Der Rundbrief des Saskatchewan German Councils.

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Greetings from the President Ilona Beck Recently I was going through some poetry and I came across my favorite fall poem I had memorized many years ago in school. Herbstlied is written by Johann Gaudenz von Salis Seewis the first verse goes as follows: Bunt sind schon die Wälder, gelb die Stoppelfelder und der Herbst beginnt. Graue Nebel wallen, rote Blätter fallen, kühler weht der Wind. In poetry, fall is associated with slowing down, maturity, aging, closure or even saying good bye. Following the path of nature it makes perfect sense to take a break, reflect, adjust and take stock. In contrary to nature, today’s life style works anti-cyclic to the seasons. After a summer of rest and recreation falls seems to be the time when all activities start up, when people set meetings and schedule and engage in new projects. There is a sparkling anticipation, hope and new liveliness for the long Saskatchewan winter months ahead. This fall many activities kicked off with Culture Days with the motto “Create, Participate & Celebrate” and engaged many ethnic groups all over the province. Several German groups participated and ran successful events such as Tapestrama in Prince Albert, activities at the Estevan & District German Freunschaft Society, the Imhoff Society in St.Walburg and Harvest Festival in Regina. Living close to Regina I had the opportunity to join Harvest festival at the German Club in Regina, tasted freshly baked Zwiebelkuchen and German wine. Zwiebelkuchen, an autumn favorite in Germany, is an onion tart quiche with bacon and caraway and is enjoyed with new wine. This tradition goes back to a time when many Germans earned a living in agricultural. After completing harvest farmers celebrated and enjoyed tasting the fruits of the field along with the freshly pressed grapes. Various Oktoberfest celebrations in Lloyminister, Saskatoon, Regina, Melville take place over the months of October commemorating the original Oktoberfest in Munich. Oktoberfest, or called the Wies’n in Bavarian slang, is celebrated since 1810. The Wies’n (the Meadow) is actually called Theresienwiese (Therese’s Meadow) after the Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, the newly wedded bride to Crown Prince Ludwig I. Many first time visitors, who still expect a large meadow when visiting Oktoberfest, might be a little disappointed when they realize that over the century the green meadows have transformed into paved fair grounds. However, it is great fun to attend Oktoberfest, may it be the original one in Munich or the many happening here in Saskatchewan. On October 19, the SGC invited all member groups to its annual ROUND TABLE discussion formerly known as Presidents’ Meeting. We changed the name of this gathering to ROUND TABLE to engage all members in an active conversation and discussion not just the presidents and board members. I am looking forward to meet you there! Our new logo, the circle is a symbol to involve and embrace all of us here in Saskatchewan. We are in it together and need support each other in our activities and goals. Our actions and cooperation within a German community affect how German as a language and culture stays alive in this multicultural community of Saskatchewan. So please join us in person or online and feel connect to the German community at large. Yours truly, Ilona Beck SCG President POSTILLION - Winter 2013 DEADLINE: December 2, 2013 articles, pictures, recipes, etc. postillion@saskgermancouncil.org 6
Report from the Goethe Institution Course Josephin Dick First, I would like to thank the Goethe Institute for the stipend allowing me to participate at FORT- BILDUNG FÜR AUSLÄNDISCHE LEHRER/INNEN in Gauting near Munich. Of course this extends to Ruth Renters and Wieland Petermann as well. The course was divided into three sessions. One introductory online session, one attendance period and the last online session will be held in fall. We learned and refreshed teaching methods. How to engage students, catch their interest, and make learning fun and efficient. Major subjects were new ways of teaching foreign languages. Learning and practicing engaging work methods, the use of digital media in classrooms, and intercultural and regional studies. Despite working and learning a lot we still had some time for relaxation and cultural events. For the Postillion I would like to write about these cultural events, rather than the course itself. One of these events was a concert in the Carl- Orff-Saal at Gasteig. Volksmusik – die Vielfalt traditioneller bayerischer Musik. This concert celebrated 50 years of teaching Volksmusik in Munich at the Hochschule for music and theatre, as well as Professor Sepp Hornsteiner’s retirement farewell. Students, former students and professors of the University, Schwarzensteiner Sängerinnen, Soatnpfeifa, Ensemble Allegra, Quintett Piccant, Chiemgauer Saitenensemble, Hirschbach Musi, Neukirchner Musi, Ensemble Reinhard Baumgartner, and others, played traditional instruments, harp, cittern, guitar, Bavarian dulcimer, flute, and more. We enjoyed 2 hours of excellent entertainment. The diversity of the music and the skills were amazing. I personally was impressed by two young women playing harps. Their skill playing was just unbelievable. We went to the Residentstheater in Munich as well. There we watched Der Kirschgarten (The Cherry Orchard) by Anton Chekhov. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, this play tells a sad story, so while having some funny parts, the story is still tragic. The play concerns an aristocratic Russian woman and her family as they return to the family’s estate (which includes a large and wellknown cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. The son of a former serf presents the aristocratic woman with some options, how to save at least part of the estate. However, she cannot make up her mind and misses the opportunity to save some of her estate, since she is not willing to sell part of the orchard. So in the end she and her family lose everything. The play ends with the estate being sold to the son of a former serf, and the family leaving the estate. The stage design was amazing. Parallel to the decay of the family fortune, the stage started to collapse around the actors. This made the decline so much more realistic, and sometimes scary. In the end most of the “manor” was just rubble. This resulted in a sad ending, and gave way to some serious thought about society and wealth. The last event I would like to mention was a trip to Lake Starnberg. There we took the boot from Starnberg to Bernried and visited Buchheim Museum der Phantasie. The museum is located directly at the shore of the lake. Already on the grounds around the museum are fascinating displays of art. Most are made from metal or wood. We had a guided tour which was perfect to get a first impression of the museum. Yet, it would be nice to have now the time and the possibility to go back and visit the museum at my own pace. Buchheim collected art for about 40 years, so the exhibition is impressive. Expressionist and traditional artist share the museum. All these different styles would need a lot more time to get to know them better. Masks from different countries, shadow puppets from Asia, and local artist are presenting a vibrant atmosphere. It is a great museum in an awesome building worth a couple of visits. Especially since the museum has rotating exhibits. The collection is just too vast to be completely on display at all times. So as a conclusion we learned a lot, but we also had time to enjoy ourselves. Since language learning is not just words and grammar, but also living culture, these two weeks were just the right mix of class room learning and experience of German culture. 7
Page 1 and 2: POSTILLION Der Rundbrief des Saskat
Page 3 and 4: President Ilona Beck Rouleau 2013-2
Page 5: Grüße von der Präsidentin Ilona
Page 9 and 10: The tradition of Erntedankfest Andr
Page 11 and 12: SGC Recipe Corner During fall, one
Page 13 and 14: Das Schulhaus - Regina German Langu
Page 15 and 16: ed upon. We are very pleased with t
Page 17 and 18: Jagd- und Fischverein “Waidmanns
Page 19 and 20: We’re lucky enough to have our fr
Page 21 and 22: Fall Poetry Herbstlied Johann Gaude
Page 24: Publication Mail Agreement # 420865

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