During the Christmas break, our Dean Peter Hajnal proposed a trip to Erika Hess Eisstadion Ice Rink as a holiday gift to the students who refused to desert ECLA’s stronghold during the winter break. All of us high-fived each other in excitement and the impatient wait for our ice-skating excursion began. A few days of
TagBerlin
There is a Light at the End of Every Tunnel!
The very idea of a Jewish Museum in Berlin speaks for the change in the global political and social scenario in the past fifty years. A visit to the Jewish Museum Berlin by ECLA students was arranged by Ryan Plumley, primarily for the “What is History?” class. The Museum visit was one of the most interesting
Reflections From a Madison Avenue Dog Park
Two days after New Year, my collie Marley and I strolled into the dog park on Madison Avenue in New York. She, with her shiny sable coat, a striking resemblance to Lassie, and joyful demeanor, attracts a lot of attention. As I let her loose to play with the other dogs, a dog-walker approached me
If Music Be The Food For Soul, Play On
On a chilly November night, students and faculty members from ECLA attended a live musical performance by Magdalena Kozena. The performance turned out not only to be memorable and delightful, but also extremely enjoyable for people of all ages. As we entered the hall, we saw it brimming with people, all lovers of music and
A Farangi’s Journey
Two years ago, I found ECLA while sitting at my computer in Pakistan browsing websites, looking for a liberal arts school in Europe. I imagined actually coming to live at ECLA and thought I had a pretty good idea of what it would be like. In Pakistan, everyone would label me Farangi, which when literally
Annual Conference: Whose Is That Wall?
The very first event of the Annual Conference 2009 materialized with the support of ECLA art history faculty Aya Soika and addressed one of the many features of Berlin that I find particularly fascinating –the ubiquitous street art. I became a discoverer of street art when I saw that familiar cities ‘back home’ were no longer
In our mind’s eye: Hamlet in Schaubuehne
Shakespeare’s plays are considered a marvel because they simply refuse to surrender to a single understanding: they rebel against conventional reading and allow for layers of interpretations to unfold behind the 400-year-old lines. Hamlet, being one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, is a perfect example of this. Over the course of more than four centuries
All the World’s a Stage
When you’re in Berlin, and it’s freezing cold, do like the Berliners do: retreat somewhere inside where there is both enchantment and entertainment. A little café and a gleeful group of friends could be enough, but one should not disregard the arts either. The city’s cinemas and theaters can generously contribute to the getting-to-know-Berlin process