Administrative

On this portion of the blog, I will update everyone with important WVU-specific SPICE news and events. Consider bookmarking this page on your laptop or smartphone, for quick-and-easy future reference.

03 August 2015

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Given the heavy course load for this week, we will not have any more SPICE theory blogs due. However, your final reflection paper is due on Sunday, 9 August. Final reflections submitted after that time will result in a grade of "incomplete" for the blog course, and submissions sent in after Friday, 14 August will not be accepted.

26 July 2015

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Can you believe it? We're very close to heading back to the US, and there's still so much more for us to do! Many of you still have loads of travel planned, and this is a great thing. Of course, keep in mind some very important dates below concerning your COM416 "German Culture and Communication" course. Some of these are updated guidelines, due to a lack of traffic on the blogs that requires me to update the workflow associated with posting so much content in a short time:

• As posted earlier, the Berlin reflection post (750-1000 words) is due no later than Thursday, June 30. Note that I cannot accept late posts, because I will not have time to update the pages accordingly. 
• I've amended the culture/travel blog deadline somewhat - the deadline for all such blogs is now 9am on Monday, 3 August (this is our second-to-last meeting). As students are not supposed to be traveling during that final week, this deadline has been advanced so that students can focus on their final course projects (including this course). As a reminder, students are required to have five culture/travel blogs, each worth 6% of their final course grade. 
• The final reflection paper is technically due by Friday, 14 August (the Friday when we return from Germany). However, students who are able to submit this by Sunday, 9 August, can avoid receiving a grade of "I" for the course. 

Finally, don't forget to consider the feedback that you received on those initial blog posts as you write your future ones, as well as make any potential edits to your past ones. Your personal blog is one of the most enduring digital memories that you'll have of this trip, so make sure that it represents your in a positive and intelligent light. As always, do not hesitate to ask me any questions - and as a reminder, there are extensive details on how to write all of these blogs in the course syllabus (read the assignment guidelines a bit more carefully), as well as sample blogs on the SPICE blog main page.  

10 July 2015

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Looking ahead to our return trip back to the United States (I know ... I don't want to think about it either), I've set up some plans to help us get out of Germany with the least amount of complication.

First, I've booked a block of rooms over at the Inner City Hotel - Erfurt - it's directly attached to the main "Hauptbahnhof" which will make it easier for us to catch our very early train the next day to Frankfurt. So, here's our plan for Monday night (10 August) into Tuesday morning (11 August):

• Monday, 10 August
• 5:00 pm - Meet in the lobby, and check in to Inner City Hotel. These is a small city tax, but if we check in together I can cover this expense for you. I have put the following names on our reservations: Curby, Klusmann, Packwood, Veltri, and Wasser. If you're late, you can still check in but you'll need to arrange to cover your own taxes/expense
• Tuesday, 11 August
• 5:30 am - Meet in the hotel lobby, and check out as a group. Make our way to the train station for coffee, etc. 
• 6:18 am - Board IC 2158 from Gleis 1 (Platform 1), bound for Frankfurt (M) Flughafen Fernbahnhof. Make sure that you have at least one day on your pass reserved for this train, or you'll need to otherwise purchase the ticket on your own (prices currently range from 39 to 60 euros). 
• Arrive at the airport around 9:00 am, with enough time for breakfast, final souvenir shopping, and on to our departing flights. Students are booked on one of the following flights back to the US:
• United Airlines - UA906, departing Frankfurt at 12:25 pm (Wasser)
• United Airlines - UA961, departing Frankfurt at 11:20 am (Bowman, Curby, Veltri, Klusmann, Packwood, Louk, Newlun)
• Delta Airlines - Delta 87, departing Frankfurt at 11:30am (Hansen) 
• Delta Airlines - Delta 410, departing Frankfurt at 1:45pm (Bedon) 

NOTE: Should any students miss the ICE 2158 train, understand that it will be your total responsibility to coordinate travel to the airport in order to make your flight to the United States. If you miss that outbound flight, again it will be your own responsibility to arrange for travel back home. Neither SPICE nor WVU can be held responsible for late travel. From Erfurt, trains leave for the Frankfurt Airport on the hour, as a point of general reference. Understand that we choose the early trains in order to (a) have more room for our luggage and (b) protect against any potential train delays. 

3 July 2015

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Going over the schedule for our International Intercultural Communication course a bit, I noticed a small flaw in scheduling that over-lapped with the Berlin/Amsterdam trips. I've corrected this below, with an updated schedule:

Date	Content	Assignment Due
Week Four (July 6)	East to West. Preparing for our SPICE group travel, students will consider the role of cultural convergence in understanding norms and communication patterns experienced in the city.	Interpersonal interaction (15 points). Students will be asked to reflect on their initial interactions with German SPICE students (10 points) and German residents of Erfurt (5 points). These reflections will be “raw” in that students will be asked merely to note their own impressions of cultural similarities and differences between what they are familiar with and what they are experiencing in Erfurt. This post should be between 500-750 words, posted by Sunday July 12. Students are not required to make an additional CCT post, but are of course encouraged to do so.
Week Five (July 13)	In Berlin! No meeting, as we're in Berlin from July 13 to July 16.	Berlin reflections (30 points). As part of SPICE ’14, we will take a week-long excursion to Berlin. Students will be asked to complete a number of tasks in their journal reflections, including: Compare and contrast the communication styles of eastern and western Germany, using a framework similar to what will be provided for the “Interpersonal interactions” assignment. This divide might be a noticed by comparing Erfurt to Berlin as well as eastern and western Berlin (as well as a combination of these two comparisons) Understand the international significance of Berlin, and how this has influenced the people living in the city and the culture of Berlin as unique from that of greater Germany Reflect on the increased diversity of Berlin from a historical and contemporary standpoint, and discussion how this diversity is similar to and different from representative areas in the United States. This blog is due by July 30, and a recommended word length is in the 750-1000 range.
Week Six (July 20)	No meeting, as SPICE will be in Amsterdam from July 20 to July 22.	Blog edits and feedback.
Week Seven (July 27)	Are we feeling it? Students will debate and discuss intercultural adaption, understanding how they use their dual cultural identity strategically to meet different communicative goals.	Intercultural Adaption Theory blog, posted by July 30.
Week Eight.1 (August 3)	Intercultural Communicative Competence. Students will reflect on their own felt sense of ICC based on the SPICE 14 experience. Expectations for the final paper will also be discussed.	ICC blog, posted by August 6.
Week Eight.2 (Friday, August 7)	Preparing to go home. Discussion will include a general reflection of SPICE 14 as well as a short discussion of re-assimilation back into US culture, having been gone for over 1/6 of a year!	A final reflection paper of the SPICE 14 experience (20 points). In this final paper – five to seven pages in length – students will summarize and reflect on their SPICE experience paying careful attention to the relevant theoretical concepts of intercultural communication. This project will incorporate journal entries, personal stories and any other reference materials in order to provide the reader with a thoughtful and accurate summary of the intercultural experience. This paper will be graded with a focus on (a) students honest reflections of their experience, (b) students’ ability to discuss relevant communication theory within their reflections, and (c) students demonstration of the relevance of this experience to their individual development. Post due by Friday, August 14. (submit by Sunday August 9 to avoid an incomplete grade).

29 June 2015

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- After a few phone calls and some research, I've been able to arrange our annual SPICE trip to Amsterdam. Students have reservations at the Hotel Continental, checking in on Monday, July 20 and checking out on Wednesday, July 22, and the rooms will be paid on arrival. I've booked three four-bedroom suites (contact me directly for the reservation names; I don't want to make these public).

For students coming from Erfurt, I would suggest the following trains to and from Amsterdam in order to maximize your time.

Monday, July 20 (outbound) 

Erfurt Hbf	Mo, 20:07:15	from	08:25	1	ICE 1654	Intercity Express direction: Wiesbaden Hbf Bordrestaurant
Frankfurt (Main) Hbf	Mo, 20:07:15	on	10:37	6
Transfer time 52 min.						Customize transfer time
Frankfurt (Main) Hbf	Mo, 20:07:15	from	11:29	19	ICE 126	Intercity Express direction: Amsterdam Centraal Please reserve BordBistro
Amsterdam Centraal	Mo, 20:07:15	on	15:27	7b

Wednesday, July 22 (inbound)

Amsterdam Centraal	Wed, 22:07:15	from	16:35	2	ICE 129	Intercity Express direction: Frankfurt (Main) Hbf Please reserve BordBistro
Frankfurt (Main) Hbf	Wed, 22:07:15	on	20:30	18
Transfer time 49 min.						Customize transfer time
Frankfurt (Main) Hbf	Wed, 22:07:15	from	21:19	4	IC 2259	Intercity direction: Erfurt Hbf bicycles upon reservation, bicycles limited extent
Erfurt Hbf	Wed, 22:07:15	on	23:38	10

Oh! As for the hotel, it's less than a 10 minute walk from the train station - right down the Damrack, check out the walking directions below:

24 June 2015

Erfurt, Thuringia, DE -- We're about "zwei Wochen" into our travels in Germany, and so far the group has been spectacular. I'm looking forward to travel reports and blog entries from Frankfurt, Brussels, and Interlochen. Remember that you have a few different blog entries styles to complete:

• For each "theory" week (such as our Communication Accommodation Theory discussion from Monday 22 June), you need to write a short entry describing the theory "in action" - that is, your experiences in Germany with the theory. These posts are due by midnight on the Thursday after our class (for this week, that's 25 June) - some exception can be made for Friday morning submissions (i.e., travel complications). 
• During your travels, you are asked to write five site visits (called "Site meetings" in the syllabus), and each one is worth 6% of your final grade. These can be anywhere in and around Erfurt or Germany, or Europe broadly (really, anywhere). They can be as grand as city capitals and as small as grocery stores. The important thing is that you make a clear connection to communication and culture and that you accompany your posts with photos and captions. 

Please remember to consult the course syllabus (ignore the incorrect blog link there) for any clarification and/or for a schedule of meetings: [.pdf]

Side-Note: We should likely plan the Amsterdam trip very soon, before prices go up and hostels become booked. Note that the group does not *have* to go to Amsterdam, as I can arrange two-nights hotel in any other place you'd like to go. Let's talk about this soon.

Finally, Andi Packwood is in the lead for "Best WVU Flag" pic; see below. Can you do more? Pics, or it didn't happen.

SPICE Student Andrea Packwood (Riverside, CA) poses with the Gold and Blue

while perched, Batman-style, on the roofs of Frankfurt. 

11 June 2015

Morgantown, WV -- Check out this message below from SPICE coordinator Afifa Al-Bayed regarding a guided tour of Erfurt on Wednesday, 17 June:

I just wanted to announce that our SPICE TA Felicia along with a tour guide propose to take you on a city tour on Wednesday, June 17th at 10:00 AM. For this purpose, you should meet them at Domplatz (the third stop from the train station if you take the tram number three or six in the direction of the university). In the city tour, you will discover the most important historical and cultural destinations but also the locations that you will need to know in Erfurt. Both Felicia and Mr. Alexander Schwarzlose will be more than welcoming to answer your questions with this regard. So, please be timely there!

I highly recommend that you go on this tour with Felicia and Alexander, as it will give you a really good sense of place for the town that you'll be calling home for the next nine weeks. =)

29 May 2015

Morgantown, WV -- For students enrolled in the Media Psychology and Influence/Effects of Entertainment Media course, those course readings and syllabus are now available online using the class PBWorks page: http://wvuspicemediapsych.pbworks.com/w/page/54250277/HOME%3A%20Media%20Psychology%20-%20SPICE%202015

You might be asked to request access to that page, and you can do this by submitting your e-mail following the on-screen prompts. If this doesn't work, simply shoot me an e-mail at Nicholas.Bowman@mail.wvu.edu and we'll get you squared away.

19 May 2015

The island of Vieques is about a 30-minute flight from San

Juan, Puerto Rico. The US Navy used most of this to 

practice bombing techniques during the mid- to late- 20th century.

Isabella II, Vieques, Puerto Rico -- Greetings from Puerto Rico! Although we don't start the Germany portion of any of our courses until mid-June, I wanted to send you two major updates for the SPICE grip so far: one is an announcement for our SPICE "meet and greet" and the other are the instructions for starting your own blog posts. 

First, recall that you've now all got personalized pages for the SPICE 2015 blog. You'll be using these pages to write your blog entries for each week of the SPICE program (we'll explain this process at a later time, once I have all of the dates and other details finalized with SPICE; the syllabus was posted below on 15 May). In the meantime, you'll want to finish the introductory "Pre-Travel blog before the end of May. Specifically, the assignment (from the syllabus):

Pre-Travel – Blog Introductions. Students will work with Dr. Bowman to set up their Blogger accounts, and post a 250-word introduction. (posted before May 31)*

*NOTE: For now, simply send me your 250 words and a photo/picture that you want me to use via e-mail at Nicholas.Bowman@mail.wvu.edu. I'll show you how to set up the blog pages once we arrive in Germany. =) 

Second, you should have all received Afifa Al-Bayed's introductory e-mail, orienting you to the SPICE program. You'll want to hold on to this e-mail, because it contains a lot of good information about the program. Of course, one of the most important bits of information is our SPICE "Meet and Greet" at Peckham's Coffee House. Here's the exact note from Afifa:

II. WELCOME SPICE GET TOGETHER

To start SPICE off on the right foot, we'll have a great “Welcome SPICE!”- Get Together with everybody involved in the program and also the German students participating. This reception is planned for Wednesday evening (June 17th) – so, be prepared for the first contact!

The happening will start around 7:00 pm and will be located in a sweet Erfurt Coffeehouse and Bar called Peckhams. If you like, you can check it out visiting their website – but please don’t mind that they do not have an English version. Just click the iconic buttons on the top, check the photos and let inspire you…http://www.peckhams.de/

To make it a bit easier, I've included a map below that has the walking directions from the University (your apartments are right nearby) to Peckham's. During those first few days in Erfurt they'll be lots to do, but please don't be late for the welcome reception - it is very much worth it!

15 May 2015

San Juan, Puerto Rico -- Hey folks! To make it easy, I've posted an embedded version of our COM416 syllabus below. If for some reason the embed code doesn't work, you can download the syllabus directly from this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4_xmT9wYdhqSTRuaGhuRFFJTWM/view?usp=sharing

20 April 2015

Morgantown, WV -- Good news, everyone! We heard back from the travel agent today, and we able to secure a major discount on 11-day EuroRail passes. Our passes will cover all travel within Germany as well as the Belenux region of Europe, which includes Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands (read more about the Benelux region here). The passes are good on all DeutscheBahn trains, as well as the train networks in the other three countries. Even better? The German system also covers travel to Basel, Switzerland as well as Salzberg, Austria. 

One thing to remember however: You'll need to save two of the days for traveling between Frankfurt and Erfurt when we arrive on 15 June and when we depart back to the US on 12 August. Of course, even holding these two days you'll still have NINE DAYS of travel within the region that are already paid. Neat! 

I'll give everyone their train passes when we arrive in Frankfurt, and we'll set up the details of that meeting in a few weeks.

14 April 2015

Morgantown, WV -- The course registration numbers have been updated, so please check your e-mail to make sure you've got the correct information. As a reminder:

All students must register for:
CRN 53403 - COMM 405 - Effects of Mediated Communication - 3 credits

CRN 53413 - COMM 493N - International Culture and Communication  - 3 credits

Please register for 1 of the following:
CRN 53404 - COMM 424 - Communication Ethics - 3 credits
CRN 53414 - COMM 493O - Global Communication Campaigns - 3 credits

14 April 2015

Morgantown, WV -- As discussed last night, we do have a preliminary schedule of courses for our SPICE courses. The latest schedule is available below - remember that these times are formatted using the Germany style; that is, dates are written Day/Month/Year and times are written in military time.

A few notes:

• We strongly discourage any travel on the final week of either course - this would be July 6 to June 11 as well as August 3 to August 9. Why? For both of these weeks, final projects are due in your courses and most SPICE final projects are done in groups; as a result, traveling during these times can substantially impact your group work. 
• As you start to make your summer travel plans, let me know which weekend/weekdays you'd like to travel to Amsterdam. SPICE will pay for two nights' hotel in the city, and I'll take everyone out to dinner and/or breakfast on my dime. =) 
• Remember, every Monday we'll have a 9am meeting for breakfast and your meal money. I'll have a full schedule for this set up soon (for example, we will *not* meet on Monday July 20 as I will be out of the area), but unless specified you want to be sure to be in Erfurt every Monday morning. Essentially, a good travel schedule to use would be Mon afternoon to Friday morning (although you will of course be able to enjoy Friday and Saturday nights in Erfurt and the area). 

We'll have a more detailed schedule posted in the coming weeks, but a good start as you continue your summer planning. Enjoy! 

13 April 2015

Morgantown, WV -- As a reminder, our group will have it's second planning meeting over at the Morgantown Brewing Company (map below). At the meeting, we'll discuss:

• Travel arrangements (flight and train)
• WVU summer registration
• Scholarships and grants
• Samples of German(ish ) beer and food
• How to use this blog! 

If for some reason you cannot make it this evening, please contact me via e-mail at Nicholas.Bowman@mail.wvu.edu. Otherwise, see you tonight, 6:30pm until about 8:00pm! Note that it's okay if you have to come a bit later and/or leave a bit early, but consider staying the entire 90 minutes to get to know your classmates better.