years of age. Josette has a gift for languages and apart from her home language and English she speaks German, French, Italian and reads Spanish.    

Josette was lucky in so far as immediately after graduating from University she could start teaching German and French at the Agius de Soldanis Girls Junior Lyceum in Victoria, which she enjoys ever since. In addition, as from the year 2000 she is the German-Maltese Circle’s teacher in Gozo for German at all levels. She says teaching languages was the fulfilment of her girl’s age dream. Though after some years she felt she did not know enough and decided to learn more about the structures of languages and the techniques used to teach them. So last year she started a post-graduate course for her Master’s degree in Applied Language Studies - a Foreign Language Methodology Course at Malta University. This gives her also a more intensive connection to people, students, lecturers and the flair in Malta, to which she apologetically adds: “You know, Gozo is a very small island!” 

Josette has developed into a very independent person and loves travelling. She says people should travel more, best alone, as contact with other cultures broadens their horizon. She has been all over Europe, listing practically every single state. Rather a nice coincidence occurred in Berlin, where she was on a four weeks’ course for teachers of German language, funded by the Goethe Institute. It was in 2001 and I had organised an exhibition in the Wrangelschlößchen Steglitz for the Gozitan artists Joe Xuereb and Victor Spiteri both of Gozo, which was opened by the then Maltese Ambassador William Spiteri. And Josette was there, proudly celebrating her country men’s success, but she and I did not know each other at the time. 

Another very memorable trip of hers was a one month’ stay in Tübingen, due to a DAAD scholarship which was awarded to her by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She called this stay an absolute highlight, telling about the idyllic and picturesque old town with many half timbered houses. Other summer trips included tours with and on behalf of the Gozitan Diocese Youth Commission KDZ  (Kummissjoni Djoċesana Żgħażagħ). She also visited various institutions in Brussels before Malta’s accession to the EU allowing her a valuable inside view to help her own decision along. For Pope John Paul II’s Millennium Celebrations (Jubileo Due Mila) she went to Rome – only to spend the time in quarantine with chicken pox in an Italian hospital!    

Josette wants to carry on living in Gozo, though she is really sorry that the island is lately losing much of its magic which she would so like to remain as she remembered it from her childhood. I have the feeling she might encourage dwindling traditions to blossom again. In this context she named her dearest wish: “At a ripe old age I want to be able to look back on my work as that of an accomplished woman.”

Minden, with a population of around 82,900 is a town in North-Rhine Westphalia set amid the foothills of the Central German Mountains and the gateway to the North German Plains, enjoys beautiful scenery.

On the Feast of Corpus Christi, a public holiday, we attended the church ceremony and outdoor pilgrimage.  

Like a ship, the 1,000-year-old town’s cathedral lies at anchor among a sea of historic buildings.   A fresh-flowers carpet, the art and skill of the catholic school children, decorated the parvis.  The historic cathedral is awe-inspiring in its massive and angular Romanesque architecture.  The church hall is beautiful, full of light and featuring a Romanesque chancel, wonderfully offset by the filigree windows of the high Gothic period enticing one with their blue and red light.    

After mass, we joined the congregation in a procession graced with sacred hymns, psalms and prayers.  The altar boys carried the Holy Crucifix and the girls in their First Holy Communion dress carried baskets of flowers, Along the way through the Old Town, we admired its rich history with every step of its cobbled streets and alleys, the variety of architectural styles and gothic arcades; the narrow half-timbered buildings, once inhabited by the shopkeepers and the tradesmen of the Middle Ages. Round the corner stand the impressive residences of rich merchants and noblemen originating from the 16^th century that paid tribute to the wealth of the era.  Though much of the variety of architectural styles: Romanesque, Gothic, Weser Renaissance, classic, has been destroyed by fire and war, some of the buildings have been lovingly restored by the town’s citizens.   A living reminder is the ‘Rathaus’ the oldest city hall of Westphalia.   Other forgotten hidden corners, ivy-covered retreats breathe a rich atmosphere. The procession reached the bridge (Weserbrucke) that crosses the river Weser and joins the AltStadt with the new Town and here we left the pious crowd to resume sight-seeing the 15^th century town.    

The Boat Mill

A particular rarity is the boat mill on the River Weser.  Minden’s boat mills were first officially mentioned in 1326 and went into decline from 1721 onwards, when windmills began to gain popularity throughout Prussia.   The advent of steam ships was the final nail in the coffin for boat mills, once a common sight along Germany’s rivers. The mill we visited is a replica of the original one constructed in 1998, as part of Minden’s 1200-year-anniversary celebrations.  The Mill Road reveals windmills and water-mills in all shapes and sizes that characterize the countryside.  The many renovated and mostly operational mills – driven by wind, water and horse - make it famous for its “clattering giants”.

Wild and unspoilt 

The wide-open countryside gives a variety of natural beauty spots – rivers, nature reserves, and peat moors where storks regularly nest.   It is the home of birdwatchers who observe rare types of waterfowl and migratory birds stopping off before their long flight south.  We watched the storks on our cross-country walk whilst enjoying views as far as the eye can see.  

Waterway Crossroads

Anyone visiting Minden must see the world’s largest aquatic crossroads!   On our cruise on one of Minden’s “White Fleet” river boats, we learnt about this unique waterway crossing:  the intersection of two waterways!  The Mittelland Canal built here (1914-17) at a 370-meter long bridge intersects the River Weser, also navigable for large inland waterway vessels. Locks ensure that both waterways are connected to one another. These historic shaft locks have since overcome the 13 meters height difference between the Weser and Mittelland Canal.   It is a very odd and unique experience to be on a boat which is transferred from river to canal - the sensation of moving 13 metres vertically while remaining on board!   

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