Maps as More Than Just Geography

In my Transnational Communication class, we dissected the topic of "the nation" as a socially constructed or "imagined" community. This is to say that it is imagined by the people who perceive themselves as part of that group (Benedict Anderson, 1983). To that point, we took one of his examples - MAPS - and mused about them as symbols and logos of "the nation", and thus, tools for defining power relations. 


Here is the map that we are all familiar with (Mercator's projection). It shows the correct shapes of countries and continents, however, unbeknownst to most, size is distorted:

And here is Peter's projection, a more accurate view of the actual sizes of landmasses: 

What differences do you notice? 

The most startling thing to me was the difference in the size of Africa. 

And check this one out: how does this make you feel? it makes me feel weird. Uncomfortable even.

If you like this kind of stuff, check out this site: Ten of the Greatest Maps That Changed the World

If you can, please comment, just to let me know if anyone is reading this silly thang! 

Quarter Century

I am so pleased with how my  25th birthday turned out. I danced the funky chicken at midnight, I was brought home-made Indian food by Ashwini, received a gorgeous rose bouquet from Mr. Bursell, was taken out to dinner (Chinese in Germany!) by the Reinkens, had a successful little shindig (with all my new int'l friends), and was even baked a gorgeous and divine chocolate cake by Rion and Louise! 

This, added to the countless Facebook and email greetings is a sure sign of being loved.

I feel so lucky. 

Thank you. 

So thoughtful. 

It was so freakin' delicious - it was like a gigantic brownie.

Cristina was so sweet; she helped me carry all the wine and snacks I bought for the party back to my house.

<3

Dragon Boat Racing on the River Weser

... is pretty popular here!  (Although it is Thai in origin... but they served Singha Beer!) 

 People coordinate teams beforehand with others from their work or extra-cirricular or whatever (i.e. Fitness Club, Martial Arts Club, etc) to RACE! These people had some kind of purple cow thing going on..?

It was an unbelievably gorgeous day in Bremen, in the park alongside the river. It was the type of day that, when the sun was out, you were beaming like a child being thrown up into the air by your father. But, when a cloud floated across the sun and its warmth and beauty was blocked, you were like a child who just got their dessert taken away from them. 

Luckily, most of the day proved to have chilly sunshine, through and through. 

Martina and I had a fabulous time. 

Observations

• IR (International Relations) people are unnecessarily intense, especially in a small classroom setting.
• Germans do not make the best Zumba instructors, although I give them a lot of credit for trying.
• My readers (the actual reading material for my classes) will crush me with their physical weight.
• I love Doner Rollos ("doo-na"), aka Turkish Burritos, with LLLAMB
• Shakira is extremely popular in Germany, as is Marzipan
• Bulgarian women are gorgeous
• Native German speakers have a hard time pronouncing "ths", as in "months", instead they just make is singular
• I am stoked to turn 25 on Thursday!

Get Off My Desk, You Dickhead!

Although clearly unrelated to my experiences here at Jacob's, I would like to introduce some of my Grandpa's artwork on my blog, especially since he and I spent so much time together this summer logging it all. Since my Masters will be in Global Visual Communication, I see this as a perfect opportunity to expose his work as well as utilize my skills and knowledge in the field. 

Alan Shear is a true original: he sees things like no one else. His art is saturated with bright, vivid colors and his zingy personality can be seen in each and every painting, drawing or photograph he has created. 

This is a DOODLE (a mosaic of small faces and colors in the background) with many, many different things happening. In a rare move, Al himself makes an appearance. He is not pleased.

AlanShear_D105_Dickhead

Look closely, 
What do you see? 

Who do you see? 

What does this type of art make you think or feel and why? 

Beck's Brewery Tour and Tasting

On Thursday, I went on a 2 1/2 hour tour of Bremen's own Beck's Brewery. I learned a LOT about the beer-brewing process that I never knew before.

Here was our tour guide (his name escapes me), a very German, very sarcastic, yet very informative Beck's expert. Here, he was describing the process of first boiling malt with fresh spring water.

This is an old-fashioned wort boiler. According to German law, beer brewing is some serious business: beer is ONLY allowed to be made with 4 ingredients: malt, water and hops (yeast was later added to the list).

One of the first kegs to hold Beck's beer

A miniature replica of the original Beck's Brewery (which was called Kaiserbrauerei!) 

Thousands of Beck's beers on their way out to the masses.

After the tour, Steffi (left), Kerstie (right) and Laura (not shown) and I enjoyed a mystery tasting: we had to guess which beers were were tasting between Beck's regular, Beck's nonalcoholic, and Haake Beck. 

We failed miserably. But, we enjoyed the beer.

They also served steaming hot pretzels, or brezels, as they call them here. YUM YUM.

Overall, it was a great tour. I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Bremen. 

The Haake Beck 12 was my favorite beer on the menu. It had tasted of grassy hops and had a creamy barley malt aroma. I'd give it 3/4 YUMS.

  

A Sign

I found these rocks in Ashland, Oregon a few weeks ago, and they look exactly like a potato and a slice of sausage. Could this have been a sign that Germany was indeed the right place for me to go? 

What says you?