The H-Bahn

Several people have inquired about a tweet I made saying I was being distracted by the H-Bahn racing by Randi's office window. What is the H-Bahn, they asked. Essentially, it is a suspension monorail that encircles campus. The April Fool's edition of the GA Tech Technique had a fake story about such a system being installed. Because of my association with Dortmund, it did not immediately occur to me that it was a fake story. Anyway, here is photo.

I'm off to the Netherlands this afternoon. Cheers!

Student Strike

Yesterday had some added excitement. As I prepared to give my primary lecture on writing a thesis, I was informed that there might not be anyone in attendance. Around 3:00 PM, the students went on strike protesting a number of reforms that, in their opinion, have not worked well. It seems that in addition to be upset by having to pay fees (they didn't have to pay anything in the past), they feel as if their degrees simply are worth as much. There are also problems if they wish to transfer to systems in other countries, especially the U.S. because equivalencies are not the same. Anyway, it was all very exciting, with students hanging banners off the sides of buildings, having strategy meetings, and taking over lecture rooms for a sleep-in. As for my lecture at 6:00, it turned out that many students suspended their strike to attend, in part because my honorarium is paid from student fee revenue. It was the largest group I've had at Dortmund, about 125 if I had to guess.

Today, I have meetings with various faculty groups and then I'm off to my brother's house in the Netherlands. I'll try to post some photos tomorrow.

Some Dortmund Photos

This is the view from Randi's front window. Dortmund is famous for its Christmas Market, and Randi is already in the decorating spirit.








This is the building where the American Studies Program is housed.