2008 Woodie Awards
Gemütlichkeit!
Get comfortable with SSU's German Club
Laurel Smith, Staff Writer
Issue date: 3/15/06 Section: Student Life
Gesundheit! No actually, it's Gemütlichkeit, Sonoma State's German club. Gemütlichkeit is a club here on campus for German language minors and those interested in learning about Germany and the German culture. The club provides a wealth of opportunities for members to learn and speak German, get help in classes, and learn about opportunities to travel abroad to Germany and Austria.
Kevin Long, a senior and the president of Gemütlichkeit, has seen the club grow throughout the years. Currently there are about twenty five members who actively participate in events and attend meetings. Most of the members of the club took German in high school or here at Sonoma State and are German language minors. Gemütlichkeit "is a club for students who are taking German and students who are interested in Germany and German culture and history," said Long. "It helps a lot with classes to have someplace where we can meet so members can ask questions to other students and speak German."
On top of their regular weekly meeting, they also have a weekly kaffeestunde, or coffee hour. "That's basically an hour that we set aside to speak German," said Long. "That's mainly for people who are taking German or took it in high school and are interested in learning more about it. We get a pretty good turn out to that every week." These coffee hours are every Thursday at 6 p.m. in Charlie Brown's.
Some of the club's signature events include the German Film Series, the Language Festival, and periodical speakers. "Also, we've sponsored speakers to come," said Long. "Last semester we had an Afro-German speaker come. She wrote a book about what it was like growing up black in Germany and the issues that were raised with the history of Germany, etc. This semester we have two actors from Germany coming, who are doing a live performance of a children's story. It's open to everyone and it'd probably be interesting even if you didn't speak any German."
The Language Festival is an event hosted by Sonoma State's German, French and Spanish clubs, with the help of the Department of Modern Languages and Literature. For the first part, bay area high school students come and put on plays and skits in German. They're encouraged to come to SSU and study a foreign language. "It's really beneficial to them," said Long. "That's what the event is really set up to do, is to get interest into high school students to look into Sonoma State and look into learning a foreign language and other cultures." The second part gives Sonoma State students a chance to showcase their talents. "The part the clubs are most involved with is the second part, putting on a cabaret," said Long. "It's composed of multi-lingual performances and it's mainly SSU students who are studying foreign languages. The German club will be performing a very traditional folk song called 'Lichtensteiner Polka'. There will be a musician playing and singing and probably some dancing."
So where did the name Gemütlichkeit come from? "The reason why the name was chosen, is because of the translation," said Long. "There's no equivalent in English, but it means 'the state or condition of being comfortable'. I don't know the exact reason why they chose that, but it makes sense really. It is being comfortable with each other and with everything."
Kevin Long, a senior and the president of Gemütlichkeit, has seen the club grow throughout the years. Currently there are about twenty five members who actively participate in events and attend meetings. Most of the members of the club took German in high school or here at Sonoma State and are German language minors. Gemütlichkeit "is a club for students who are taking German and students who are interested in Germany and German culture and history," said Long. "It helps a lot with classes to have someplace where we can meet so members can ask questions to other students and speak German."
On top of their regular weekly meeting, they also have a weekly kaffeestunde, or coffee hour. "That's basically an hour that we set aside to speak German," said Long. "That's mainly for people who are taking German or took it in high school and are interested in learning more about it. We get a pretty good turn out to that every week." These coffee hours are every Thursday at 6 p.m. in Charlie Brown's.
Some of the club's signature events include the German Film Series, the Language Festival, and periodical speakers. "Also, we've sponsored speakers to come," said Long. "Last semester we had an Afro-German speaker come. She wrote a book about what it was like growing up black in Germany and the issues that were raised with the history of Germany, etc. This semester we have two actors from Germany coming, who are doing a live performance of a children's story. It's open to everyone and it'd probably be interesting even if you didn't speak any German."
The Language Festival is an event hosted by Sonoma State's German, French and Spanish clubs, with the help of the Department of Modern Languages and Literature. For the first part, bay area high school students come and put on plays and skits in German. They're encouraged to come to SSU and study a foreign language. "It's really beneficial to them," said Long. "That's what the event is really set up to do, is to get interest into high school students to look into Sonoma State and look into learning a foreign language and other cultures." The second part gives Sonoma State students a chance to showcase their talents. "The part the clubs are most involved with is the second part, putting on a cabaret," said Long. "It's composed of multi-lingual performances and it's mainly SSU students who are studying foreign languages. The German club will be performing a very traditional folk song called 'Lichtensteiner Polka'. There will be a musician playing and singing and probably some dancing."
So where did the name Gemütlichkeit come from? "The reason why the name was chosen, is because of the translation," said Long. "There's no equivalent in English, but it means 'the state or condition of being comfortable'. I don't know the exact reason why they chose that, but it makes sense really. It is being comfortable with each other and with everything."