4A
NEWS
PROFILE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2008
Senior promotes studying abroad in Germany
BY SACHIKO MIYAKAWA
smiyakawa@kansan.com
When Andreas Graf studied abroad in Germany, he would go to a bar in the basement of his dorm after school and socialize with his friends over beer. He enjoyed taking classes in German, in which he had intense discussions about American politics and international relations with his German peers
Graf, Mission Woods senior, said his study abroad experience in Germany had been the best part of his life.
Graf is one of 25 students in the United States and Canada this year to serve as Young Ambassadors for the German Academic Exchange Service, or Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst. He promotes study abroad programs in Germany at the University, giving presentations and consulting students who are interested in living in Germany. According to the KU Office of Study Abroad, 62 students studied in Germany in the 2006-2007 academic year. Graf is working to raise this number.
*Iyan Waggoner/KANSAN*
Andreas Graf, Mission Woods senior, studied abroad in Germany and now works to help others share the same meaningful experience that he had. Graf is one of 25 students in the U.S. and Canada to serve as a Young Ambassador for the German Academic Exchange Service. Graf, who called his experience in Germany the best part of his life, studied in the country over Summer 2006 and from Fall 2007 to Spring 2008.
"You learn more out of your comfort zone, like what is important to you," he said. "I think people should take advantage of studying abroad."
Brid Schenkl, program officer for the German Academic Exchange Service, said the program was started by American students who returned from Germany and who were willing to share their experiences with other American students. Schenkl said learning German was the most popular reason for American undergraduate students to study in Germany, but some of them studied math and physics because of Germany's long tradition in sciences.
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
According to the Institute of International Education, 7,355 American students studied in Germany in the 2006-2007 academic year and Germany was the fifth most popular study abroad destination for Americans.
James Brown, assistant professor of Germanic languages and literature, said many Kansans' ancestors were from Germany, and many University students took German courses because of their heritage connections. He also said students who majored in German often double majored in political science, business, journalism, physics and chemistry.
studied in Holzkirchen, Germany, in the Summer 2006 and in Bonn, Germany, from Fall 2007 to Spring 2008 to improve his German.
Along with learning German, he said, he took political science classes abroad and learned different perspectives on world politics. Graf, who is majoring in political science and international studies, said this experience changed his view of the world. He said some people in his German political science classes were not afraid of criticizing the American government.
Graf spent most of his life in the United States, but his mother was from Germany and he grew up speaking German with her. He
Part of Graf's job includes working an information table at the study abroad fair, giving presentations in class and answering questions about scholarships and his German study abroad experience.
“It's hard to do it without giving wrong impressions about the country” he said. “What I tried to do is not only tell them about its benefits, but also give them real aspects of living abroad.”
Graf said he didn't hesitate to talk about hardships he faced, including loneliness and his frustration with communicating in German.
He said that along with his learning experience, meeting people from all over the world was one of his best experiences in Germany.
He said when he was in the United States, he tried to find more common background with people. But in Germany, he tried to learn and appreciate differences when he made friends.
"In the end you find people you like to be with, and you can build a friendship anywhere," he said.
Students interested in studying abroad in Germany can contact Graf through www.daad.org or visit
the KU Office of Study Abroad in Room 108 of Lippincott Hall.
Edited by Rachel Burchfield
Endeavour crew lands safely after space station remodels
The space shuttle Endeavour comes in for a landing at Edwards Air Force Base Sunday in California. Endeavour's landing ends a 16-day mission during which the shuttle flew to the international space station delivering a new bathroom, kitchen, exercise machine, sleeping quarters and recycling system designed to convert urine and sweat into drinking water.
BY JOHN ANTZAK ASSOCIATED PRESS
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE,
Calif. — Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts safely returned to Earth on Sunday, taking a detour to sunny California after storms hit the main landing strip in Florida.
Endeavour wrapped up a 16-day trip that left the international space station freshly remodeled and capable of housing bigger crews. The shuttle dropped off all kinds of home improvement equipment, including a new bathroom, kitchenette, exercise machine, two sleeping quarters and a recycling system designed to convert astronauts' urine and sweat into drinking water.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
And Endeavour's astronauts also had to put in extra effort to get the urine processor working.
About seven liters of recycled urine and condensation were coming back aboard Endeavour for extensive testing. No one at the space station will drink the recycled water until the equipment runs for 90 days and ground tests ensure it safe. More samples will be returned on the next shuttle flight.
But the mission wasn't without its problems. Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanshyn-Piper let go of a $100,000 tool bag during the first spacewalk, muttering "Oh, great" as it floated away.
The shuttle crew also conducted four spacewalks to clear metal shavings from a solar wing rotary joint at the space station. The joint had been jammed for more than a year and hampered energy production at the orbiting outpost.
Initial tests indicated the repairs on the joint were successful.
The space station additions — and a few more scheduled to go up on the next shuttle flight in February — should enable NASA to double the size of the space station crew by June.
On Sunday, NASA ordered the detour to California after dangerously high wind and a stormy sky prevented a Florida landing.
"Welcome back. That was a great way to finish a fantastic flight," Mission Control radioed.
"And we're happy to be here in California," shuttle commander Christopher Ferguson replied.
Congratulations also came down
Returning home from a sixmonth mission was former space station resident Gregory Chamitoff, who had rocketed away from the planet at the end of May.
from the space station. "Wow," said skipper Mike Fincke, who watched the landing broadcast live.
The space shuttle's journey, short by comparison, spanned 6.6 million miles and 250 orbits of Earth.
NASA always prefers to land the space shuttles at their home base in Florida. It takes about a week and costs $1.8 million to transport a shuttle from California to Florida, atop a modified jumbo jet.
The astronauts also had been rooting for a Florida touchdown; that's where their families were waiting.
As Endeavour soared over Houston,home to Mission Control, Ferguson could see all the bad weather in Florida.
"I think you made a good call," he radioed.
It was the first space shuttle landing at Edwards in more than a year. When Endeavour hurtled over metropolitan Los Angeles, firefighters responded to a report of an explosion that turned out to
have been the spacecraft's signature sonic booms,
Ferguson landed on a temporary runway that's shorter and more narrow than the Kennedy landing strip. Edwards' main runway —
which parallels the temporary one
which permits the temporary one just underwent maintenance and upgrades, and has yet to be equipped with all the necessary navigation equipment.
NASA officials said both
Ferguson and his co-pilot, Eric Boe, had practiced on the temporary runway in training aircraft.
Eneadeavour's crew members were expected to be reunited with their families on Monday in Houston.
Obama announces six administration posts
POLITICS
BY NEDRA PICKLER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama plans on Monday to announce six experienced hands to fill top administration posts, moving at record speed to name the leadership team that will guide his presidency through a time of war and recession.
His selections include longtime advisers and political foes alike, most notably Democratic primary rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state and President Bush's defense secretary, Robert
Gates, staying in his current post. The two were among six who Obama planned to announce at a news conference in Chicago, Democratic officials said.
The officials said Obama also planned to name Washington lawyer Eric Holder as attorney general and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary. He also planned to announce two senior foreign policy positions outside the Cabinet: campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as U.N. ambassador and retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones as national security adviser.
The Democratic officials disclosed the plans Sunday on a condition of anonymity because they were not authorized for public release ahead of the news conference.
Those names had been discussed before for those jobs, but the officials confirmed that Obama will make them official Monday in his hometown.
Obama also has settled on former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle to be his secretary of Health and Human Services and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to be Commerce secretary, but those announcements are not yet official.
Last week, he named key members of his economic team, including Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as Treasury secretary.
The decisions mean Obama has half of his Cabinet assembled less than a month after the election, including the most prominent positions at State, Justice.
For secretary of state, both went with big names that campaigned against them in their primary race, with Obama choosing Clinton and Bush going with former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell. At HHS, both chose deeply experienced elected officials — Obama picking Daschle and Bush choosing Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson.
They also chose experienced Defense secretaries who had already served in the position — Gates for Obama and Donald Rumsfeld for Bush. And both put well-respected governors as their first picks as
Treasury and Defense. The team so far shares deep experience and proven ability to get things done, and it shares some characteristics with President Bush's first Cabinet choices.
Homeland Security secretary — a position Bush created — with Obama picking Napolitano and Bush picking Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.
In some cases, Obama is choosing even more experienced hands. Jones and Richardson have more government experience than Bush's first national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, and his Commerce secretary, Donald Evans.
Clinton's nomination is the latest chapter in what began as a bitter rivalry for the Democratic presidential nomination. After Obama defeated her, Clinton backed his general election campaign against Republican Sen. John McCain, and she now has agreed to give up her Senate seat to be his top diplomat.