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Spring 2020 #4 February 17, 2020
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CarnivalThis week marks the start of the major Carnival celebrations. Known as Mardi Gras back in the States, this festive period traditionally was a last burst of celebrations before the fasting and more serious tone during Lent. While Venice, Nice, and Cologne are among the more well-known Carnival destinations in Europe, Luxembourg is home to many Carnival celebrations, including the Diekirch Cavalcade this coming Sunday.
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-Study:
- MUDEC Faculty Profile- Wajd Ghazal
- LDI Press Coverage
- Field Trip Wednesday Preview
- MUDEC Profs in Action
-Engage:
- Student Faculty Council Profile-Laura Kelly
- Movie Night with Monty Python
- Ice (cream) Breaker Social Recap
-Travel:
- Travel Misadventures
- The Travel Times
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Meet Wajd Ghazal
1. Tell us a bit about yourself. Where did you go to college and what did you study? Did you study abroad and if so where?I am a musician and educator. I teach at the Conservatory of the city of Luxembourg and at the training institute of national education.
I was born in Beirut, Lebanon. I did my Bachelor degree in music education at the Lebanese University. I did my master’s degree at the Orff Institut, Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria.
I am a strong advocate of the "Orff-Sculwerk," a holistic approach to music education developed by Carl Orff. I believe that every person has the right to arts education as an essential part of his/her development and fulfilment.
2. How did you end up working for Miami?
While in Beirut, I was teaching at the American University. When I
moved to Luxembourg, I expressed my interest in teaching at MUDEC.
3. What are you looking forward to the most while teaching at MUDEC?
I look forward to sharing my passion and experience with our students.
4. What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time, I do sports and I enjoy long walks in nature.
5.What is a fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
I love to dance!!!!
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LDI Press Coverage
On Monday Feb. 10, MUDEC issued a press release announcing its partner companies for the initial Luxembourg Digital Innovation Center (LDI) internship program. MUDEC Méinden readers were already in the know, as the list was published in the MUDEC Méinden on January 27, which shows how it pays off to read the MUDEC Méinden 😁. Click on the logos below for a round-up of some of the articles and social media posts which followed this press release.
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MUDEC Field Trip Wednesday: Sneak Preview
Now that students have settled in to their semester with classes and traveling, MUDEC will take a time out on Wednesday, when the 4 sprint class professors will take each of their classes on day-long field trips. Check out previews of the cool places that MUDEC professors and students will be heading to below!
Dr. Roxanne Ornelas:
-GEO/WGS 436 Women, Gender and the Environment
My class field trip to Triberg, Germany in the Black Forest will introduce students to a small community that relies on forest health for their local tourist economy. Students will learn the history of the region during our guided tour at the Schwarzwaldmuseum, including the history of cuckoo clocks. Yes, cuckoo clocks. We will visit the Triberg Waterfalls and observe how a healthy forest system provides water to the Gutach River and to all life along its course. Water is an important part of my personal research and trees play a big role in rainfall capture and watershed health. Some other tree ecosystem services include habitat for biodiversity, prevention of soil erosion, and they reduce the risk of flash flooding. Oh, and then there is climate change; another part of our lesson plan on the Black Forest. I hope the class will enjoy getting to know a place that is off the beaten path of student weekend travel plans.
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Professor Gerardo Brown-Manrique: Class-- ARC 188L A Survey of Modern European Architecture
ARC 188L is not venturing far nor to an unknown territory. We shall be journeying all the way to… Trier! However, our focus for a class that surveys modern and contemporary architecture will primarily be works from the 1980s and later. We will concentrate on how three interventions by the German Architect O.M. Ungers (1926-2007) define and respond to their setting in this, the oldest city in Germany and the former capital of a region of the Roman Empire. Ungers was arguably one of the most important German architects of the post-war period, and one whose influence is still world-wide, and the projects that we will see are key projects in his later work. We will also venture back in time, away from our class’ focus, in order to understand these interventions, and also see some other contemporary structures in the city center. Finally, we will visit Ungers' country house, located halfway between Bitburg and Vianden (a visit that would never been in any casual tourist’s agenda).
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Professor Jeannie Ducher:
Class--EDT 255L Classrooms of the World-Comparing U.S. and European Schools
In EDT 255L we will be meeting in the City in the morning to go play an exciting escape game and build team spirit. When (and if) everyone escapes, we will go eat delicious sweet and savory crêpes at Brasserie Les Matelots. Lastly, during the afternoon, we will go to the Luxembourg Ministry of Education where we will get the chance to meet Lux officials and ask them questions about the Luxembourgish school system within the broader European educational system.
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Professor Claudine Bechet
Class--ART188 History of Western Art
Students will take a quick hop over to Metz, France during the morning before heading to Saarbrücken in Germany for lunch and then the afternoon. The first stop will be at the Pompidou Center in Metz with a guided tour of “Constructed Worlds. A choice of sculptures from the Centre Pompidou”. After the guided tour, students will walk to Metz Cathedral, to see the stained glass windows by Marc Chagall. and a visit to the Modern gallery to wrap up the day. The class will then head to Saarbrücken for lunch
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| MUDEC Profs in ActionMUDEC professors are also engaged outside of MUDEC, and we highlight their activities here.
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MGT 291 PodcastManagement professors Anthony Smith-Meyer and Michael Schweiger are continuing their podcast series this semester. The next episode is out now:
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Architecture Professors Emmanuel and Ralitza PetitBreak out your French skills to read this fascinating article from Wunnen about the 2019 Fall Architecture students' site visit to the "Big Mud" of a local building site.
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Student Faculty Council ProfileMeet Laura Kelly
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MUDEC junior Laura Kelly majors in Nonprofit and Community studies with a Marketing and Women/Gender studies double minor. Kelly, was born in Loveland, Ohio and is on Miami's equestrian team.
1.Tell us a little bit about your position on the SFC.
I'm the Student Communications Chair which basically means I'm in charge of letting people know about the events, creating graphics that you guys are going to see for the events, kind of spreading the word making sure people want to come-- just doing all that stuff with spreading the word.
2. Why did you want to do this position?
I personally have a lot of experience in graphic design, specifically on Adobe Illustrator, so I am able to make a lot of cool graphics like the one for the Ice (cream) Breaker Social. That one was a really fun idea that I was able to use a bunch of different people's ideas and bounce off of each other and I was able to create that with my own artwork, so that we didn't have any copyright issues with website and I also just kind of want to do it because I want people to see me as somebody who like brings them fun events and brings them fun things to do.
3. Can you tell us more about the Ice (Cream) Breaker Social and the graphic you designed for the event?
I'll start off with telling my original idea. I wanted to do kind of like an ice glacier thing with an ice climber breaking the ice, then kind of having all the information below and then as we were in the meeting, I bounced that idea off and a couple people brought up suggestions, I think it was Kayla that brought up the suggestion about the hearts coming out, so then that made me think about it and then we talked about having ice cream there, so then I rethought my whole thing. What if I make the glacier ice cream? And I was like what if I make it neopolitan ice cream because we could have neopolitan ice cream there. And so then I talked with my dad who is also a designer and a producer and he talked about making it an ice cream cone and then I kind of finessed that and made it what you guys saw for the graphic now. The candy hearts were kind of like, okay I need to balance this somehow. I need to make them a little more visual and able to see better, so I was like what if I do candy hearts, it's Valentine's Day, everybody associates those with that, so it's kind of how that came to be. It was kind of just a lot of trial and error, lots of renditions for one final product.
4. What are you most excited for in your position?
In my position, I'm excited to make all the graphics and see people's feedback on them, you know and make fun things for people to look at, and just make fun events too because I want a lot of people to have fun this semester and not think of SFC events as you know, just something to get off their plate, but as something to go have fun at and meet new people.
5. Why did you choose to study abroad with MUDEC?
Oh, lots of different reasons. One main reason was because I figured it was central to Europe and so I can travel a lot and have that experience. Another reason was because my mom actually was a student here for a whole year when she was a Miami student so she kind of had a big influence on where I wanted to go. And the last reason was just because I felt like living with a host family would be the best way to kind of get acclimated to a different country and culture and kind of be a good way for me to be completely independent for the first time ever in my life which is scary and most people wouldn't expect that from a college student but for me, you know, being 24 hours away from my parents, it's kind of like scary for me, so it was kind of a chance for me to get out of my comfort zone.
6. What is a fun fact that most people do not know about you?
I love Disney and I have met over half the Disney princesses at Disney World.
-Kelly's Instagram: @_laura_kiwi.
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| SFC Movie Night! - Popcorn with Monty Python
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| Do you like delicious snacks? Ready to have a relaxing night in? Well the SFC has the perfect event that incorporates both! Join the SFC and your friends on Tuesday evening Feb.18 in the Cave for an evening of delicious snacks and entertainment. There will be traditional Luxembourg popcorn (sweet) as well as homestyled American popcorn (salty). Come on out and bring a snuggie or your wackiest pajamas to sit back, relax and enjoy a movie night in before Field Trip Wednesday.
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Ice (cream) Breaker Social RecapOn Tuesday Feb. 11, MUDEC students had the chance to break the ice with their fellow MUDECers. Students engaged in a "Who Dunnit" competition with the grand prize winners receiving coveted laundry vouchers. Ice wasn't the only thing broken, students also enjoyed a Neopolitan ice cream bar filled with all of the essential toppings from sprinkles to chocolate syrup. After playing the ice breaker and consuming their sweet treat, students made Valentine's Day cards for children at the local international school as well as the senior citizens at the retirement home.
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Students at the Ice (cream) Breaker Social
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Travel TimesWelcome to the Travel Times, a new section in the MUDEC Méinden that features students independent travel throughout the semester. This week, we will be traveling to Paris, Brussels and Heidelberg!
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Students in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
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MUDEC gals in Brussels, Belgium
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Travel MisadventuresAfter students first few weekends of independent travel, a few epic blunders are bound to happen. Although never expected and never wanted, we welcome them here. First up and starting us off with a bang is a group of MUDEC ladies who embarked to Cologne, Germany for their first time after arriving in Europe and encountered a surprising friend.
Lions and tigers and... bed bugs?
This group of MUDEC girls traveled to Cologne after the Trier Discovery Tour. All was well until night rolled around and it was time to head to the hostel.
"It looked so nice and it was such a cute hostel," said Maddie Banyas (pictured right.)
But as the girls walked to their rooms, grabbed their seemingly clean, white sheets and opened their door, everything was still great. It was their first hostel and the girls were excited, saying things like "We did it!" and "We made it, our first hostel and it's so modern!"
At least it was nice until Kayla Jones (pictured third form left) bent down to put on a sheet and saw something move, said Carly Davidson (pictured second from the right.)
Kayla turns to me and says, "Uh huh, not today. Carly look at this. It's a bed bug. We got to go now."
"I put the flashlight on my phone and held it up to the mattress and I looked at Kayla and we both knew that it was confirmed. It was a bed bug." By that time, Kayla had her coat on and was out the door, while the other girls had no idea what was going on," said Davidson.
We all grabbed our bags and raced out the room, said Paige Hassett (pictured second from left.)
We, as in Kayla, demanded our money back and we spent half an hour online looking for any room that was open and ended up walking 25 minutes only to end up in an alley with two men who wanted to rent us a private room separate from the hotel. He told us to give him $200 cash right there and the room was ours. When we asked if we needed to sign something, he responded with: "If you want to sign something, I can give you something to sign." And then, we yeeted, said Maddie Weitz (pictured left.)
After a few hours of walking around Cologne and passing the Cathedral several times, the girls were able to find a room at the Marriott where they slept safe and sound knowing that there were no more bed bugs.
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MUDEC Students on the steps of the Cathedral in Cologne, Germany after surviving a hostel with bed bugs
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Birthdays This Week
How old are you?! Nah, you don’t look a day over amazing. Happy birthday and have a Schengen-tastic day!
Santiago Puente (Monday Feb. 17)Julie Eagle (Monday Feb. 17)
Kayla Jones (Wednesday Feb. 19)
Natalie Davis (Saturday Feb. 22)
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Claim Your Prize!
Congratulations to our winners of the "Who Dunnit..." competition during the Ice (cream) Breaker Social. Stop by Andy's office to pick up your prize!
Winners:
Olivia Casey
Morgan Shenk
Dan Falokun
Elana Baker
Darian Fautz
Logan Glennie
Ashley Moher
And winner from last week's newsletter, don't be shy, claim your prize!
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Monday: Classes
Tuesday: Classes
SFC Movie Night "Monty Python" located in the Cave
Wednesday: Field Trip Wednesday!
WGS 436-Black Forest
ARC 188L-Trier EDT 255L-Luxembourg City ART 188-Metz and Saarbrucken
Thursday: Classes
Friday: No Classes
Staff Absences: Stephane Romanazzi and Nadine Theissen (Wednesday), Thierry Leterre (Thursday-Friday), Andy Adams (Monday, Feb. 24 pm)
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| Château HoursMonday-Thursday: 8:00-22:00
Friday: 8:00-17:00Saturday-Sunday: Closed
Administrative Hours
Monday-Friday: 8:00-12:00 and 13:00-17:00
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